PARISH OF DESOTO
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Mansfield, Louisiana
April 7, 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, April 7, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. with the following members present:
Dudley M. Glenn, Dr. Neil Henderson, Jeffrey Dillard, Donald B. Dufour, Alice Thomas, Dale Morvan, Mark Ross, Thomas Craig, Jr., Bobby Boyd, Rosie Mayweather, and Clay Corley, Superintendent. Absent: Coday Johnston.
Item 1: Call to order
Ms. Thomas 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. Superintendent Corley added a special remembrance of former District 11 Board Member, the late Mr. L. J. Mayweather, Jr., that we lost on April 7, 2020. Mr. Mark 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 of the regular Board meeting of March 3, 2022.
Motion was made by Mr. Craig, seconded by Mr. Morvan, to approve the minutes of the regular Board meeting of March 3, 2022. 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 4: 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; and faculty, staff and students are allowed to wear jeans for a week.
Southwestern Energy Company will provide lunch, on a day the school chooses, for the winning school for March. Mr. Corley then introduced Mrs. Janice Lingle to make the presentation. Mrs. Lingle announced that North DeSoto Lower Elementary School was the winner of the challenge for the month of March 2022.
The banner was presented to North DeSoto Lower Elementary School Principal Russell Tabor. Mr. Corley and Mrs. Lingle expressed their appreciation to all the schools for working diligently to keep staff attendance as high as possible.
Item 5: Report of the Budget/Finance Committee meeting held on March 17, 2022.
a. Motion was made by Mr. Dufour, seconded by Mr. Dillard, to approve the minutes of the March 17, 2022, 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. Boyd, seconded by Mrs. Mayweather, to approve the action from the meeting as presented, including:
· Approve budget revisions for Capital Projects Funds, Debt Service Funds and General Fund
· Approve bid for solid waste disposal service
· Approve bid for carpet and tile replacement
· Approve a one-time supplement for all employees, considered earned due to COVID complexities
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: Review and approve bid for boiler replacement at Logansport High School
Mr. Corley and Mr. Parker presented information regarding the bids for boiler replacement at Logansport High School, explaining the staff recommendation is to approve the low bid in the amount of $191,000, as presented by The Payne Co., Inc. Motion was made by Mr. Craig, seconded by Mr. Boyd, to approve the bid 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 7: Review and approve bid for restroom renovation at Stanley High School
Mr. Corley and Mr. Parker explained to Board Members and the public that no bids were received for the restroom renovation at Stanley High School. Due to the fact that no bids were received and there were no bids to review or approve, Mr. Corley stated there would be no action on the item.
Item 8: To consider and take action with respect to adopting a resolution adopted on April 1, 2021, in connection with the Sales Tax Refunding Bonds, Series 2021, of the Parish School Board of the Parish of DeSoto, State of Louisiana; and providing for other matters in connection therewith.
Mr. Corley explained this resolution is part of the process, which began in 2021, of converting the taxable rate on the Refunding Bonds to a tax-exempt rate, effective May 1, 2022. Motion was made by Mr. Glenn, 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 = 10, No = 0, Absent = 1, and Abstentions = 0.
The following resolution was offered by Dudley Glenn and seconded by Bobby Boyd:
RESOLUTION
A resolution supplementing the resolution adopted on April 1, 2021, in connection with the Sales Tax Refunding Bonds, Series 2021, of the Parish School Board of the Parish of DeSoto, State of Louisiana; and providing for other matters in connection therewith.
WHEREAS, the Parish School Board of the Parish of DeSoto, State of Louisiana (the "Governing Authority" or the "Issuer") adopted a resolution on April 1, 2021 (the "Bond Resolution") authorizing the issuance and sale of its $9,280,000 of Sales Tax Refunding Bonds, Series 2021 (the "Bonds"); and
WHEREAS, the Bond Resolution provides that on May 1, 2022, the Taxable Bond (as defined in the Bond Resolution) shall be exchanged for the Tax-Exempt Bond (as defined in the Bond Resolution) if certain conditions are met; and
WHEREAS, Trustmark National Bank, the purchaser of the Bonds, has completed the optional redemption selection attached as Exhibit A hereto as required by the Bond Resolution; and
WHEREAS, this Governing Authority now desires to supplement the Bond Resolution to ratify the optional redemption selection attached as Exhibit A;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Parish School Board of the Parish of DeSoto, State of Louisiana (the "Governing Authority" or the "Issuer"), acting as the governing authority of Parish of DeSoto for school purposes, that:
SECTION 1. Supplement to Bond Resolution. This Governing Authority hereby
ratifies the optional redemption selection attached as Exhibit A hereto, and the provisions of
Exhibit A hereto shall be incorporated in the Bond Resolution as if fully set forth therein.
SECTION 2. Repealer. Except as expressly supplemented herein, the Bond
Resolution shall remain in full force and effect.
The foregoing resolution having been submitted to a vote, the vote thereon was as follows:
School Board Members Yea Nay Absent Abstaining
Dudley Glenn __x__ _____ _____ __________
Robert “Neil” Henderson __x__ _____ _____ __________
Jeffrey Dillard __x__ _____ _____ __________
Donald “Donnie” Dufour __x__ _____ _____ __________
Alice Thomas __x__ _____ _____ __________
Coday Johnston _____ _____ __x__ __________
Dale Morvan __x__ _____ _____ __________
Larry “Mark” Ross __x__ _____ _____ __________
Thomas Craig, Jr. __x__ _____ _____ __________
Bobby Boyd __x__ _____ _____ __________
Rosie Mayweather __x__ _____ _____ __________
And the resolution was declared adopted, on this, the 7th day of April, 2022.
__/s/ Clay Corley__ __/s/ Alice Thomas__
Secretary President
EXHIBIT A
STATE OF LOUISIANA PARISH OF DESOTO
I, the undersigned Secretary of the Parish School Board of the Parish of DeSoto, State of Louisiana, do hereby certify that the foregoing pages constitute a true and correct copy of a resolution adopted by the said School Board, on April 7, 2022, supplementing the resolution adopted on April 1, 2021, in connection with the Sales Tax Refunding Bonds, Series 2021, of the Parish School Board of the Parish of DeSoto; and providing for other matters in connection therewith.
IN FAITH WHEREOF, witness my official signature on this, the 7th day of April, 2022.
/s/ Clay J. Corley
Item 9: Policy for review
Policy JBCE – Public School Choice was presented for review.
Item 10: Teacher Recruitment Presentation
HR Director Mrs. Janice Lingle gave an interesting and informative presentation outlining teacher recruitment in DeSoto Parish. She spoke about visiting area colleges and universities and also about the first “Discover DeSoto” day where education majors were invited on a tour of DeSoto Parish schools.
Ms. Giles added to the presentation by providing information about the “Call Me Mister” program recently implemented at Mansfield Middle School and Mansfield High School. New and inventive ways are being used to increase interest in becoming a teacher in DeSoto Parish Schools. Superintendent Corley and Board Members thanked them for presenting.
Item 11: Comments
Superintendent Corley made Board Members and the public aware:
· Schools and district offices will be closed April 11-18 for spring break. Students and staff will return on Tuesday, April 19, 2022.
On a motion by Mrs. Mayweather, seconded by Mr. Dillard, the Board voted to adjourn the meeting at 6:41 p.m.
Alice Thomas, President Clay Corley, Secretary
DeSoto Parish School Board DeSoto Parish School Board