6,821
Port Allen, Louisiana
May 21, 2014
A regular meeting of the West Baton Rouge Parish School Board was held this date with the following members present:
Jason P. Manola, President, Craig Sarradet, Toby Sarradet, Dr. Atley D. Walker, Sr.,, Ronald P. LeBlanc, Leon Goudeau, Thelma L. Pattan, G. Alden Chustz, Jr., Michael A. Maranto, Teri Bergeron
Logan Berthelot, BMS Student of the Year and Middle School Regional Student of the Year, and Margarite LaBorde, High School Student of the Year, led the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Invocation was presented by Dr. Atley D. Walker, Sr.
The next item was approval of the minutes of the regular board meeting held on April 16, 2014, and the special meeting held on April 30, 2014.
Whereupon, on motion of Dr. Walker and seconded by Mr. Chustz, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:
Be It Resolved, That the minutes of the regular board meeting held on April 16, 2014, and the minutes of the special board meeting held on April 30, 2014, be approved as presented.
The next item was educational presentations. Whereupon, Superintendent Corona introduced Mrs. Claudette Purnell, Director of the WBR All Parish Choir. Mrs. Purnell introduced the members of the Choir and Mr. Jim Barnett, keyboard accompanist.
The choir presented a medley of songs. Superintendent Corona and the members of the Board thanked Mrs. Purnell, Mr. Barnett, and the members of the Choir for their presentation.
The next item was recognition of Students of the Year by Charlotte Blanchard.
Elementary School: Isabella Matthews/LUES Middle School: Logan Berthelot, BMS and
Regional Middle School Student of the Year High School: Margarite LaBorde/PAHS
The next item was recognition of State Literary Rally Winners/BHS
Emily Palermo 1st Place/English IV
Emma Wallace 2nd Place/Journalism
Katelyn Anderson 2nd Place/Parenthood Education
Jeffery Corbin 2nd Place/Spanish II
Robert DeSoto 2nd Place/World Geography
Brett Bell 2nd Place/World History
The next item was recognition of 2nd Place Winner State Contest/National History WWII Museum/Margarite LaBorde/PAHS Student Margarite LaBorde, 2nd Place Senior Written Paper Division Winner at the Louisiana State History Day Competition at the WW II Museum in New Orleans. Margarite will be attending the National History Day competition in Baltimore, Maryland in June 2014.
Mr. Corona announced that winners were recognized at a reception earlier this afternoon.
President Manola expressed his sincere congratulations on behalf of the members of the Board and Superintendent Corona, to all students recognized today for their accomplishments and honors.
The Chairman declared the floor open for public comment.
The next item was the Superintendent’s Report. 1) Whereupon, Mr. Corona requested a resolution of condolences to the family of Mrs. Dorothy B. Chance, retired teacher and Reading Supervisor.
Whereupon, on motion of Mrs. Bergeron and seconded by Mr. Maranto, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:
Be It Resolved, That the West Baton Rouge Parish School Board does hereby extend to the family of Mrs. Dorothy B. Chance, its feeling of sincere appreciation for the many years of dedicated and devoted service rendered by Mrs. Chance in the West Baton Rouge Parish School System, and
Be It Further Resolved, That the board does hereby offer its sincere sympathy and condolences to the family of Mrs. Chance.
Superintendent’s Report:
2) Superintendent Corona congratulated the BHS Boys Baseball Team and Coaches for reaching the Class 3A Semifinal Round for the second year in a row.
Whereupon, on motion of Mr. Toby Sarradet and seconded by Dr. Walker, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:
Be It Resolved, That the West Baton Rouge Parish School Board members and Superintendent do hereby commend and congratulate the members of the BHS Boys Baseball Team and Coaching staff for advancing to the State Play Offs for the 2nd year in a row, and
Be It Further Resolved, That the members of the board and superintendent do hereby express their appreciation to the parents and supporters of the BHS Boys Baseball Team for their support.
