2016-03-03

Upon call of the President, the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board will meet in regular session at Godchaux Grammar Cafeteria, 1600 Hwy. 44, Reserve, Louisiana, on Thursday, March 3, 2016, at 6:00 p.m.

The Chair called for the invocation, led by Rev. Nicholas, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, led by Ms. Antoinette Robinet.

PRESENT: Burl, Keller, Sanders, DeFrancesch, Johnson, Wise, Wallace, Nicholas, Jones.

9 Yeas - Burl, Keller, Sanders, DeFrancesch, Johnson, Wise, Wallace, Nicholas, Jones

Supt. George thanked the Board, Administrators and Staff for their willingness to help in the aftermath of the tornados. He reported that all schools were back in session this past Monday.

Supt. George stated that St. John School Board Members are one of only 5 School Boards in the State in which all Board Members have earned enough CLUs to achieve the status of LSBA Certified Board Member. He then read the following into the record:

The Louisiana School Board Association recognizes any school board member that attains twenty (20) or more continuing learning units of training in the calendar year as a Certified Board Member. This year, I am pleased to announce that every one of our board members achieved that goal for 2015. These credit hours must be recorded in the official record of the School Board, as well as the official journal.

A motion was made by Mrs. DeFrancesch, seconded by Mr. Burl, to reconvene in Regular Session. There were no objections and the Board reconvened in Regular Session at 6:31 p.m.

a. Mr. Felix Boughton/Mr. Hugh Martin - To consider and take action with respect to adopting a resolution giving preliminary approval to the issuance of General Obligation School Refunding Bonds, of School District No. 1 of the Parish of St. John the Baptist, State of Louisiana; making application to the State Bond Commission for approval of said Bonds; and providing for other matters in connection therewith.

MOTION: To adopt a resolution giving preliminary approval to the issuance of General Obligation School Refunding Bonds, of School District No. 1 of the Parish of St. John the Baptist, State of Louisiana; making application to the State Bond Commission for approval of said Bonds; and providing for other matters in connection therewith.

9 Yeas - Burl, Keller, Sanders, DeFrancesch, Johnson, Wise, Wallace, Nicholas, Jones

A resolution giving preliminary approval to the issuance of not exceeding Seven Million Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($7,200,000) of General Obligation School Refunding Bonds, of School District No. 1 of the Parish of St. John the Baptist, State of Louisiana; making application to the State Bond Commission for approval of said Bonds; and providing for other matters in connection therewith.

WHEREAS, pursuant to the provisions of Article VI, Section 33 of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana of 1974, Sub-Part A, Part III, Chapter 4, of Title 39 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended, and other constitutional and statutory authority, School District No. 1 of the Parish of St. John the Baptist, State of Louisiana (the "Issuer") has heretofore issued $10,000,000 of General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2009, dated March 1, 2009 (the "Series 2009 Bonds"); and

WHEREAS, in order to provide debt service savings to the taxpayers of School District No. 1 of the Parish of St. John the Baptist, State of Louisiana, the Issuer desires to refund all or any portion of the callable maturities of the Issuers outstanding Series 2009 Bonds, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 14-A of Title 39 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended, and other constitutional and statutory authority (the "Act"), through the issuance of its refunding bonds; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to the Act, and subject to the approval of the State Bond Commission, the Issuer desires to accomplish the refunding by authorizing the issuance of not exceeding Seven Million Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($7,200,000) of its General Obligation School Refunding Bonds (the "Bonds"), to be payable from unlimited ad valorem taxes; and

WHEREAS, the Issuer desires to make formal application to the State Bond Commission for approval of the issuance of the Bonds;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Parish School Board of the Parish of St. John the Baptist, State of Louisiana (the "Governing Authority"), acting as the governing authority of School District No. 1 of the Parish of St. John the Baptist, State of Louisiana (the "Issuer"), that:

