PARISH OF DESOTO
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Mansfield, Louisiana
December 2, 2021
The DeSoto Parish School Board met in regular session at the DeSoto Parish School Board Instructional Materials Center, 523 Oxford Road, Mansfield, Louisiana, on Thursday, December 2, 2021, at 6:00 p.m. with the following members present:
Dudley M. Glenn, Dr. Neil Henderson, Donald B. Dufour, Alice Thomas, Coday Johnston, Dale Morvan, Mark Ross, Thomas Craig, Jr., Bobby Boyd, Rosie Mayweather, and Clay Corley, Superintendent.
Absent: Jeffrey Dillard, *Mr. Craig entered the meeting after the vote was taken on Item 3.
Item 1: Call to order
Mr. Morvan called the meeting to order and asked to please remember the families of those who recently lost loved ones as well as those facing health issues. Mr. Ross led the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
Item 2: Revisions to the agenda.
There were no revisions to the agenda.
Item 3: Approval of minutes
Motion was made by Ms. Thomas, seconded by Mr. Boyd, to approve the minutes of the regular Board meeting of November 4, 2021. The vote was taken and the President stated the motion carried with the following votes – Yes = 9, No = 0, Absent = 2, and Abstentions = 0.
Item 4: Great News
Mr. Corley made everyone aware that our district recently began a new contest, or challenge, between our schools, to emphasize and reward the importance of teacher attendance. Each month, the school with the highest average percentage of teacher attendance will receive a banner to hang in their school for a month; lunch will be provided for the faculty on the day following the announcement; and faculty, staff and students will be allowed to wear jeans for a week. DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office will provide lunch for the winning school on Friday, December 3. He then introduced HR Director Janice Lingle to give more details and present the award.
Mrs. Lingle explained that each week the score tracker update is published in the DeSoto Dispatch and the first school to win this award is Logansport High School with an average teacher attendance of 95.46% for the month of November. The banner was presented to Principal Diana Curtis, Assistant Principal Kelley McConathy and Administrative Assistant Chris Thomas.
Mr. Morvan expressed gratitude to leadership for supporting teachers and schools in this way, while continuing to make teachers aware of how vitally important their attendance is to the students.
Item 5: Report of the Budget/Finance Committee meeting held on November 17, 2021.
a. Motion was made by Mr. Boyd, seconded by Mr. Glenn, to approve the minutes of the November 17, 2021, meeting as presented. The vote was taken and the President stated the motion carried with the following votes – Yes = 10, No = 0, Absent = 1, and Abstentions = 0.
b. Motion was made by Mr. Craig, seconded by Mr. Glenn, to approve budget revisions for the General Fund as presented. The vote was taken and the President stated the motion carried with the following votes – Yes = 10, No = 0, Absent = 1, and Abstentions = 0.
Item 6: Board policies for review
Board policies, listed below, were presented for review. These policies will be presented for approval at the January 2022 Board meeting.
a. DJE –Purchasing
b. DJED –Bids and Quotations
c. GBRH –Employee Leaves and Absences
d. GBRHA – Sick Leave
e. IHAD-Parent Conferences
f. JG –Student Welfare
g. JQA –Expectant and Parenting Students
Item 7: Board policies for approval
Board policies, listed below, were presented for approval.
a. BE – School Board Ethics
b. GBCA – Protection of Criminal Background Information
c. ID - Curriculum
d. IDCC - Kindergarten
e. IDDF - Education of Students with Exceptionalities
f. IDDFC – Cameras in Special Education Classrooms
g. JBA – Compulsory School Attendance Ages
h. JBC – School Admission
i. JBCE – Public School Choice
j. JR – Student Privacy and Education Records
Motion was made by Mr. Glenn, seconded by Mr. Boyd, to approve the policies as presented. The vote was taken and the President stated the motion carried with the following votes – Yes = 10, No = 0, Absent = 1, and Abstentions = 0.
Board Members expressed appreciation for school staff and school resource officers for their ongoing attention to and protection of students and our schools. Mr. Corley added that research shows the single most important item in preventing school violence is a positive relationship between students and faculty. A positive school climate and having an adult that has a positive relationship with each student on the campus is of utmost importance. The Student Advisory Council had a good discussion about this yesterday.
Item 8: Comments
Superintendent Corley made Board Members and the public aware:
· The Louisiana Department of Education will release simulated DPS scores at 10am on Friday, December 3. We are very proud of the hard work of our school administrators, faculty and staff in spite of the additional challenges they faced while continuing to support student learning during the past year.
· Logansport High School will host Oak Grove High School Friday night as the football playoffs continue. Logansport will go to the state championship game in New Orleans with a win, so come out and support them Friday night to see a great football game.
· We are in the process of planning the school calendar for 2022-2023, so please review the current year’s calendar provided in your packet and contact us with any input for next year’s calendar. School leaders and advisory councils will provide input for the calendar.
· This is the final Board meeting for 2021 - Merry Christmas to everyone.
Item 9: Adjournment
At President Morvan’s request, Ms. Alice Thomas provided a prayer to close out the last Board meeting of 2021. On a motion by Mrs. Mayweather, seconded by Mr. Boyd, the Board voted to adjourn at 6:33 p.m.
Dale Morvan, President Clay Corley, Secretary
DeSoto Parish School Board DeSoto Parish School Board