Monroe City School Board of Education
2006 Tower Drive
Monroe, Louisiana 71201
MINUTES
The Monroe City School Board met in regular session, Tuesday, July 11, 2023 at Monroe City School District Central Office, 2006 Tower Drive, Monroe, Louisiana 71201. The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by President Bill Willson. Prayer was offered by Pastor Jackson Kimble and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Tabitha Sampognaro, daughter of Board Member Michael Sampognaro.
Agenda Item 1C – Roll Call
Present: Mr. Willson, Mr. Sampognaro, Ms. Jennifer Haneline, Mr. Daryll Berry, and Mrs. Brenda Shelling
Absent: Mrs. Cooper and Mr. Johnson
Agenda Item 1D – Adoption of the Agenda
It was moved by Ms. Haneline and seconded by Mr. Berry, to approve the agenda with the addition of Monroe City School District Insurance to Item #4B new business. The motion carried on a unanimous vote.
Agenda Item 1E – Board Suspension of Board Policy BD, requiring a first reading prior to final adoption of policies and policy amendments, to permit immediate adoption of proposed revised policy BBBE-R
It was moved by Mr. Berry and seconded by Mrs. Shelling to approve the agenda item E. Board Attorney Lawrence read the proposed changes out loud. Mr. Willson stated the Board wants to be transparent with the policies as it pertains to travel.
Ms. Haneline commented there are numerous employees who require ongoing and continuing education in our system to educate our students. Ms. Haneline stated to be on record that she’s had several requests from employees for the board to look at what is allotted for them when traveling to conferences. She stated no offense to the Board but personally believes the employees are the ones in the trenches and the hard-working ones that should have this policy. It was noted by Mr. Willson and Mrs. Shelling.
Mr. Sampognaro asked are all COSSBA Conferences included or just National. Mr. Willson stated just National. Mrs. Shelling stated COSSBA is offering another workshop in September and would like the policy to say all COSSBA meetings are included. Ms. Haneline agreed with Mrs. Shelling. Mr. Willson stated it is an approved organization but not the traditional conference the board in previous years attended. He believes the conferences should be limited to travel, especially at the expense of the stakeholders, taxpayers of the community. He stated the National Conference is a more in-depth conference than any other like cube or Urban League Meetings. Mr. Willson stated to his knowledge this has never been done in the past. He stated to keep tradition and keep costs down he believes the motion should be made as presented. Ms. Haneline stated respectfully, she disagrees with adding the CAP of 7,500 per school board member for a fiscal year. Ms. Haneline stated this is the same policy but only with the new organization. She stated in an instance if a school board member is unable to attend a spring conference this may allow them to attend another conference. Mr. Willson stated you will not get accreditation credits and points for attending those breakout sessions, cubes, or Urban League meetings as you would the National Conference. Ms. Haneline asked Mr. Willson if he had documentation of the breakout conferences stating they do not qualify for their hours. He stated he does not, but he could be wrong. Mr. Sampognaro stated as far as the expenses go, they will not exceed the CAP of $7,500. Mr. Willson stated if you did not attend the National Conference and but go to a breakout conference at the same basic expense makes no sense. Ms. Haneline commented, unless the hours count. Mr. Willson stated you will not get as many hours and if it did count, it would be a lot less. Mr. Berry asked to compromise, instead of saying all, maybe limit 2 additional conferences the board members can attend.
Mr. Willson stated to have first reading for all the policies and forego on approval of Item E.
Action Item 2A Consent Agenda
On a motion by Ms. Haneline and seconded by Mr. Berry the Board approved Board of Education Minutes for June 6, 2023
Item 2B – Introduction of revised Board Policies BBBE-R, BCBB, and IFAA
This is the first reading for all three policies BBBE-R (Board Member Travel Regulations), BCBB (Notification of School Board Meetings), and IFAA (Textbook Selection and Adoption). Board Attorney Lawrence explained the proposed changes of policy BCBB (notification of school board meetings), the policy remains the same except wherever it reads 24 hours will be changed to 48 hours.
Public Comment: Narissa Bryant inquired about Item E and confirmed the one month wait to vote on item B. Mr. Willson stated this is the first reading on all policy changes.