SECTION 1. Preliminary Approval of the Bonds. Preliminary approval is given to the issuance of not exceeding Seven Million Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($7,200,000) of General Obligation School Refunding Bonds (the "Refunding Bonds"), of the Issuer, to be issued for the purpose of refunding all or any portion of the callable maturities of the Issuers outstanding Series 2009, and paying the costs of issuance of the Refunding Bonds, said Refunding Bonds to be payable from and secured by unlimited ad valorem taxes now being levied and collected annually in excess of all other taxes on all the property subject to taxation within the territorial limits of the Issuer. The Refunding Bonds shall bear interest at a rate or rates not to exceed five percent (5%) per annum, to be determined by subsequent resolution of this Governing Authority at the time of the sale of the Refunding Bonds, and shall mature in annual installments due no later than March 1, 2029. The Refunding Bonds shall be issued in fully registered form, shall be sold to the purchasers thereof at a price of not less than 97% of par, plus accrued interest, and shall have such additional terms and provisions as may be determined by this Governing Authority.

SECTION 2. Employment. This Governing Authority finds and determines that a real necessity exists for the employment of special counsel in connection with the issuance of the Refunding Bonds, and accordingly, Foley & Judell, LLP, of New Orleans, Louisiana, as Bond Counsel, is hereby employed to do and perform work of a traditional legal nature as bond counsel with respect to the issuance and sale of said Bonds. Said Bond Counsel shall prepare and submit to this Governing Authority for adoption all of the proceedings incidental to the authorization, issuance, sale and delivery of such Bonds, shall counsel and advise this Governing Authority as to the issuance thereof and shall furnish their opinions covering the legality of the issuance of the Refunding Bonds. The fee of Bond Counsel for each series of said bonds shall be fixed at a sum not exceeding the fee allowed by the Attorney General's fee guidelines for such bond counsel work in connection with the issuance of each such series of revenue bonds and based on the amount of said bonds actually issued, sold, delivered and paid for, plus "out-of-pocket" expenses, said fees to be contingent upon the issuance, sale and delivery of said bonds. That pursuant to instructions from the Superintendent, Bond Counsel shall cause to be prepared an official statement with respect to the sale of the Refunding Bonds and the costs of the preparation and printing of said official statement, as approved by the State Bond Commission, shall be paid from the proceeds of the issue for which it has been prepared. Said Official Statement may be submitted to one or more of the nationally recognized bond rating service or services, together with a request that an appropriate rating be assigned. Payment for all ratings shall be made by the Superintendent upon presentation of appropriate statements from the particular rating service furnishing the ratings. The Superintendent is hereby authorized and directed to execute, and this Governing Authority hereby agrees to and accepts the terms of, the engagement letter of Bond Counsel on file with the Secretary. A certified copy of this resolution shall be submitted to the Attorney General of the State of Louisiana for his written approval of said employment and of the fees herein designated, and the Superintendent is hereby empowered and directed to issue vouchers in payment for the work herein provided for upon completion of the work herein specified and under the conditions herein enumerated.

SECTION 3. State Bond Commission. Application is hereby made to the State Bond Commission, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for approval of the issuance and sale of the Refunding Bonds and for consent and authority to proceed with the issuance and sale of the Refunding Bonds as provided above, and Bond Counsel is directed to make application to the State Bond Commission in accordance with the foregoing on behalf of the Governing Authority.

By virtue of applicant/issuers application for, acceptance and utilization of the benefits of the Louisiana State Bond Commissions approval(s) resolved and set forth herein, it resolves that it understands and agrees that such approval(s) are expressly conditioned upon, and it further resolves that it understands, agrees and binds itself, its successors and assigns to, full and continuing compliance with the "State Bond Commission Policy on Approval of Proposed Use of Swaps, or other forms of Derivative Products Hedges, Etc.", adopted by the Commission on July 20, 2006, as to the borrowing(s) and other matter(s) subject to the approval(s), including subsequent application and approval under said Policy of the implementation or use of any swap(s) or other product(s) or enhancement(s) covered thereby.

