BOGALUSA SCHOOL BOARD OFFICE MEDIA CENTER
1705 Sullivan Drive

Bogalusa, Louisiana

REGULARD BOARD MEETING

IMMEDIATLEY FOLLOWING COMMITTEE MEETING

MONDAY, MAY 23, 2022

5:30 p.m.

AGENDA

The Bogalusa City School Board met in Regular Board Meeting at the Bogalusa City School Board Office in the Rev. Raymond E Mims Media Center, located at 1705 Sullivan Drive, Bogalusa, Louisiana, on May 23, 2022.  The purpose of the meeting is to address information received from Department Supervisors on May 23, 2022, during the Committee Meeting, regarding updates and approval requests. 

1.) Call to Order – President Paul Kates.

2.) Pledge of Allegiance – Mrs. Tanner.

3.) Prayer – Dr. Williams.

4.) Roll Call: _X_ President Paul Kates, _X__ Vice President Curtis Creel, _X__ Mrs. Breaux, X__ Mrs. Duke, ___ Mr. Kemp, _X__ Mr. Killingsworth, _X_ Dr. Williams 

5.) Approval of Minutes of Regular Board Meeting – April 28, 2022. It was motioned by Mr. Creel. Second by Mrs. Duke. The motion passed with unanimous approval

6.)       Presentation of 2022 Students of the Year – Superintendent Lisa Tanner

           a.        5th Grade Student of the Year 2021-2022 – Kaiden Hopkins.

Kewanda August, Principal at Central Elementary School, presented Kaiden Hopkins with a gift bag with attached balloons and a beautiful plague. Ms. August stated Kaiden is a true representation of what a model student should be. The complete package of a true gentleman. The perfect Central Spartan-courageous and well-disciplined. Kaiden, an A student at Central Elementary, showed much gratitude and thanked all who helped him throughout his school years. He also thanked his school staff for selecting him as a student of the year.  

Kaiden was accompanied by his mother, Michelle Hopkins, and his Aunt Karen Magee.   

b.         8th Grade Student of the Year 2021-2022 – Amiya Dyson.

Dr. Eric Greely, Principal at Bogalusa Middle/High School, smiled greatly as he presented Amiya with half a dozen of beautiful yellow roses and a plaque. Dr. Greely spoke in high favor of Amiya and informed every one of her scholastic achievements as an A student. For the 22/23 school year, Amiya is enrolled in all honor classes at the Bogalusa High School.

Amiya was accompanied by her parents, Quvodis and Brittani Dyson, her siblings, and her grandfather.  

           c.        12th Grade Student of the Year 2021-2022 – Litzy Ramos.

Litzy Ramos was absent during this presentation. 

7.)       Board Officers and Committee Reports. – President Kates asked for a motion to add Travel to agenda

“I”. It was motioned by Mr. Creel. Second by Mrs. Duke. The motion passed with unanimous approval.  

8.)       Recess to Public Session.

Joseph D. Smith,15054 Hwy 1075, Bogalusa, LA 70427 – Performed a general observation on some of the BCS students. He found football players are not only making the scores but are making the grade academically. Smith believes scores are going up this coming school year. Smith also spoke well of the BCS ROTC Program and concluded by encouraging the board members to do a self-assessment of themselves to see what they are doing as board members.

Roniqua Watkins, 707 Mississippi Avenue, Bogalusa, LA 70427 – Spoke about how she would like to review the BCS policies and asked did BCS have Zero Tolerance stated within our policy. Watkins also commented on how BCS minutes as well as all documentation that is given out to the board members the night the minutes are recorded, should be placed on the Bogalusa City Schools’ website for public viewing.  Watkins also shared her opinion regarding the Daily News as the Bogalusa City Schools’ official journal source.  She stated the Daily News only produces papers on Wednesdays and Saturdays and to become a subscriber to the Daily News there’s a fee and most people are not subscribers. She finds the Bogalusa City Schools website to be more effective and of better use.  The board should post all board meeting information on BCS website and not through the Daily News.  Watkins finds the Daily News to not be an effective source when it comes to finding past information or communicating with the public regarding news about the Bogalusa City Schools.  The only news that is reported in the Daily News is gun violence, obituaries, and police reports.  The Bogalusa City Schools has a perfectly good website for postings.  More traffic is going to the website than the Daily News.  