Public comment: Mrs. Hemrick asked for clarification on policy IFAA (textbook selection and adoption) Mr. Willson asked was she speaking about the adoption of an ad hoc committee. She responded yes, who chooses it and how does it work. Mr. Willson responded by reading the policy with proposed changes: the following will be added to the first sentence:
Upon recommendation for adoption of a new textbook or curriculum selection, the selection must be announced to the public to permit a 60-day review of the materials prior to board approval.
In addition, the following will be added to the policy: Each board member shall nominate one community representative to an advisory group who may review textbook and curriculum selections during the 30-day review period.
Mrs. Hemrick wanted to make sure the people who have a valid interest in the curriculum are present on these committees. She wants the curriculum to fit the changes that need to be made and able to review this without hindrance. Mr. Willson stated this will be taken seriously.
On a motion by Mrs. Shelling and seconded by Mr. Sampognaro the board approved the first reading of the above policies.
Action Item 2C – Roy Neal Shelling Elementary – Naming the Cafeteria in Honor of Irma Detiege and Malvin Dade
On a motion by Mrs. Shelling and seconded by Mr. Berry the board approved naming the Cafeteria in Honor of Irma Detiege and Malvin Dade. The motion carried unanimously.
Action Item 2D – Awarding Bid #SFS24-01 Bread Products
On a motion by Ms. Haneline and seconded by Mrs. Shelling the board approved the awarding Bid #SF24-01 Bread Products. The motion carried unanimously.
Action Item 2F – Awarding Bid #SFS24-03 Produce/Fresh Fruits and Vegetable Products
Mr. Dan Robertson, president of Robertson Produce, here in Monroe, LA reported that the Robertson Produce has been with Monroe City Schools for approximately fifty years, that his dad can remember. He stated they were beaten this time and it was his fault. He is not asking for any favoritism or anything out the ordinary but would like to apologize. He stated he has let his company down, the board, and the students in Monroe City Schools. The only thing he is asking is, if the company out of Jackson Mississippi mess up, they are only a phone call away and will immediately take over the contract and match prices if needed. He noted that the Monroe City Schools Service ladies did their job exactly how it should have been done.
Mr. Willson thanked Mr. Robertson for coming forward on apologizing and stated he is a man of honor. He has provided great food service to a former head of food service Mrs. Weaver (present). If there is a need for change, they will obviously look in a possible different direction.
On a motion by Ms. Hanline and seconded by Mr. Sampognaro the board approved the awarding bid #SFS24-03 produce/fresh fruits and vegetable products. The motion carried unanimously.
Action Item 2G Awarding of Bid #SFS24-04 School Food Products
On a motion by Ms. Hanline and seconded by Mr. Sampognaro the board approved Awarding of Bid #SFS24-04 School Food Products. The motion carried unanimously.
Action Item 2H Awarding of Bid #SFS22-04 Paper and Cleaning Supplies
On a motion by Ms. Haneline and seconded by Mr. Sampognaro the board approved Awarding of Bid #SFS22-04 Paper and Cleaning Supplies
Action Item 2E – Awarding Bid #SFS24-02 Milk and Juice Products (out of sequence)
On a motion by Ms. Haneline and seconded by Mrs. Shelling the board approved the awarding Bid #SFS24-02 Milk and juice Products. The motion carried unanimously.
Old Business
Action Item 3A- Bonner/Pine building to be named after Barbara T. Bonner and Dr. Roosevelt Pine
Mr. Berry noted Mr. Roosevelt Pine contributed a lot to the Monroe City School System and wanted to recognize him and decided to rename the Barbara Bonner building to Bonner/Pine Music Art Center at Carroll High School.
On a motion by Mr. Berry and seconded by Mr. Sampognaro the board approved to rename the Barbara Bonner Music Arts Building at Carroll High School to the Bonner/Pine Music Arts Center. The motion carried unanimously.
New Business
Action Item 4A Adoption of Millage Rates for 2023
Dr. Vidrine noted the millage rates have remained the same for the past few years. The facilities upkeep will remain the same, the bond issue increase by 2 ½ mills.
On a motion by Ms. Haneline and seconded by Mrs. Shelling the board approved the adoption of millage rates for 2023. The motion carried unanimously.
