6,924

Port Allen, Louisiana

September 16, 2015

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, Sr., Rose A. Lee Roche’, G. Alden Chustz, Jr., Michael A. Maranto, Teri Bergeron

President Manola asked Mrs. Teri Bergeron, board member, to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

The next item was approval of the minutes of the Special Board meeting held on September 8, 2015.

Whereupon, on motion of Dr. Walker, and seconded by Mr. Goudeau, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:

Be It Resolved, That approval of the minutes of the special board meeting held on September 8, 2015, be approved as presented.

The next item was a report from Community Agencies: a) Introduction of Mr. Edmond Jordan, Candidate for State Representative District 29 and   b) Introduction of Mrs. Carolyn Hill/BESE Representative District 8.

The next item was Educational Presentations:  

a) Recognition of Teacher-of-the-Year/Elementary, Middle, High Schools

b) Introduction of new teachers for 2015-16

c) Introduction of Teachers & Support Employees with Perfect Attendance for 2014-15

The next item was a) recognition of Teacher-of-the-Year for Elementary, Middle, High Schools:  Whereupon, Ms. Charlotte Blanchard, Supervisor of Child Welfare and Attendance, recognized the following Teachers-of-the-Year:

Elementary School

Jessica Cicero – Brusly Elementary School

Middle School

Ashley LeJeune - Brusly Middle School

High School

Amy Hernandez – Brusly High School

Mrs. Blanchard thanked the following members of the selection committee:

Middle and High School Committee:  Ms. Sharon Lair, Ms. Dawn Henry, Ms. Mary Arrasmith, Ms. Charlotte Blanchard

Elementary Committee:  Ms. Cindy Ourso, Ms. Crystal Leon, Ms. Heidi Grissom, Dr. David Strauss

The Chairman declared the floor open for public comment.

Whereupon, President Manola and the members of the board commended and congratulated Ms. Cicero, Ms. LeJeune, and Ms. Hernandez for the honor and distinction of being named Teacher of the Year and for their interest in the education of the students in the West Baton Rouge Parish School System.

The next item was introduction of new teachers for 2015-16.  Superintendent Watts called on the principals to introduce their new faculty members.

The next item was introduction of employees with perfect attendance for the 2014-15 school year:

TEACHERS                              ($500 Each)

Brusly Elementary                        Meagan Madere, Allison Parnell, Robyn Wiggins

Brusly High                                  Harold Boudreaux, Steven Parsons, Brady Perry, Mary McKenna, Erik Willis, Lisa Morgan

Devall Middle School                    Allison Johnson, Cynthia West

Lukeville Upper Elementary           Tyla LoBue

Port Allen Elementary                  Kathryn Hill, Yashica Murphy, Robyn LeBlanc

Port Allen High                             Dr. Rose Thompson

Port Allen Middle                          Olivia Tucker

SUPPORT EMPLOYEES    ($400 Each)

Brusly Elementary                         Jaime Zimmerman

Brusly High                                   Aimee Rabalais, Nancy Cipriano

Cohn Elementary                         Margie Oubre

Port Allen Elementary                    Zenobia Venable

The Chairman declared the floor open for public comment.

 Whereupon, President Manola and the members of the board commended and congratulated the above employees for their dedication and effort to maintain perfect attendance for the 2014-15 school year.

The next item was the Superintendent’s Report: Resolution of condolences for the family of Mr. Nolan Brown, retired bus operator.

Whereupon, on motion of Dr. Walker and seconded by Mrs. Roche’, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:

Be It Resolved, That the members of the West Baton Rouge Parish School Board do hereby extend to the family of Mr. Nolan Brown, retired bus operator, their feelings of sincere appreciation for the many years of dedicated service to the students of West Baton Rouge Parish rendered by Mr. Brown during his employment as a bus operator, and

Be It Further Resolved, That the Board does hereby extend to the family of Mr. Nolan Brown their sincere sympathy and condolences.

