PARISH OF DESOTO

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Mansfield, Louisiana

January 6, 2022    

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, January 6, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. with the following members present:

Dudley M. Glenn, Dr. Neil Henderson, Jeffrey Dillard, Donald B. Dufour, Alice Thomas, Coday Johnston, Dale Morvan, Bobby Boyd, Rosie Mayweather and Clay Corley, Superintendent.

            Absent: Thomas Craig, Jr. and Mark Ross

Item 1:  Call to order

President Morvan called the meeting to order.  Mr. Corley and Board Members asked to please remember those with health issues, along with families who have lost loved ones.  Mrs. Mayweather 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:   To consider and take action with respect to adopting a resolution providing for canvassing the returns and declaring the results of the special election held in School District No. 3 of the Parish of DeSoto, State of Louisiana, on Saturday, December 11, 2021, to authorize the incurring of debt and issuance of bonds therein. 

Mr. Corley introduced Mr. Grant Schlueter, bond counsel from Foley Judell and Mr. Nnamdi Thompson, municipal advisor from Government Consultants.  Mr. Schlueter explained that approval of the resolution would allow them to move ahead with all the post election filings.   Motion was made by Mr. Johnston, seconded by Mr. Boyd to adopt the resolution as presented.  The vote was taken and the President stated the motion carried with the following votes – Yes = 9, No = 0, Absent = 2, and Abstentions = 0.

Resolution published separately.

Item 4:  To consider and take action with respect to adopting a resolution advertising for electronic bids for the purchase of General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2022, of School District No. 3 of the Parish of DeSoto, State of Louisiana, and providing for other matters in connection therewith.

Mr. Schlueter explained that this is the advertising resolution seeking competitive bids for the sale of the bonds.  It has been structured with Mr. Thompson as municipal advisor.  This resolution provides that bids will be received on February 9, 2022, at 11:0 a.m. and authorizes Superintendent Corley to receive the bids on that date and make the award.

Motion was made by Mr. Johnston, seconded by Mr. Dufour to adopt the resolution as presented.  The vote was taken and the President stated the motion carried with the following votes – Yes = 9, No = 0, Absent = 2, and Abstentions = 0.

*Resolution not included in packet at this time due to large size of file.

Item 5:  To consider and take action with respect to adopting a resolution authorizing the incurring of debt and issuance of General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2022 of School District No. 3 of the Parish of DeSoto, State of Louisiana; and providing for other matters in connection therewith.

Mr. Schlueter explained that this resolution sets forth the details of the bond issue.

Motion was made by Mr. Johnston, seconded by Mr. Glenn to approve the resolution as presented.  The vote was taken and the President stated the motion carried with the following votes – Yes = 9, No = 0, Absent = 2, and Abstentions = 0.

*Resolution not included in packet at this time due to large size of file.

Item 6:  Approve minutes from the regular Board meeting of December 3, 2020.

Motion was made by Mr. Dillard, seconded by Ms. Thomas, to approve the minutes of the December 2, 2021, Board meeting as presented.  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 7:  President Morvan announced that the floor was open for nominations for President for the calendar year 2022.  Mr. Morvan nominated Ms. Alice Thomas as 2022 President, seconded by Mr. Glenn.  There were no other nominations and Ms. Thomas was elected by acclamation.

Mr. Morvan thanked the Board and welcomed Ms. Thomas as the new President of the Board.

Item 8:   Election of Vice-President for the calendar year 2022.

President Thomas announced that the floor was open for nominations for Vice-President for the calendar year 2022 and Mr. Morvan nominated Mr. Dudley Glenn as Vice-President, seconded by Mr. Dufour.  There were no other nominations and Mr. Glenn was elected by acclamation.

Item 9:  Appointment of the Finance Committee for the calendar year 2022.

Mr. Thomas appointed the following members to serve on the Finance & Operations Committee for the calendar year 2022:  Mr. Donald Dufour, Mr. Bobby Boyd and Mrs. Rosie Mayweather, with Mr. Dufour serving as Chairman.

Item 10:  Set the day, time and place for the regular and committee meetings of the Board for the calendar year 2022. 

Mr. Corley explained there were no changes in the day of the week to hold regular Board meetings and Finance & Operation Committee meetings, with the exceptions as listed:

Motion was made by Mr. Boyd, seconded by Mr. Morvan, to approve the meeting schedule as presented.  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 11:  Certify that Board Members received the minimum of six hours of training and instruction as required by ACT 705 during calendar year 2021.

Mr. Corley presented the letter certifying that all DeSoto Parish School Board Members have completed the requirements of Act 705 as mandated by the Legislature of Louisiana during the calendar year 2021 for professional development and Ethics training.  Names listed for public record: Dudley M. Glenn, Dr. Neil Henderson, Jeffrey Dillard, Donald B. Dufour, Alice Thomas, Coday Johnston, Dale Morvan, Mark Ross, Thomas Craig, Jr., Bobby Boyd, and Rosie Mayweather. 