Action Item 4B – Monroe City School District Insurance
Ms. Haneline asked to make a motion to approve the Monroe City Schools Insurance identified by insurance program with Gallagher but need to change by waiving uninsured motorist coverage. She would like to designate the Board President, Bill Willson and Superintendent, Dr. Vidrine to sign the contract. If approved, Board Attorney Doug Lawrence will have the contract ready to sign after the board meeting.
On a motion by Ms. Haneline and seconded by Mrs. Shelling, the board approved the district insurance with a change to waive uninsured motorist coverage with Gallagher. The motion carried unanimously.
Agenda Item 5A- Reports
* May financial reports can be viewed in BoardDocs online.
* Davona Howard is currently working on the 2023-2024 budget.
* 2022-2023 books are not closed yet but will be closed probably mid-section of September.
* Surplus is expected in the 2022-2023 budget.
Agenda Item 5B- Report of the Superintendent
* The district is preparing for the upcoming school year along with Professional Development
* The technology we have is amazing. A migration was done on all DNS (domain name server) into one external DNS server. This protects the data.
* The Brand-new website will be up and running in the next 60-90 days if not sooner.
* Ed Rising Program has been in our three High Schools. The first students are now juniors at ULM,
LA. Tech and Grambling. He believes when the students graduate, they will be student teachers in the district.
* There were 100 campers that participated in the program at ULM from around Northeast Louisiana. We represented 54 of the students from our district that are currently juniors and seniors in high school. These students would like to be future teachers. This is a part of “grow your own”.
* Dr. Vidrine thanked the facilities and policy committee members for a great meeting.
Agenda Item 5C – Report of Board Members
Mr. Sampognaro – No comment
Ms. Haneline thanked the summer programs staff and feeding programs that spent many hours, time, and dedication throughout the system. She hopes everyone is getting rejuvenated for the upcoming school year. Ms. Haneline is excited about the continued development that is seen in facilities around the school district. Ms. Haneline reported she and Mr. Michael Sampognaro have met with a couple of schools to talk about safety issues. This is an ongoing conversation and want to mention that it is forefront and will continue to look at what can be done to improve safety in the schools.
Mr. Berry reported they have started working on parental involvement at Mr. Willson Church, First Methodist on Loop Road. There was good feedback from one another. Mrs. Marie Brown is helping lead this effort. The next meeting will be held at Roy Neal Shelling Elementary on June 24.
Mrs. Shelling reported she attended the Parental Involvement meeting at First Methodist Church as well and was a very productive meeting. They will meet at Roy Neal Shelling. They hope to get the parents and all interested parties to develop and finalize some plans before the start of school.
Mr. Willson reported Mrs. Anna Reed was present at the Parental Involvement meeting and thanked her. He appreciates Mr. Berry for volunteering to be chair of that ad hoc committee and Mrs. Shelling for being involved. He stated all the school board members are invited to attend these meetings. Mr. Willson stated looking at the generation of poverty in our city and numerous others and especially the south experience. It influences education. We have schools that are not on the level that they should be. He stated he was out of town when Dr. Vidrine had a meeting in early June and heard it was excellent. He reported as a board they wanted to provide leadership and ask the community as represented by Mrs. Brown, Mrs. Reed, William Smart, Mr. Sam Moore, and others that were present. He stated it was a great meeting and just needs to kick it off. He is very encouraged and enthusiastic about hopefully making a difference.
Agenda Item 6 – Future Meetings
August 15, 2023 and September 5, 2023 at 6:00 p.m.
Monroe City School Board Members will be attending Southern Region Leadership Conference July 16-18, 2023 in Hot Springs, Arkansas
Action Item 7 – Recess/Adjournment
There being no further business to come before the board, on a motion by Mrs. Shelling and seconded by Ms. Haneline, the meeting adjourned at 6:51p.m. The motion carried unanimously.
Bottom of Form
/William Bill Willson/ /Brent Vidrine/_
William “Bill” Willson Dr. Brent Vidrine
Board President Superintendent
Note: These minutes summarize the final decisions made by the Board at the referenced meeting. This meeting was also audio recorded and that recording is available for review by contacting the Board clerk at tonya.robinson@mcschools.net.