Superintendent’s Report:
3) Superintendent Corona gave an update on the test scores received on May 19, 2014. Basic and above in Grades 3-8 better than last year. Mastery scores went up. The increase in the rigor of tests in Grades 3-8 may drop the District Performance Score slightly if at all. “I am very grateful for the work done by our teachers, principals, administrators, and students who all worked very hard and it has certainly paid dividends. I take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your hard work, patience, and professionalism.” He asked the board to consider adopting a resolution of appreciation to send home commending everyone for the good results of the test scores.
The Chairman declared the floor open for public comment.
Whereupon, on motion of Mrs. Bergeron and seconded by Mr. LeBlanc, the following
resolution was unanimously adopted:
Be It Resolved, That we, the ten (10) members of the West Baton Rouge Parish School Board, clearly recognize that the 2013-14 school year has been a very unique, challenging, and stressful school year for our employees. It has been so because of the continued transition to Common Core State Standards while at the same time, filling in academic gaps for our children, and undergoing a much more detailed evaluation system. We also recognize that you, our employees, have accepted the challenge of improving academic outcomes for our children with a vengeance. Because of that, we thank you for those efforts and we are proud that you have chosen to work in the West Baton Rouge Parish School System. Together, we will continue to make additional progress.
The next item was presentation of the Consent Agenda.
Whereupon, President Manola pulled Consent Agenda Item #11: Consideration of request for approval to adopt the salary schedule revisions increasing the annual salary of all employees in the amount of $830 annually to be effective July 1, 2014, as presented by Jared Gibbs .
(Personnel & Finance Committee Report 5/13/14) President Manola pulled this item to explain to the board members that were absent at the committee meeting on 5/13/14.
The Chairman declared the floor open for public comment.
Whereupon, on motion of Mr. Goudeau and seconded by Dr. Walker, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:
Be It Resolved, That the board does hereby approve and adopt Consent Agenda items #8, #9, #10, #12, and #13 as presented.
Mr. Jared Gibbs, Supervisor of Business Services, explained Consent Agenda Item #11 to the board members that were absent for the May 13th Personnel and Finance Committee meeting.
Whereupon, on motion of Mr. Maranto and seconded by Dr. Walker, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:
Be It Resolved, That the board does hereby approve and adopt Consent Agenda Item #11 as presented by Jared Gibbs, Supervisor of Business Services.
The next item was End of Consent agenda item #14: Adoption of the following 2014 Millage rates to be levied on the 2014 tax roll on all property subject to taxation by the West Baton Rouge Parish School Board:
Constitutional Tax 4.390 mills
Special Tax 15.000 mills
Salaries Tax 12.000 mills
The next item was End of Consent agenda item #15: Consideration of adoption of a resolution to DOTD relative to the problems in the WBR Parish School System caused by the daily traffic Delays.
The Chairman declared the floor open for public comment.
Whereupon, on motion of Mr. Toby Sarradet and seconded by Mr. Chustz, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:
Whereas, Because of the increase in the number of cars headed north on La. 1 coming from the Town of Brusly area and south, toward the City of Port Allen, ultimately with a great number of those cars lining up to cross the Mississippi River, the West Baton Rouge Parish School System is experiencing problems with school transportation via our bus system, and
Whereas, We are a two tier transportation system with the Brusly area being on the second tier, we are able to get our buses to the south end rather timely, but getting them back to the Port Allen area after the south end run has been an extreme challenge, and
Whereas, This problem can obviously create havoc for our children and their parents, therefore
Be It Resolved, That the West Baton Rouge Parish School Board is requesting that DOTD address this problem immediately.
The next End of Consent agenda item was #16: Discussion of the character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of the applicants for superintendent.
Whereupon, the following resolution was offered by Mr. Chustz and seconded by Mr. Toby Sarradet:
Be It Resolved, That the board declare itself in Executive Session for a discussion of the character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of the applicants for Superintendent.
