Central Community Schools

School Board Meeting

04/08/2024 06:00 PM

Central Administrative Office

11576 Sullivan Road

Central, LA 70818

MEETING MINUTES

Voting Members

1.        Call to Order

Chairperson Roxanne Atkinson called to order the Regular School Board Meeting of the Central Community School Board on Monday, April 8, 2024, at the Central Administrative Office, at 6:00 P.M.

2.        Prayer

Prayer led by Mr. Hooper

3.        Pledge

4.        Roll Call

Tracy Barnes conducted a roll call. The following persons were present:  Roxanne Atkinson, Nick Carmena, Mike Davis, Michael Hooper, Jason Leaphart, Carol Norwood and David Walker. A quorum was present.

5.        To consider approval of the minutes from the Regular School Board Meeting held on Monday, March 11, 2024 and take appropriate action.

A motion was made by Mr. Davis and seconded by Ms. Norwood to approve the minutes from the Regular School Board Meeting held on Monday, March 11, 2024. There being no objections, the motion passed.

6.        To receive the Superintendent's report on personnel (Dr. Fountain)

Board members received a report of one (1) Resignation. This was a report only and required no action.
Board members received a report of two (2) Appointments. This was a report only and required no action.
Board members received a report of one (1) Reassignment. This was a report only and required no action.

7.        To receive a report from the Finance Committee Meeting held on Monday, March 25, 2024 and take appropriate action regarding the following:

a.        2023-2024 Revised General Fund Budget

The committee recommended approval of the Revised 2023-2024 General Fund Budget as presented by the staff. A motion was made by Mr. Hooper to approve the committee's recommendation. There being no objections, the motion passed.

b.       2023-2024 Revised Capital Projects Budget

The committee recommended approval of the Revised 2023-2024 Capital Projects Budget as presented by the staff. A motion was made by Mr. Hooper to approve the committee's recommendation. There being no objections, the motion passed.

c.        2023-2024 Revised Debt Service Budget

The committee recommended approval of the Revised 2023-2024 Debt Service Budget as presented by the staff. A motion was made by Mr. Hooper to approve the committee's recommendation. There being no objections, the motion passed.

d.       Funds dedicated for baseball renovations

The committee recommended approval to use $2 million for baseball renovations and $500,000 for theater renovations. A motion was made by Mr. Hooper to approve the committee's recommendation. There being no objections, the motion passed.

8.        To receive a report from the Facilities/Equipment Committee Meeting held on Monday, March 25, 2024 and take appropriate action regarding the following:

a.        Proposed Change Orders for weight room renovation and softball locker room project at CHS

The committee recommended approval of three (3) proposed Change Orders for the weight room renovation and softball locker room project at Central High School, as presented by the staff. A motion was made by Dr. Walker to approve the committee's recommendation. There being no objections, the motion passed.

b.       Alternative Center expansion

The committee recommended approval of expanding the Alternative Center by renting an additional 1,000 square feet of adjacent space, increasing the monthly rent by $1,000 ($3,000/month total), and to cover the cost to renovate and combine the two spaces. A motion was made by Dr. Walker to approve the committee's recommendation. There being no objections, the motion passed.

9.        To receive a report from the Curriculum/Instruction/Accountability/Student Services Committee Meeting held on Monday, March 25, 2024 and take appropriate action regarding the following:

a.        K-9 unit at Central High School

Committee members discussed the possible addition of a K-9 unit at Central High School. This was a report only and required no action.

b.       Proposed changes to the Student Handbook for the 2024-2025 School Year

Committee members discussed proposed changes to the Student Handbook for the 2024-2025 School Year. The superintendent is going to send a copy of the recommended student handbook changes to parents this week to allow parents to give feedback. Then, at the April 29th committee meeting, committee members will be presented with this feedback, so the school board can decide on what to adopt at the May 13th school board meeting. This was a report only and required no action.

