6,939

 

Port Allen, Louisiana

January 20, 2016

 

A regular meeting of the West Baton Rouge Parish School Board was held this date with the following membership:

 

Present:            Jason P. Manola, President, Craig Sarradet, Toby Sarradet, Dr. Atley D. Walker, Sr., Ronald P. LeBlanc, Leon N. Goudeau, Rose A. Lee Roche’, Michael A. Maranto, Teri Bergeron

Absent:             G. Alden Chustz, Jr.

 

Lindsay Cipriano, Brusly Middle School student, and Natalie Kershaw, Lukeville Upper Elementary School student, lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

The next item was approval of the minutes of the regular board meeting held on December 16, 2015.

 

Whereupon, the following resolution was offered by Dr. Walker and seconded by Mr. Goudeau:

 

Be It Resolved, That the minutes of the regular board meeting held on December 16, 2015, be approved as presented.

 

The above resolution was adopted by the following vote:

Present:            Mr. Craig Sarradet, Mr. Toby Sarradet, Dr. Walker, Mr. LeBlanc, Mr. Goudeau, Mrs. Roche’, Mr. Maranto, Mrs. Bergeron, Mr. Manola

Absent:             Mr. Chustz

 

The next item was educational presentations.  Whereupon, the following Teacher of the Year from each school was recognized:

Brusly Elementary School                      Melissa Stallings

Port Allen Elementary School                 Stacey Snellgrove

Brusly Middle School                             Gretchen Hurst

Cohn Elementary School                       Hollie Williams

Lukeville Upper Elementary School         Samantha Olivier

Chamberlin Elementary School              Carla Bellelo

Devall Middle School                             Allison Johnson

Brusly High School                                Elizabeth Neighbor

Port Allen High School                           Robert L. Seals, Sr.

 

Whereupon, the following District Teachers of the Year were recognized:

Elementary School Teacher of the Year              Samantha Olivier/Lukeville Upper Elementary School

Middle School Teacher of the Year                     Gretchen Hurst/Brusly Middle School

High School Teacher of the Year                        Robert L. Seals, Sr./Port Allen High School

                                                                                                                                               

The next item was the Superintendent’s Report:

a)     Announced that the State declared February 1-5, 2016, National School Counselor’s Week.

b)     Announced that the Brusly High School and Port Allen High School Beta Clubs had received awards at the State Beta Club Convention.

c)     Announced that the WBR Museum is sponsoring an exhibition dedicated to the legacy of Cohn High School. The exhibition opens on January 30th through March 20th and a reception will be held on February 28th from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

 

The Chairman declared the floor open for public comment.

 

Whereupon, the following resolution was offered by Mrs. Roche’ and seconded by Mr. Goudeau:

 

Be It Resolved, That the members of the West Baton Rouge Parish School Board do hereby express their appreciation to Dr. Julie Rose, Director, West Baton Rouge Museum, and Dr. Angelique Bergeron, Curator, West Baton Rouge Museum, for organizing the exhibit featuring the history of Cohn High School which will be on display from February 2, 2016,  through March 20, 2016, and for organizing the reception to be held at the WBR Museum, February 28, 2016, from 2:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M., and

 

Be It Further Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to Dr. Julie Rose and Dr. Angelique Bergeron.

 

The above resolution was adopted by the following vote:

Aye:                 Mr. Craig Sarradet, Mr. Toby Sarradet, Dr. Walker, Mr. LeBlanc, Mr. Goudeau, Mrs. Roche’, Mr. Maranto, Mrs. Bergeron, Mr. Manola

Nay:                 None

Absent:             Mr. Chustz

 

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

8.         Consideration of request to adopt and approve the 2014-15 Annual Audit Report as presented by Mr. C. Michael Schexnayder/Postlethwaite & Netterville (Personnel and Finance Committee Report 1/12/16)

9.         Consideration of request for approval of the monthly expenditures and financial reports/Jared Gibbs (Personnel and Finance Committee Report 1/12/16)

10.       Consideration of request to approve and adopt a certain change in the terminology of Policy DIC/Inventories as presented by Jared Gibbs, Supervisor of Business Services (Personnel and Finance Committee Report 1/12/16)

11.       Consideration of request to approve the adoption of a resolution opposing the approval of new schools for Baton Rouge as a local Charter Authorizer/Wes Watts (Personnel and Finance Committee Report 1/12/16)

