Bogalusa School Board Office-Media Center

Bogalusa, Louisiana

Regular Board Meeting

Thursday, May 28, 2020

Immediately Following

Committee Meeting 6:45 p.m.

The Bogalusa School Board met in a Regular Board Meeting at the Bogalusa City School Board Office Media Center, located at 1705 Sullivan Drive, Bogalusa, Louisiana, on May 28, 2020. The purpose of the meeting is to address information received from Department Supervisors, on May 28, 2020, during the Committee Meeting, regarding updates and approval requests.

1.)         Call to Order – President Paul Kates

2.)         Pledge of Allegiance – Superintendent Lisa Tanner

3.)         Prayer – Dr. Brad Williams

4.)         Roll Call:  X President Kates, X Vice President Killingsworth, _X_ Mrs. Breaux 5:45, A Mr. Creel, X Mrs. Duke, X , Mr. Kemp,  A  Dr. Williams

5.)         Approval of Minutes of Regular Board Meeting April 27, 2020 and. It was motioned by Mr. Kemp. A second was made by Mrs. Duke. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

6.)         Board Office Committee Report – None

7.)         Public Session –

Tonisha Johnson,514 Erie Avenue, Bogalusa, LA  70427 – Ms. Johnson wanted to know what the plan is for the 2020-2021 school year. She mentioned her not being chosen for the BHS Guidance position because the other person was more qualified and she hoped that that was the same procedure they use for the BHS principal position because she knows that one of the people who applied vs. the other has more experience and when she was principal BHS grade was a C and now it is a D, D-. President Kates asked Superintendent Tanner to respond. Superintendent Tanner advised that we are following all State Mandated Guidelines and asked Ms. Johnson to please give us time to work things out for the 20-21 upcoming school year.  She continued by saying that the state is working on virtual schooling /or face to face. She continued by saying each student will be given Chrome Books and Back Packs for their Chrome Books. Principals at each school have sent out multiple correspondence and Robo calls informing parents of what was on the BCS website to help keep the children focused on some sort of education normalcy.  IEP’s are being handled by our SPED department and they are identifying each and every student’s needs.

8.)              New Business

a.      Approval of April, 2020 Revised Budgets and Financial Statements; General Fund, Food Services, Special Revenue and School Activities.  It was motioned by Dr. Williams. A second was made by Mr. Kemp. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

b.      Approval of A Resolution Regarding Constitutional Amendments (HB428, HB 429). It was motioned by Mr. Kemp. A second was made by Dr. Williams. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

c.      Approval of A Resolution in Opposition of All Proposed Legislation That Transfers the Administration and Collection of Local Sales & Use Taxes to the Louisiana Department of Revenue. It was motioned by Dr. Williams. A second was made by Mr. Kemp. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

d.      Approval of Forethought Policy Update Emergency Closing of Schools, Overtime/Compensation Guidelines, Emergency Family and Medical Leave (EFMLA) and Emergency Paid Sick Leave (Covid-19 Pandemic).  President Kates requested this item be tabled until everyone has time to review the policies. It was motioned by Mr. Kemp. A second was made by Mrs. Duke. The motion passed with unanimous approval. ROLL CALL VOTE WAS TAKEN AS FOLLOWS:  Mr. Killingsworth Y  Mr. Kemp Y, Dr. Williams Y, Mrs. Breaux Y, Mr. Creel A, Mrs. Duke Y, Mr. Kates Y.

e.      Approval of Superintendent Covid-19 Hazard Pay It was motioned by Mr. Kemp. A second was made by Mrs. Duke. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

f.       Approval of Superintendent Contract. It was motioned by Mrs. Duke. A second was made by Mr. Kemp. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

g.      Approval of 2020-2021 School Year Calendar It was motioned by Mr. Kemp. A second was made by Mr. Killingsworth. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

8.)    Superintendent Tanner Comments –

Superintendent Tanner began by letting the board know that she and all of the essential and volunteer staff members have worked very hard to make sure BCS was following all protocols set forth by the Governor and LA Department of Education. Everyone has been on phone conferences, Zoom meetings and such multiple times per day, every day.  She again emphasized that her focus in the beginning of the pandemic was making sure all of the children were fed and our CNP staff and feeding volunteers were protected. Superintendent Tanner let the board know that we have an application on our website where parents can begin registering their children for virtual learning.  Within 24 hours we have had 118 register and some of those were from Charter, Private Schools and even local children who were out of our system.  She continued by expressing how she would never do anything detrimental to our system and everyone thing she does she believes is in the best interest of students and personnel.  Superintendent continued by saying she is one person and if there are any questions any board member may have, they should call her and asked her before placing judgement. She also stated that each principal should be reaching out to their students/parents and letting them know the status of what will be going on as we move forward, whether it be athletics, extracurricular activities or fund raising events.  Superintendent Tanner ended by informing the board that the JROTC building will be used for Covid-19 testing beginning next week for all.  There will be 2 sites in the west parish and 2 in the east parish.

9.)    Board Comments – Mrs. Breaux began by letting everyone know she was not being critical of anything or anyone but she is truly scared of Covid-19.  She also wanted to confirm that there will continue to be temperature checks and handwashing and disinfecting done by students and staff until this pandemic is under control.  She believes we all need to take this seriously. Mrs. Duke, Mr. Killingsworth, Mr. Kemp and Dr. Williams followed Mrs. Breaux by congratulating Superintendent Tanner and her essential employees for the great work they have continued to do for BSC during these unprecedented times.

10.) Meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.

_______________________________________                         ___________________________________

Lisa Tanner, Superintendent                                                      Paul Kates, President