If Bogalusa City Schools is going to make the Daily News the official journal what’s the accountability? Are they a viable resource?  Where are the minutes being published where they are prominent and frequent?  Watkins also stated the issue with not being able to pull the minutes and its’ attachments for tonight’s meeting.  The minutes and attachments should not be only posted on the BCS website after they are voted on, but available for the public to view prior to the meeting.

To conclude, the Bogalusa Daily News is not a viable source.     

Dr. Patricia Keller, 1622 Normel Keller Street, Bogalusa, LA 70427 - Dr. Keller, a member of the Washington Parish NAACP thanked the board members for working with her and spoke on how the Bogalusa City Schools needs consistency with staff and principals. The children are in desperate need of a stable environment.    

9.)       New Business

a.         Approval for CNP to advertise RFB (Request for Bids) for the school year 2022–2023 for processed and frozen foods, milk, paper supplies, small wares, and products and educational materials for cleaning and disinfecting CNP operations.  It was motioned by Mr. Killingsworth. Second by Mrs. Duke. The motion passed with unanimous approval.  

b.         Approval of April 2022 Revised Budgets, Financial Statements, General Fund, Food Service, Special Revenue, and School Activities.  It was motioned by Dr. Williams. Second by Mr. Creel. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

c.        Approval to discard system-wide Fixed Assets. 

It was motioned by Dr. Williams. 

Second by Mrs. Duke. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

d.        Approval for appointment of Bogalusa Daily News as the official journal for Bogalusa City Schools School Board for the 2022 -2023 school year.  It was motioned by Dr. Williams. Second by Mrs. Duke. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

e.        Approval for Bogalusa High School JROTC to travel to Camp Shelby, MS on June 6 – 11, 2022 for Summer Camp. It was motioned by Mrs. Duke. Second by Mr. Creel. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

f.         Approval for Bogalusa High School JAG program & Debate Club to travel to Gulfport, MS to Gulfport Waterpark and PBIS on May 25, 2022. It was motioned by Mr. Creel. Second by Mr. Killingsworth. The motion passed with unanimous approval. Parents of the students attending the water park had to sign a waiver for their child to attend.  

g.        Approval for Byrd Avenue Summer Learning Program to travel to Hattiesburg Zoo on June 29, 2022.  It was motioned by Dr. Williams. Second by Mrs. Duke. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

h.        Approval for Bogalusa City Schools Summer Learning Program to travel to Gulfport Waterpark, June 30, 2022.  It was motioned by Mr. Creel. Second by Mr. Killingsworth. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

i.         Approval for Bogalusa High School Football Team/players to go to the University of Southern Mississippi and then to Delta College in Mississippi.  It was motioned by Mrs. Duke. Second by Mr. Killingsworth. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

10.)     Superintendent Comments – Lisa Tanner. A document was given to all board members containing information on LEAP 2025 Data Comparison of Scores School Years 2021 and 2022 of Bogalusa High School Grades 9th-11th. The document included scores from the subjects of Algebra I, Geometry, ELA I, ELA II, US History, and Biology. The scores will be posted when all scores have been submitted for 4th -11th Grade. The 4th- 8th Grades do not get their scores until late July.  On a whole, there has been a growth in the percentage of students excelling in 2022.

            The Superintendent’s Advisory Council met on May 23, 2022, to discuss accountability and assessments. The Louisiana Department of Education is trying to get the high school diploma to count as, “nothing”. The state prefers for students to graduate with an International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB). The state believes a diploma without a credential or a dual enrolment, IB, or an AP will be a ZERO for high school. BESE and other school districts are fighting against this. The next meeting with the state regarding this will be on June 28, 2022.  

11.)     Board Members Comments.  

Toni Breaux stated she was very elated with Dr. Greely and the progress he has made at Bogalusa High School. Dr. Greely is a hands-on person and believes in monitoring the teachers. Breaux gave her appreciation to BHS's entire staff and hopes they continue to grow.  

Eleanor Duke thanked Dr. Greely for his leadership and he is doing a great job at Bogalusa High School.

Curtis Creel stated he believes the state is making it harder for children to achieve their high school goals. We as a board need to take a stand for our children.

Paul Kates thanked Dr. Greely for leadership. We are moving in the right direction.  

12.)     President Kates asked for any further comments, there were none.  Meeting adjourn.

__________________________________         _________________________________     

                       Lisa Tanner, Superintendent                                Paul Kates, President

The Bogalusa City School Board does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disabilities, or veteran status. We are an equal opportunity employer.