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The Monroe City
School Board met in regular session, Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. at
the Monroe City School Board Media Center, 2009 Auburn Avenue, Monroe, Louisiana
71201. The meeting was called to order by the President. Prayer was offered by
Rev. James Johnson. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.
Item 4: Roll Call
Board Members Present
Mrs. Victoria "Vickie" Dayton
Mrs. Victoria "Vickie" Krutzer
Mr. James Mickey Traweek
Mr. Jessie Handy
Reverend Rodney McFarland, Sr.
Mrs. Stephanie Smith
Mrs. Brenda Shelling
Superintendent and Administrative Staff
Dr. James Dupree
Mrs. Derenda Flowers
Mr. Andrew Hill
Mr. Bobby Williams
Ms. Mamie Williams
Mrs. Julie Staley
Mrs. Vickie Irwin
Mrs. Betty Carroll
Ms. Karla Bowlin
Attorney L. Douglas Lawrence
Action Item 5: Adoption of the Consent Agenda
Dr. Dupree stated that there is an addition to the human resources agenda. It is
the recommendation of the personnel committee to appoint Dr. Tammye Turpin to
the position of Executive Director of Instruction Support Services from her
current position of Interim Executive Director of Instructional Support
Services.
Mrs. Shelling asked Dr. Dupree if the position was advertised for.
Dr. Dupree stated that it was not.
Mrs. Shelling stated that the Board is violating its own policy. The policy
stipulates that all administrative positions are to be advertised. She asked
that this appointment not be placed on the agenda until proper procedures have
been followed.
Mr. Traweek asked Attorney Lawrence for a legal opinion.
Attorney Lawrence stated that the policy would have to be suspended if it is to
be placed on the agenda tonight.
President Dayton stated that unless someone wants to make a motion to suspend
policy, this item should be placed on the next agenda with computer operators
and central office salary schedules.
Rev. McFarland suggested that the Board add authorization to advertise for the
position to the agenda.
President Dayton asked Dr. Dupree where the item should be placed on the agenda.
She further stated that there will be no changes to the human resources agenda.
Dr. Dupree stated that it can be placed on the consent agenda as item 5:E.
President Dayton stated that if there are no objections, the consent agenda will
include agenda item 5:E - Authorization to advertise for the position of
Executive Director of Instructional Support Services. There were no objections.
It was moved by Mrs. Shelling and seconded by Rev. McFarland to approve the
consent agenda with the addition of agenda item 5:E.
Mr. Handy asked that the adoption of the agenda be pulled because he has some
questions and he would like to make a statement.
President Dayton asked Mr. Handy if he wanted to pull the adoption of the agenda
from the consent agenda.
Mr. Handy replied yes.
Rev. McFarland stated that if the agenda is not adopted there will not be
anything to guide the meeting.
President Dayton asked Mr. Handy if it would be possible to make his comments
without pulling the agenda.
Mr. Handy replied yes. He stated that he was shocked when he received his agenda
and the superintendent's contract was not on it. At the last Board meeting it
was stated by the committee chairperson that the contract would be on the
December 4th agenda. Mr. Handy further stated that he was reluctant to wait that
long because a meeting could have been called to take action. When he spoke to
Mrs. Smith she told him that the contract would be on the agenda. Mr. Handy
stated that he was informed by Mrs. Smith that the President was calling certain
Board members and that they did not want the contract on the agenda. Mr. Handy
asked why he did not get a call from the President.
President Dayton said that she would be glad to address this. She said that once
it reached the point of having three or four Board members stating they were not
in favor of addressing the issue at this particular time, it became apparent
that they should not proceed. President Dayton stated that it is the call of the
president to make a decision when the majority of the Board is not prepared to
discuss an item. She further stated that The Superintendent is currently in
negations with Caddo Parish and the timing is not right. Because this is such a
weighted decision, the Board should be united and working in consensus to
address the leadership and future of this school system. The Board has come a
long way when it comes to consensus building and the focus should be on doing
the right thing, and that is why the item was pulled from the agenda.
Mr. Handy asked the President to include him when phone calls are made to Board
members. He learned that the contract was on the agenda and was later pulled. If
the superintendent didn't want it on the agenda and the attorney didn't have the
material ready, then it is understandable if the item is pulled, but that was
not the case.