12.       Consideration of request to approve and adopt the proposed School Calendar for 2016-17 as presented by Superintendent Watts (Personnel and Finance Committee Report 1/12/16)

13.       Consideration of request to include adoption of the Strategic Plan on the End of Consent agenda for the board meeting on January 20, 2016/Superintendent Watts (Personnel and Finance Committee Report 1/12/16)

14.       Consideration of request to contact Scott Richard, Executive Director of the Louisiana School Boards Association, relative to resolutions which would allow local school districts to track the location of students leaving their current system and transferring to other school districts in Louisiana. (This item will be an End of Consent Agenda item at the regular board meeting on January 20, 2016.) (Personnel and Finance Committee Report 1/12/16)

15.       Consideration of request to approve moving the February 9th committee meeting to Wednesday, February 10th due to the Mardi Gras holiday on February 9, 2016. (Personnel and Finance Committee Report 1/12/16)

 

The Chairman declared the floor open for public comment.

 

Whereupon, the following resolution was offered by Mr. LeBlanc and seconded by Mrs. Roche’:

Be It Resolved, That the board does hereby approve and adopt Consent Agenda items #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, and #15 as presented.

 

The above resolution was adopted by the following vote:

Aye:                 Mr. Craig Sarradet, Mr. Toby Sarradet, Dr. Walker, Mr. LeBlanc, Mr. Goudeau, Mrs. Roche’, Mr. Maranto, Mrs. Bergeron, Mr. Manola

Nay:                 None

Absent:             Mr. Chustz

 

The next item was End of Consent agenda item #16: Consideration and action with respect to adopting a resolution, which allows local School Districts to track the location of students leaving their current system and transferring to other school districts in Louisiana.

 

Whereupon, Superintendent Watts reported that he had researched other school systems and no resolutions had been adopted relative to this particular item and BESE cannot release this information due to privacy laws.

 

Mr. Manola directed Superintendent Watts to request Mr. Bob Hammonds, the board’s legal advisor, to compose a resolution allowing school districts to track the location of students leaving their current system and transferring to other school districts in Louisiana, and that the resolution be forwarded to the board’s Legislative representatives.

                                                                                                                                               

The next item was End of Consent agenda item #17: Consideration of request to approve and adopt the Strategic Plan prepared by Superintendent Watts and presented at the committee meeting on January 12, 2016, to be included on the End of Consent Agenda at the board meeting on January 20, 2016.

 

The Chairman declared the floor open for public comment.

 

Whereupon, the following resolution was offered by Mr. Toby Sarradet and seconded by Mr. Maranto:

 

Be It Resolved, That the board does hereby approve and adopt the Strategic Plan for 2016-2020 as presented by Superintendent Watts.

 

The above resolution was adopted by the following vote:

Aye:                 Mr. Craig Sarradet, Mr. Toby Sarradet, Dr. Walker, Mr. LeBlanc, Mr. Goudeau, Mrs. Roche’, Mr. Maranto, Mrs. Bergeron, Mr. Manola

Nay:                 None

Absent:             Mr. Chustz

 

The next item was Organizational Items: Committee Meeting Date: February 10, 2016, and Board meeting date: February 17, 2016.

 

The next item was any other business unanimously approved by the board for consideration.

 

The Chairman declared the floor open for public comment.

 

Whereupon, Mr. Joey Normand, Mayor of Brusly, requested that he be allowed to address the board.

 

It was the unanimous decision of the board members present that Mr. Manola, board president, approve Mayor Joey Normand’s request to address the board.

 

Whereupon, Mayor Normand expressed his concerns regarding certain decisions that are being made by the LHSAA relative to select versus non-select schools.  Mayor Norman suggested that the members of the board contact other school districts relative to this issue.

 

There being no further business to come before the board, the following resolution was offered by Mr. LeBlanc and seconded by Mr. Goudeau:

 

Be It Resolved, That the meeting be adjourned.

 

The above resolution was adopted by the following vote:

Aye:                 Mr. Craig Sarradet, Mr. Toby Sarradet, Dr. Walker, Mr. LeBlanc, Mr. Goudeau, Mrs. Roche’, Mr. Maranto, Mrs. Bergeron, Mr. Manola

Nay:                 None

Absent:             Mr. Chustz

 

 

Wes Watts                                           Jason P. Manola

Wes Watts                                           Jason P. Manola

Secretary-Treasurer                               President