ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
MINUTES OF THE AUGUST 15-16, 2022 SCHOOL BOARD RETREAT
MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2022
The board retreat was held at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 4914 Constitution Avenue, Baton Rouge, LA.
School Board President Nia Mitchell-Williams, called the retreat to order at 9:04 a.m., followed by the Lord’s Prayer, led by Mr. Triche, and the Pledge of Allegiance, led by Mr. Wallace
Roll Call:
Present: Charo Holden, Gerald Keller, Sherry DeFrancesch, Debra Schum, Shawn Wallace, Clarence Triche, Nia Mitchell-Williams.
Absent: Albert Burl, III, Patrick Sanders, Keith Jones, Phillip Johnson.
With 7 present and 4 absent, there was a quorum.
Mrs. Mitchell-Williams delivered her opening remarks, welcoming everyone and thanking everyone for being present. She stated that the agenda was packed with learning opportunities for all Board members and asked that everyone please stay focused and be consistent with our timing.
Ø Educational Trends, Research and Policy ~ Dr. Jonathan Williams (9:04 a.m.-10:36 a.m.)
Mrs. Mitchell-Williams stated that Dr. Jonathan Williams is a National Leadership Coach, supporting schools around the country. He began his career as a classroom teacher and quickly moved into administrative/leadership roles. He has been coaching and developing leaders for more than a decade.
Mr. Patrick Sanders and Mr. Keith Jones arrived at 9:09 a.m. and was recorded as present.
Dr. Jonathan Williams interacted with the Board Members and led the following instruction:
v Academic Updates ~ Curriculum Team – Curriculum Department Implementation Plan (10:46 a.m.-11:50 a.m.)
The following information was presented to the Board by Drenean Brown and Rachael Chaney, Supervisors of Curriculum:
Ø Testing & Accountability Data ~ Claude Hill, Director of Data Management; Dr. Juanita Hill, Assistant Superintendent; Shannon Smith-Magee, Data & Reporting Supervisor (12:15-1:30 p.m.)
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A working lunch was served while the following information was presented to the Board and extensive discussion was held:
Ø Powers Duties and Responsibilities of the Board ~ Courtney Joiner, Attorney (1:30-2:45 p.m.)
Attorney Courtney Joiner presented the following instruction:
Ø Capital Projects ~ Capital Planning & Managing a Bond Program ~ Marco Gonzales, Asst. Vice President of Volkert, Inc. (2:45-3:45 p.m.)
Mr. Gonzales and the Board discussed the process of priortizing the Capital Projects list and following lengthy discussion, the Board will have a Workshop soon to officially complete this task. Mr. Gonzales introduced Mr. Clay Slagle, who will be the Project Manager for our Bond Projects.
Ø Leadership Development ~ Dr. Ronicka Brisco (4:00-5:00 p.m.)
Dr. Brisco led discussion with the Board members, through her presentation, regarding the Vision, Mission and Core Beliefs of the School Board and Values Clarification & Alighment in Service of the Collective Mission.
Ø Presentations
· Presentation by M3A Architecture (5:00-5:30 p.m.) – A presentation was made regarding the various work done by M3A Architecture on school districts.
· Presentation by Dr. George Green – (5:30-6:00 p.m.) – A presentation was made regarding solar panels.
Ø Recess
A motion was made by Mr. Jones, seconded by Dr. Keller, to recess and reconvene Tuesday, August 16, 2022 at 9:00 a.m.
Roll Call:
8 Yeas: Holden, Keller, Sanders, DeFrancesch, Jones, Schum, Wallace, Triche, Mitchell-Williams
3 Absent: Burl, Johnson, Mitchell-Williams
Motion carried.
The Board recessed at 6:07 p.m.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2022
The Chair called the meeting to order and called for a moment of silent meditation and the Pledge of Allegiance. She then called for a Roll Call:
Roll Call:
8 Present – Holden, Keller, DeFrancesch, Jones, Schum, Wallace, Triche, Mitchell-Williams
3 Absent – Burl, Sanders, Johnson
A motion was made by Mr. Jones, seconded by Mr. Triche to reconvene in Regular Session
Roll Call:
8 Yeas – Holden, Keller, DeFrancesch, Jones, Schum, Wallace, Triche, Mitchell-Williams
3 Absent – Burl, Sanders, Johnson
Motion carried.
The board reconvened in Regular Session on Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 9:02 a.m.
With 9 present and 2 absent, there was a quorum.
Ø Head Start Governance Training ~ Melissa Watson, Director of Early Childhood (9:15-10:15 a.m.)
Ø Open Meetings Law ~ Orenthal Jasmin, Asst. District Attorney, St. John the Baptist Parish (10:00-11:30 a.m.)
Asst. District Attorney Orenthal Jasmin, led the following instruction regarding Open Meetings Law:
Ø Human Resources Update ~ Curt Green, Director of Human Resources
Dr. Green shared the following information:
Ø Discussion on Strategic Planning Process ~ Rebecca Johnson, Interim Superintendent
A video conference call was held with Dina Hasiotis (Attuned Partners) regarding St. John Schools joining the Cohort 3 of Strong School Systems, who shared the strategic planning partnership and discussed the Board’s role in this process. The process begins at the end of this month, and by being part of the LDOE Cohort, there will be several meetings for all school systems to participate in. These meetings, which will occur in addition to the meetings facilitated by Javeria with the St. John's team, will occur in the next few weeks.
Ø Discussion on Superintendent Search Process ~ Nia Mitchell-Williams / Bob Hammonds
Discussion was held regarding the process of a Superintendent’s Search with Mr. Bob Hammond. He stated that one of the most important things to know is the qualifications of a Superintendent that are important to the Board. He stated that thereare only 3-4 legal requirements for the search. Those are: 1. Must advertise the vacancy on 2 or more occasions, at least 1 week apart in the official journal and once in a major journal with a large subscription); 2. Following the last advertising, a superintendent cannot be selected for at least 30 days (interviews, background checks, reference checks, etc. can all take place during this 30 days); 3. A majority vote of the total membership of the Board is required for selection, which is 6 votes for our district; 4. The superintendnent must receive a written contract.
The first important decision is to whether you will use a national search firm or conduct a local search. Extensive discussion was held regarding this topic.
Ø Adjournment
With all training and updates having been addressed, a motion was made by Mr. Jones, seconded by Mr. Wallace to adjourn. There were no objections.
The meeting adjourned at 1:39 p.m.
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Nia Mitchell-Williams, President
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Rebecca Johnson, Interim Superintendent