President Dayton stated that the chairperson represents the committee and the
majority of the committee was not in favor of the recommendation. When the Board
goes into executive session for something of this magnitude a judgment call has
to be made.
Mr. Handy asked Attorney Lawrence if he is prepared to move forward on this
issue. If he is, it is not necessary to wait until the next meeting and the
Board can go into executive session tonight if this is what the Superintendent
wants.
President Dayton stated that this would have to be the prerogative of the Board.
Mr. Handy stated that he would like to make a motion to add an executive session
to the agenda.
Mrs. Smith stated that the contract should have been on the agenda because that
was the recommendation of the committee. She asked Attorney Lawrence to give the
contract information to all Board members so that the best decision could be
made when the Board convened in executive session. The Board should be on one
accord when making this very important decision. Mrs. Smith stated that she is
in favor of going into executive session tonight and that she will make that
motion. She further stated that this has gone on long enough and that the
community needs to know where the Board stands with the superintendent.
Mr. Handy seconded the motion. He stated that we should not be worried about
what Caddo Parish is going to do. Dr. Dupree is the Superintendent of Monroe
City Schools and we know what he has done for the district.
President Dayton stated that she appreciates Mr. Handy's comments but the
decision of leadership of this system was scripted in the contract to state that
the Board would let the superintendent know their intentions by March 30th.
President Dayton further stated that the Board must work with the community when
making the decision to renew or not to renew the contract.
Mrs. Shelling stated that she has been on the Board for ten years and she has
never known the Superintendent's Evaluation Committee to negotiate the
superintendent's contract. Mrs. Shelling asked the scope of the committee.
Attorney Lawrence stated that the scope of the committee was to develop the
evaluation instrument in concert with the entire Board. He stated that it was
his understanding that a request was made by the Board Chair to extend the scope
of the work of the committee to deal with issues of the superintendent's
contract renewal. Attorney Lawrence further stated that it is the legal
prerogative of the Board chair to appoint an ad hoc committee.
Rev. McFarland stated that he doesn't believe that two-thirds of the Board would
like to go into executive session and that the Board should proceed with the
agenda.
On a motion by Mrs. Shelling that was seconded by Rev. McFarland the Board
approved the following consent agenda items:
5:A - Adoption of the Agenda
5:B - Adoption of the Minutes - November 6, 2007
5:C - Awarding of Bid: Fitness Equipment
5:D - Human Resources Agenda
5:E - Permission to advertise for the position of Executive Director of
Instructional
Support Services
The motion carried on a majority vote. Mr. Handy and Mrs. Smith opposed.
Agenda Item 6 - President's Reports and Announcements
President Dayton thanked everyone for their attendance and asked that all cell
phones are turned off. The public was informed on procedures for addressing the
Board on agenda and non-agenda items. President Dayton recognized members of the
Coalition for Quality Education. She asked that the letter submitted by the
organization be addressed at the next meeting.
Agenda Item 7 - Action from the Superintendent
Agenda Item 7:A - QZAB Resolution
Superintendent Dupree introduced Attorney Bill Boles and asked him to give a
brief overview of the program.
Mr. Boles stated that the QZAB program was put in place by the No Child Left
Behind Act. This program was designed to provide money for school boards for
various rehab projects. The good news is that educational software and material
can now be used to meet the ten percent in-kind match that is required.
Dr. Dupree stated that he has received written confirmation indicating that the
district will receive $1,582,450 in QZAB Funds.
Mrs. Dayton asked if the District has identified the cash flow repayment.
Dr. Dupree replied that it has not been identified yet, but Mrs. Flowers is
working on it.
Mrs. Krutzer asked Attorney Boles if the district would have to pay bonding fees
twice if additional money is received.
Mr. Boles stated that his preference is to always minimize the fees and not have
multiple deals. If it is set up where all parties are the same, then it would
not be considered as two separate bonds.
Mrs. Krutzer stated that the Board has been asking for QZAB information since
June 24th. She further stated that she is very disappointed in the process and
she feels that there has not been any communication with the Superintendent
concerning QZAB. Because action was not taken in a timely manner, the District
has to split the 3 million dollars with Caddo Parish.