SECTION 4. Appointment of Municipal Advisor. The Issuer hereby retains Government Consultants, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Registered Municipal Advisors, to act as its Independent Registered Municipal Advisor ("IRMA") pursuant to the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Final Rule adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commissioners on September 20, 2013 and the adopted final release (the "Release") for the purpose of providing advice on structure, timing, terms and other matters relating to the Bonds, upon which the Issuer may rely. The fee for such services shall be payable solely from the proceeds of the Bonds and the amount thereof shall be subject to approval by the Issuer and subject to the approval of the State Bond Commission. The Issuer or the Municipal Advisor may terminate this retention at any time upon written notification to the other party.

This resolution having been submitted to a vote, the vote thereon was as follows:

School Board

Members

Yea

Nay

Absent

Abstaining

Russell Jack, Jr.

Albert "Ali" Burl, III

Gerald J. Keller

Patrick H. Sanders

Sherry DeFrancesch

Keith Jones

Phillip Johnson

Russ Wise

Shawn Wallace

Rodney B. Nicholas

Clarence Triche

And the resolution was declared adopted on this, the 25^th day of February, 2016.

I, the undersigned Secretary of the Parish School Board of the Parish of St. John the Baptist, State of Louisiana, do hereby certify that the foregoing pages constitute a true and correct copy of a resolution adopted by the Parish School Board of the Parish of St. John the Baptist, State of Louisiana, on February 25, 2016, giving preliminary approval to the issuance of not exceeding Seven Million Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($7,200,000) of General Obligation School Refunding Bonds, of School District No. 1 of the Parish of St. John the Baptist, State of Louisiana; making application to the State Bond Commission for approval of said Bonds; and providing for other matters in connection therewith.

IN FAITH WHEREOF, witness my official signature on this, the 25^th day of February, 2016.

ITEM 7b. Mr. Felix Boughton – Approve Government Consultants as Municipal Advisors for a possible refinancing of 2005 GO Bonds

The Chair stated that this item was addressed in the Resolution (Item 7a) and is not needed.

ITEM 7c. Mr. Felix Boughton – Approve The Mission Church for leasing LaPlace Elementary for $1,000 per month

MOTION: To approve The Mission Church for leasing LaPlace Elementary School for $1,000 per month for a 12 month period, at which time the agreement will be reevaluated.

MOTION: To waive policy to change the policy to allow Mission Church to rent LaPlace Elementary at a reduced cost.

MOTION: To waive policy to consider allowing The Mission Church to hold services for 1 month.

8 Yeas – Keller, Sanders, DeFrancesch, Johnson, Wise, Wallace, Nicholas, Jones

MOTION: To allow The Mission Church to lease LaPlace Elementary Cafeteria for $1,000 for 1 month, beginning tomorrow so that the Board has time to possibly revise our policy, without putting the church out abruptly.

8 Yeas – Keller, Sanders, DeFrancesch, Johnson, Wise, Wallace, Nicholas, Jones

ITEM 8a. Mr. Peter Montz – (Executive Session) - Hearing on the apparent low bidder (Sprinturf) protest in connection with the bid for the Rudolph G. Dinvaut Stadium and Joe Keller Memorial Field Replacement Projects.

MOTION: To reject all previous bids on the Rudolph G. Dinvaut Stadium and Joe Keller Memorial Field Replacement Projects.

9 Yeas - Burl, Keller, Sanders, DeFrancesch, Johnson, Wise, Wallace, Nicholas, Jones

MOTION: To waive policy to call for a vote to readvertise for the Rudolph G. Dinvaut Stadium and Joe Keller Memorial Field Replacement Projects.

9 Yeas - Burl, Keller, Sanders, DeFrancesch, Johnson, Wise, Wallace, Nicholas, Jones

MOTION: To readvertise for bids on the Rudolph G. Dinvaut Stadium and Joe Keller Memorial Field Replacement Projects.