The next item was consideration of the following items on the Consent Agenda:

7. Consideration of approval and adoption of the Pupil Progression Plan for 2015-16 as presented by Ms. Dawn Henry/Supervisor of Instruction (Academics Committee Report 9/8/15)

8. Consideration of request for approval of the monthly expenditures and financial reports/Jared Gibbs (Personnel & Finance Committee Report 9/8/15)

9. Consideration of request for approval and adoption of amendment to the 2014-15 Consolidated Budget/Jared Gibbs (Personnel & Finance Committee Report 9/8/15)

10. Consideration of request to discuss the report on support positions that are maxed out over ten (10) years on their respective salary schedule at the Personnel & Finance Committee meeting on October 13, 2015/Superintendent Watts (Personnel & Finance Committee Report 9/8/15)

11. Consideration of approval of the request to adopt the Louisiana Compliance and Systems Questionnaire (for audit engagements of Government agencies) Jared Gibbs/ (Personnel & Finance Committee Report 9/8/15)

The Chairman declared the floor open for public comment.

Whereupon, on motion of Mr. Maranto and seconded by Mr. LeBlanc, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:

Be It Resolved, That the board does hereby approve and adopt Consent Agenda Items #7, #8, #9, #10, and #11 as presented.

The next item was End of Consent Agenda item #12: Consideration of request to present quotes for the board’s insurance renewal coverage for the period beginning October 1, 2015/October 1, 2016, to be presented by Charles R. Landry, Agent/Regions Insurance and #13: Adoption of a resolution authorizing the Superintendent to sign the form rejecting uninsured/underinsured motorists coverage/Charlie Landry/Agent

The Chairman declared the floor open for public comment.

Whereupon, Mr. Landry presented the premium summary quotes on the following:

LARMA Package (Auto Liability, Medical Payments, General Liability, Crime Coverages, School Leaders E & O)

The Chairman declared the floor open for public comment.

Whereupon, on motion of Dr. Walker and seconded by Mr. Craig Sarradet, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:

Be It Resolved, That the board does hereby accept and approve the quotes in the amount of $593,605 for the period beginning 10/01/15 - 10/01/16 for the Board’s insurance renewal coverage as presented this date by Charles R. Landry, Agent/Regions Insurance.

The next item was End of Consent Agenda Item #13: Consideration of adoption of a resolution authorizing the Superintendent to sign the form rejecting uninsured/underinsured motorists coverage/Charlie Landry, Agent.

The Chairman declared the floor open for public comment.

Whereupon, on motion of Mr. Toby Sarradet and seconded by Mrs. Rose A. Lee Roche’, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:

Be It Resolved, That the board does hereby authorize the superintendent to sign the required form rejecting uninsured/underinsurance motorists coverage for the period October 1, 2015 to October 1, 2016, as requested by Charlie Landry, Agent.

Mr. Landry reported that the board would be receiving funds in the amount of $12,377 from a Grant reflecting the board’s equity stake in the LARMA Program. The funds must be used for anything promoting safety on school campuses.

The next item was End of Consent Agenda Item #14: Organizational Items: Committee Meeting Date: October 13, 2015; Board Retreat: October 13, 2015, immediately following the Committee Meeting; Change date of Board Meeting to October 20, 2015:

The Chairman declared the floor open for public comment.

Whereupon, on motion of Mrs. Roche’ and seconded by Dr. Walker, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:

Be It Resolved, That the date of the regular board meeting in October be moved to Tuesday, October 20, 2015.

The next End of Consent Agenda item was #15: Review of expulsion appeal/Executive Session.

The Chairman declared the floor open for public comment.

Whereupon, Mr. Manola recognized Mrs. Charlotte Blanchard, Supervisor of Child Welfare and Attendance, to address the board relative to End of Consent Agenda item #15.

Mrs. Blanchard informed the board that the family members and student were not present, therefore the expulsion appeal would be cancelled for this reason.

There being no further business to come before the board, on motion of Mr. Toby Sarradet and Seconded by Mr. Chustz, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:

Be It Resolved, That the meeting be adjourned.

Wes Watts                                           Jason P. Manola

Wes Watts                                            Jason P. Manola

Secretary-Treasurer                                President