The above resolution was adopted by the following vote:
Aye: Mr. Craig Sarradet, Mr. Toby Sarradet, Dr. Walker, Mr. LeBlanc, Mr. Goudeau, Mrs. Pattan, Mr. Chustz, Mr. Maranto, Mr. Manola
Nay: Mrs. Bergeron
Upon termination of the Executive Session, on motion of Dr. Walker and seconded by Mr. Pattan, the board declared itself in Open Session.
The next End of Consent agenda item was #17: Discussion and/or action concerning number of superintendent applicants to invite to interview with the board.
The Chairman declared the floor open for public comment.
Whereupon, on motion of Mr. Toby Sarradet and seconded by Mrs. Bergeron, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:
Be It Resolved, That the board accept four (4) of the applicants selected by B.W.P. and Associates, Ltd., to be interviewed for Superintendent.
The next End of Consent agenda item was #18: Discussion and/or action concerning the voting procedure to use in selection of superintendent applicants to invite to interview with the Board and date(s) for such interviews.
Mr. Jason Manola, President of the Board, presented the following procedure and guidelines that Mr. Bob Hammonds, Legal Advisor, recommended that the board consider using for selection of superintendent applicants to interview with the Board:
Each member will have a printed ballot with the names of the eight (8) candidates submitted to the board by B.W.P. and Associates, Ltd. The board member will write his/her name on the ballot. The board member will check four (4) of the eight (8) names as his/her choice to be interviewed.
Mr. Jason Manola, President of the Board, will summarize the ballots. He will announce the results of the summary and the board will select the four (4) candidates with the most votes.
In the event of a tie – Example: If three (3) candidates have the most votes and 4th, 5th, 6th all Tie, then there will be a second round of votes for the 4th applicant and only the names of those tied will be voted on for the 4th position.
The Chairman declared the floor open for public comment.
Whereupon, on motion of Mr. Chustz and seconded by Mr. Craig Sarradet, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:
Be It Resolved, That the procedure outlined by Mr. Jason Manola, President of the Board, be used in the voting procedure for selection of four (4) superintendent applicants to interview with the Board.
Whereupon, Mr. Manola gave each board member a printed ballot with the names of the eight (8) candidates submitted by B.W.P. and Associates, Ltd.
President Manola summarized the ballots as follows:
Craig Sarradet Joey Comeaux, Frances Annette Mire, Cindy Ourso, Wesley Watts
Toby Sarradet Dr. John Jackson, Frances Annette Mire, Cindy Ourso, Wesley Watts
Dr. Atley D. Walker,Sr. Dr. John Jackson, Frances Annette Mire, Cindy Ourso, Wesley Watts
Ronald P. LeBlanc Dr. John Jackson, Frances Annette Mire, Cindy Ourso, Wesley Watts
Leon Goudeau Dr. John Jackson, Frances Annette Mire, Cindy Ourso, Wesley Watts
Thelma L. Pattan Dr. John Jackson, Frances Annette Mire, Cindy Ourso, Wesley Watts
G. Alden Chustz,Jr. Dr. John Jackson, Frances Annette Mire, Cindy Ourso, Wesley Watts
Michael Maranto Dr. John Jackson, Frances Annette Mire, Cindy Ourso, Wesley Watts
Teri Bergeron Dr. John Jackson, Frances Annette Mire, Cindy Ourso, Wesley Watts
Jason P. Manola Dr. John Jackson, Frances Annette Mire, Cindy Ourso, Wesley Watts
(The ballots will be included in the official minutes of this meeting.)
Mr. Manola presented the following tabulation of votes reflecting the four (4) candidates with the most votes that will be interviewed by the board.
Dr. John Jackson 9
Frances Annette Mire 10
Cindy Ourso 10
Wesley Watts 10
Mr. Manola stated that the board would determine the interview dates and inform the four (4) candidates of the date of their interview.
The next End of Consent agenda item was the date of the committee meeting on June 10, 2014, and the board meeting on June 18, 2014.
There being no further business to come before the board, on motion of Dr. Walker and seconded by Mr. LeBlanc, the meeting was adjourned.
_David Corona_______
David Corona
Secretary
_Jason P. Manola__
Jason P. Manola
President