9 Yeas - Burl, Keller, Sanders, DeFrancesch, Johnson, Wise, Wallace, Nicholas, Jones

ITEM 9a. Request Board to consider and take action on a request from Tri-Parish Trophies extend Bid 16.18, Award/Incentive Items until 06-20-2017. It is currently schedule to expire on 06-30-2016.

ITEM 9b. Mr. Peter Montz – Request Board action to unify the end dates of our two grounds maintenance contracts. Hymel’s Turf and Landscaping, LLC contract end date is 03.31.15. 3H Enterprises contract end date is 09.08.16.

Mr. Montz stated that the two grounds maintenance contracts had originally been bid together and this is to allow Hymel’s Turf and Landscaping, LLC to continue, on a month to month basis, until the end of 3H Enterprises contract date of 09.08.16 so that the two contracts can be advertised and bid as one contract at that time.

MOTION: To allow Hymel’s Turf and Landscaping, LLC to continue, on a month to month basis, until the end of 3H Enterprises contract date of 09.08.16 so that the two contracts can be advertised and bid as one contract.

ITEM 9c. Mr. Peter Montz – Recommendation on Proposal 16.29; Property Insurance

Recommendation: Accept Louisiana Insurance Agency for a total of $930,120.84 for Property Insurance.

MOTION: To accept Louisiana Insurance Agency for Property Insurance for a total of $930,120.84

9 Yeas – Burl, Keller, Sanders, DeFrancesch, Johnson, Wise, Wallace, Nicholas, Jones

ITEM 9d. Mr. Russ Wise – Request an RFP to sell the naming rights to Lake Pontchartrain Elementary School

MOTION: To request a formal opinion from the DA’s office whether we can proceed and authorize administration to ask our local delegation to sponsor a local bill that would authorize us to allow a sponsor to name a school now and in the future.

ITEM 9e. Ms. Page Eschette – Introduction to New/Modified Policies: BE School Board Ethics, EBBG Hazardous Substances, GAMFA Employee Communicable Diseases, JGCC Student Communicable Disease, IH Academic Achievement, JCDB Dress Code, JDD Suspension, JDE Expulsion, JBD Student Absences, JBCC Student Assignment, GBRIB Sick Leave, JBCD Student Transfer and Withdrawal

Ms. Eschette stated that this item was for introduction only. She also stated that Policy GBRIB: Sick Leave was being pulled from consideration at this time.

ITEM 9f. Mrs. Patricia Triche – St. John the Baptist Parish School Board Head Start – Present the December 2015 and January 2016 Director’s Report

ITEM 9g. Mr. Felix Boughton - Authorization to sign a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with OCD-DRU for Isaac Cost Share Funds and any related documents

MOTION: To approve and authorize administration to sign a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement w3ith OCD-DRU for Isaac Cost Share Funds and any related documents.

9 Yeas – Burl, Keller, Sanders, DeFrancesch, Johnson, Wise, Wallace, Nicholas, Jones

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH SCHOOL BOARD BLACK HISTORY MONTH – FEBRUARY 2016

WHEREAS, the month of February has been designated “Black History Month,” celebrating and commemorating our diversity, and the contributions of the African-American community and their many achievements in every aspect of our society; and

WHEREAS, the celebration of “Black History Month” began in 1926 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, known as ‘the Father of Black History,’ created this celebration to correspond with the birthdays of Frederick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln; and

WHEREAS, “Black History Month” was first celebrated on February 1, 1926; and has since 1976, become a nationally recognized month-long celebration, held each year during the month of February to acknowledge and pay tribute to the many African-Americans neglected by both society and the history books; and

WHEREAS, Black History Month seeks to declare that black history is indeed American history; and