Mrs. Shelling asked if the projects have been identified.
Dr. Dupree replied that the projects have not been identified, but the Steering
Committee will be involved in identifying the projects.
Mrs. Shelling stated that Mr. Monroe has a list of needed repairs and that is
the list that should be used to determine where the money is spent.
On a motion by Mrs. Smith that was seconded by Mr. Handy, the Board approved a
resolution giving preliminary approval to the issuance of not exceeding Five
Million Dollars ($5,000,000) of Certificates of Indebtedness (Taxable QZAB) of
the Monroe City School Board of the City of Monroe, State of Louisiana;
providing certain terms of said certificates; making application to the State
Bond Commission for approval of said Certificates; and providing for other
matters in connection therewith.
The motion carried on a majority vote. Mrs. Krutzer opposed.
Action Item 8:A - Compliance Questionnaire
On a motion by Rev. McFarland that was seconded by Mr. Handy, the Board approved
a resolution accepting and approving the systems and compliance questionnaire
for the Monroe City School Board for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007.
The motion carried on a unanimous vote.
Agenda Item 8:B - 2007-2008 Budget Revisions
A revised general fund budget was presented to the Board with a balanced budget
of revenues over expenditures in the amount of $29,000. The general fund budget
as amended estimates revenues at $50,000,000. Major increases came from the
State of Louisiana and that caused the entire budget to increase by 5.3 million
dollars with 4.7 million dollars reflecting the increase for state raises and
the MFP amount.
Agenda Item 9 -Board Committee Update
Mrs. Krutzer stated that the meeting with Superintendent Pastorek was very
productive. Board members from several parishes were in attendance.
Agenda Item 10 - Superintendent's Announcements
Superintendent Dupree announced the following:
• There will be a Career Fair at the Civic Center on December 6th. All GEAR-UP
students will participate in this event
• Staff Development was held on December 3rd at Carroll High School for all
classified staff
• The Superintendent will be out of the district December 11th - 12th attending
a meeting in Washington, DC regarding the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Grant
• The committee is working on the 2008-2009 school calendar and it should be
ready for adoption at the next Board meeting
• McKee Electronics has completed the wiring project. They are now working on
punch list item.
Agenda Item 11 - Public Input on Non-Agenda Items
Mrs. Debra Ratcliff addressed the Board on band uniforms and instruments for
Carroll High School.
Ms. Gloria Walker addressed the Board on the need for additional time for public
comment to the Board.
Ms. Sandie Lollie addressed the Board on the procedures for tenure hearings.
Action Item 12 - Executive Session
On a motion by Mrs. Krutzer that was seconded by Mr. Handy the Board convened in
executive session at 7:25 p.m. for a period not to exceed thirty minutes to
receive information and make recommendations on: 12:A - The case of Monroe City
School Board -vs- Herbert Land Architect, Inc., {No. 01-2904, 4th Judicial
District Court, Parish of Ouachita} and to take such action that may be
consistent with the pleasure of the Board, in open session and 12:B - To receive
a summative report on employee misconduct related to the Transportation
Department, with recommendations for action from the Superintendent and School
Board Attorney and to take such action, that may be consistent with the pleasure
of the Board, in open session.
The motion carried on a unanimous vote.
The Board reconvened in open session at 7:55 p.m.
On a motion by Mrs. Smith that was seconded by Mrs. Shelling, the Board
authorized the Board Attorney to respond to a claim made in connection with the
litigation listed and note the Board's position on doing future business with
the organization.
The motion carried on a unanimous vote.
On a motion by Mrs. Shelling that was seconded by Mr. Handy, the Board
authorized the Superintendent and Board Attorney to review the Board policy
regarding misconduct in the workplace and to make needed recommendations to the
Board for approval.
The motion carried on a unanimous vote.
Action Item 13 - Adjournment/Recess
On a motion by Rev. McFarland that was seconded by Mr. Handy, the meeting
adjourned at 7:58 p.m.
The motion carried on a unanimous vote.
Mrs. Victoria Dayton,
President
Dr. James A. Dupree, Superintendent
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