Dr. Henderson, seconded by Mr. Johnston, made the motion to receive the report of certification of Board Member training as presented by the Superintendent.  The President stated the motion carried with the following votes – Yes = 9, No = 0, Absent = 2, and Abstentions = 0.  

Item 12:  Resolution for Louisiana School Board Recognition Month

Mr. Corley recognized the Board Members and presented a resolution honoring them for Board Member Appreciation Month – January 2022. 

Motion was made by Mr. Glenn, seconded by Mr. Johnston, to adopt the resolution as presented.  The vote was taken and the President stated the motion carried with the following votes – Yes = 9, No = 0, Absent = 2, and Abstentions = 0.

*Resolution not included in packet at this time due to large size of file.

Item 13:  Great News

Mr. Corley reminded everyone that our district recently began a new contest, or challenge, between all schools, to emphasize and reward the importance of teacher attendance.  Each month, the school with the highest average percentage of teacher attendance receives a banner to hang in their school for a month; lunch is provided for the faculty on the day following the announcement; and faculty, staff and students are allowed to wear jeans for a week. Progressive National Bank will provide lunch for the winning school on Friday, January 7.  Mr. Corley then announced that Mansfield High School was the winner of the challenge, with an average teacher attendance of 95.49% during the month of December 2021.

The banner was presented to Mansfield High School Principal Anesha Ross. Mr. Corley noted for the record that North DeSoto Lower Elementary showed the most growth in teacher attendance for December.  He also expressed appreciation to all substitute teachers for their dedication in serving schools throughout the pandemic.

Item 14:  Recognition of Louisiana Public Service Commission’s LED lighting project and partnership with DeSoto Parish Schools.

Mr. Corley introduced Operations Director Heith Parker, who spoke about the partnership between DeSoto Parish Schools and the Louisiana Public Service Commission.  Mr. Parker explained that we applied for an energy efficiency grant for public entities in February 2021, with assistance from Mr. Gary Hobbs, of Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell’s office.  The portion of the grant we received was through Swepco, so only the schools powered by Swepco qualified for the grant.  Logansport High School, North DeSoto Lower Elementary, North DeSoto Upper Elementary, North DeSoto Middle School and North DeSoto High School received LED lighting and installation, including sports lighting, worth over $900,000.00 – at no cost to DeSoto Parish School Board.  Mr. Parker introduced District 5 Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell to give more details.

Commissioner Foster Campbell spoke about how helpful Mr. Hobbs has been to his office, although he will be moving on to a different job very soon.  Commissioner Campbell explained that there should be more funds available for customers of other electric companies in the future, so other schools will be able to qualify for an amount of assistance in the future.  He expressed his gratitude to constituents for giving him the opportunity to serve and spoke about how much he enjoys being able to assist school systems and other public entities. 

Superintendent Corley and Board Members applauded Commissioner Campbell’s efforts to continue to serve the various communities and assist the students in our school system.  We are all grateful to Commissioner Campbell’s office for the upgrades the grant has provided.  A plaque was presented to Commissioner Campbell and Gary Hobbs in appreciation for their hard work and dedication to DeSoto Parish Schools.

Item 15:  Report of the Finance & Operations Committee meeting held on December 16, 2021.

Motion was made by Mr. Morvan, seconded by Mr. Johnston, to approve the minutes of the December 16, 2021, Finance & Operations Committee meeting as presented.  The vote was taken and the President stated the motion carried with the following votes – Yes = 9, No = 0, Absent = 2, and Abstentions = 0. 

Motion was made by Mr. Glenn, seconded by Mr. Boyd, to approve the following action from the December 16, 2021, Budget/Finance Committee meeting:

·         Approve budget revisions to the Debt Service Funds and Special Revenue Funds

·         Approve 2022-2023 purchasing schedule

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 16:  Board policies for approval

Board policies were presented for approval.

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

Motion was made by Mr. Johnston, seconded by Mrs. Mayweather, to approve the policies as presented.  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 17:   Comments

Superintendent Corley thanked everyone for attending the Board meeting and extended a special note of gratitude to the School Board Members.  While January is the appreciation month for our School Board Members, we do appreciate them throughout the year for supporting our students, staff, schools and the communities within DeSoto Parish.  They work hard together for the good of all students.

Item 18: Adjournment 

On a motion by Mr. Johnston, seconded by Mrs. Mayweather, the Board voted to adjourn at 6:38 p.m.

Alice Thomas, President                                                             ClayCorley, Secretary

            DeSoto Parish School Board                                                       DeSoto Parish School Board