WHEREAS we acknowledge that many Americans both Black and White, as well as other ethnicities, stood side-by-side and hand-in-hand, in the struggle together to end racism and racial inequities in America, and

WHEREAS, Black History Month is a time to reflect on the struggles and accomplishments of African-Americans throughout our nation's history; and

WHEREAS, Some African-American pioneers whose many accomplishments, have not always been recognized or acknowledged and in many cases have gone unnoticed; today we celebrate and appreciate America’s HCBU’s, and

WHEREAS, HBCU is an acronym for ‘Historically Black Colleges and Universities,’ (HBCUs) were established to serve the educational needs of black Americans, and

WHEREAS, prior to the time of their establishment, and for many years afterwards, blacks were generally denied admission to traditionally white institutions. As a result, HBCUs became the principle means for providing postsecondary education to black Americans, and

WHEREAS, Today, we thank God, that most of those barriers have been broken down by laws, liberties and justice, and yet historically black colleges and universities still represent a vital component of American higher education system, and

WHEREAS, In 2001, the total economic impact of the nation’s HBCUs was $10.2 billion, it is interesting to note that in terms of revenues, the nation’s HBCUs would rank 232nd on the Forbes Fortune 500 list of the United States’ largest grossing companies, and

WHEREAS, More than 50% of the nation’s African American public school teachers and 70% of African American dentists earned degrees at HBCUs, and

WHEREAS, HBCUs have provided undergraduate training for three fourths of all black persons holding a doctorate degree; three fourths of all black officers in the armed forces; and four fifths of all black federal judges, and

WHEREAS, Fifty percent of black faculty in traditionally white research universities received their bachelor's degrees at an HBCUs, and

WHEREAS, More than 80 percent of all black Americans who received degrees in medicine and dentistry were trained at traditionally black institutions of medicine and dentistry.

WHEREAS, There are 4 HBCU medical schools, Meharry Medical College (TN), Morehouse School of Medicine (GA), Charles R. Drew School of Medicine and Science (CA), and Howard University School of Medicine (DC), and

WHEREAS, Xavier University of Louisiana is ranked #1 nationally in placing African-Americans into medical school and Howard University is ranked #1 in graduating PhDs, and

WHEREAS, HBCU graduates include: Mary McLeod Bethune; Dr. Charles Drew, physician and medical researcher; W.E.B. DuBois, sociologist, educator; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize; Christa McAuliffe, first educator in space; Kenneth B. Clark, psychologist; Thurgood Marshall, Supreme Court Justice; Leontyne Price, world renowned opera soprano; and many others too numerous to mention, and

WHEREAS, Louisiana has several outstanding HCBUs, including Dillard University in New Orleans, Grambling State University in Grambling, Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, SUNO, Southern University in New Orleans, Southern University at Shreveport, and Xavier University of New Orleans, and

WHEREAS, even today, there are 107 HBCUs with more than 228,000 students enrolled. Most of them (87) of the institutions are four-year colleges or universities, and 20 are two-year institutions. In the past, more than 80 percent of all black college graduates have been trained at these HBCUs. Today, HBCUs enroll 20 percent of black undergraduates. However, HBCUs award 40 percent of baccalaureate degrees earned by black college students, and

WHEREAS, In recognition of the vast contributions and the role that HBCUs have played historically in enhancing equal educational opportunity for all students, the St. John School Board salutes America’s HCBUs for preserving, for future generations, its centuries-old traditions that benefit us all; and add color and beauty to the tapestry of our American society; now, therefore,

Be it further RESOLVED, That this Board on Behalf of our superintendent, administrators, faculty, staff, and students proclaims February 2016 as Black History Month in the St. John the Baptist Parish public Schools; and

Be it further RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution, suitably engrossed, be placed in the minutes, the archives, and official records of the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board on this 3^rd day of March, in the year of our Lord 2016."

ITEM 12. ADJOURNMENT - The agenda having been completed, and there being no further business, there was a