10.     To adopt a Resolution granting the Superintendent authorization to execute the Act of Cash Sale for property located at 12345 Devall Road and to make any revisions to the Sale Agreement not inconsistent with this resolution, to execute all ancillary documents related to the sale, and to take any other action to purchase the Property upon terms and conditions set forth in the Sale Agreement, subject to review and approval by the Central Community School's legal counsel, and take appropriate action. (Dr. Fountain)

A motion was made by Dr. Walker and seconded by Mr. Carmena to adopt a resolution granting the Superintendent authorization to execute the Act of Cash Sale for property located at 12345 Devall Road and to make any revisions to the Sale Agreement not inconsistent with this resolution, to execute all ancillary documents related to the sale, and to take any other action to purchase the Property upon terms and conditions set forth in the Sale Agreement, subject to review and approval by the Central Community School's legal counsel.
A roll call vote was taken for the board to adopt a resolution granting the Superintendent authorization to execute the Act of Cash Sale for property located at 12345 Devall Road and to make any revisions to the Sale Agreement not inconsistent with this resolution, to execute all ancillary documents related to the sale, and to take any other action to purchase the Property upon terms and conditions set forth in the Sale Agreement, subject to review and approval by the Central Community School's legal counsel and is as follows:
For:  Atkinson, Carmena, Davis, Hooper, Leaphart, Norwood, Walker
Against:  None
Absent:  None
Abstain:  None
There being seven (7) votes "For", zero (0) votes "Against", zero (0) votes "Absent", and zero (0) votes "Abstain", the motion passed.

11.     To consider the staff's recommendation to award the bid for General Custodial and Maintenance Services. (Dr. Fountain)

A motion was made by Mr. Davis and seconded by Ms. Norwood to approve the staff's recommendation to award the bid for General Maintenance and Custodial Services to HES and that the board president be given permission to sign the contract. There being no objections, the motion passed.

12.     To receive a report regarding Assurance of Employment Letters. (Dr. Fountain)

Board members received information regarding Assurance of Employment Letters. This was a report only and required no action.

13.     Superintendent's Report

We were excited to build learning around the Solar Eclipse today.  We spent a lot of time planning with schools to make this an instructive day, and we bought protective glasses for all students and staff.  As you all know, the weather permitted the viewing of the solar eclipse, but I wanted to thank our schools and their staff for preparing and still building instruction around the solar eclipse.  Hopefully, we’ll all be around to view the next one in 2044.  CHS Softball finishes their regular season today.  If they win, they will host a game later this week.  If they lose today, they will have to travel.  CHS Baseball completed a two-game sweep of Zachary last Saturday.  They play Woodlawn and Liberty this week and finish the regular season next Monday with a big home game versus Catholic.  Tanglewood Elementary School will hold their Journey Back in Time on April 19th from 8:20 – 3:00.  Journey Back in Time is Tanglewood’s hands-on, interactive museum.  The day will include guest speakers, pioneer period costumes, crafts, and activities representing daily pioneer life.  This will be a wonderful day of learning for our Tanglewood students.  Progress reports are sent home on April 25th.  On April 27th, the Central Community School System will have an item on the ballot to continue to levy and collect annually an ad valorem tax of 32.52 mills.  This 32.52 mills brings in an estimated $7.1 million per year.  This is strictly an operational millage that includes paying salaries and benefits of school personnel and other costs of maintaining and operating the school system.  This renewal would authorize the 32.52 mills for a period of 10 years, beginning in 2027 and ending in 2036.  I want to stress that this is a renewal – not a new tax.  This will not increase what tax payers pay each year.  This millage is critical for operating our school system.  A couple of people have asked me why we are putting it on the ballot now.  The Bond Commission recommends going out two years in advance of an ending millage.  This millage is set to expire at the end of 2026 so we are putting this to voters to secure this funding for the next ten years.  I just want to stress one more time the importance of this renewal for the operations of this school system.  We could not operate without this millage as it accounts for approximately 34% of our local funding.  We are asking the community to support this renewal on Saturday, April 27th.  Early voting begins this Saturday, April 13th and continues through Saturday, April 20th.  If anyone has a question around this renewal, please send me an email at jfountain@centralcss.org.  I promise to return any emails or calls.  Thank you!  Our next Committee Meetings will be on Monday, April 29th.  Our next board meeting will be on Monday, May 13th.

14.     Announcements

a.        The April Committee Meetings will be held on Monday, April 29th

b.       Next Regular School Board Meeting will be held on Monday, May 13th

15.     Adjourn

A motion was made by Ms. Atkinson to adjourn the meeting. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.