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ST. TAMMANY PARISH SCHOOL BOARD M I N U T E S May 21, 2015 he School Board of the Parish of St. Tammany, State of Louisiana, met in regular session on Thursday, May 21, 2015 at the C. J. Schoen Administrative Complex, 321 T N. Theard Street, Covington, Louisiana, at seven (7:00) o’clock P.M., (Central Daylight Savings Time). I. OPENING A. Roll Call There were present: Board President, Stephen J. “Jack” Loup, III, and Board Members Elizabeth B. Heintz, Michael J. Dirmann, Charles T. Harrell, Michael C. Nation, Willie B. Jeter, Sharon Lo Drucker, Ronald "Ron" Bettencourtt, Richard “Rickey” Hursey, Jr., Robin P. Mullett and Dennis S. Cousin. There were absent: Neal M. Hennegan, Peggy H. Seeley, Robert R. “Bob” Womack and Mary K. Bellisario. B. Invocation C. Pledge of Allegiance President Loup called on Mr. Nation for the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance. D. Recognition of Visitors 1. USDA - The Healthier US School Challenge (HUSSC) Gold Award of Distinction Dr. Regina Sanford, Assistant Superintendent, said the Gold Award of Distinction is the highest level of The Healthier US School Challenge. She said the Gold Award recognizes nutritional requirements of breakfast and lunch, nutrition education, physical education, physical activity and snacks available to students. Dr. Sanford said Mrs. Pat Farris, Supervisor of School Food Services, and her staff direct the operation of the School System’s 55 school cafeterias and oversee the national school lunch, school breakfast, after-school snack and summer feeding program. She said Mrs. Farris and her staff work closely with all of the managers and principals in our schools to ensure that all of the requirements were met and well documented for this award. Dr. Sanford said St. Tammany Parish schools have more Gold Awards of Distinction than any other school district in the country. Mrs. Farris said the very first USDA Gold Award of Distinction in the entire country was presented to Cypress Cove Elementary in 2005. She said in 2010, 25 schools in St. Tammany also received the Gold Award of Distinction. Mrs. Farris said St. Tammany was rewarded for their efforts by a visit from the First Lady, Mrs. Michelle Obama, as well as a trip to the White House. Mrs. Farris said since 2010 two (2) more schools were awarded the Gold Award of Distinction. Mrs. Farris said in 2014 it was time to renew those schools that had won in 2010. She said USDA raised the bar with higher nutritional standards; and, it included breakfast for the first time, and there was a higher requirement for student participation. Mrs. Pat Farris and her staff assisted Mr. Bill Ludwig, Regional Administrator SW, USDA, in presenting The Healthier US School Challenge Gold Award of Distinction to 23 of the St. Tammany Parish schools. The following schools were presented the Gold Award of Distinction: Abita Springs Elementary, Abita Springs Middle, Abney Early Childhood Center, Abney Elementary, Alton Elementary, Bayou Lacombe Middle, Bayou Woods Elementary, Bonne Ecole Elementary, Brock Elementary, Carolyn Park Middle, Chahta- 2 Ima Elementary, Covington Elementary, Cypress Cove Elementary, Fifth Ward Junior High, Florida Avenue Elementary, Folsom Elementary, Honey Island Elementary, Little Pearl Elementary, Lyon Elementary, Magnolia Trace Elementary, Riverside Elementary, Sixth Ward Elementary and Whispering Forest Elementary. E. Special Recognition 1. Superintendent's Award for Outstanding Character and Citizenship Superintendent Folse said the Superintendent’s Award was created to honor people and programs for showing outstanding character and citizenship. He said the first winner of the 2014-2015 Superintendent’s Award is the Buddy Bench Program submitted by Abita Springs Elementary School. Superintendent Folse said the Buddy Bench Program has been a huge success at Abita Springs Elementary, but it is also a district-wide program with benches eventually going into all the elementary and middle schools. He said the program is a collaborative effort between the schools, the Exchange Club, Northshore Families Helping Families and parent Shelley Marengo, who spearheaded the initiative. Channel 13 presented a video about the Buddy Bench Program. Superintendent Folse recognized and presented awards to the following people: Abita Springs Elementary Principal, Rebecca Stogner, Coordinator of Itinerant Programs, Kay Hursey, parent Shelley Marengo, Don Thompson and Larry Ward of the Exchange Club, and Sue Ellen Steward with Northshore Families Helping Families. A check for $750 from Capitol One Bank was presented to Mrs. Stogner to enhance Abita Springs Elementary School’s Buddy Bench curriculum. Superintendent Folse said the second place finalist is Amanda Haley, a student from Covington High. Superintendent Folse said Amanda is the embodiment of this award and she has outstanding character traits and her citizenship within our community is larger than life. He said after battling Chiari malformation of the brain for the last few years and going through surgery to remove the bone at the back of her skull and spine, award finalist Amanda Haley made it her mission to educate the community about the disorder. Channel 13 presented a video about Amanda’s inspiring story. Superintendent Folse presented Amanda Haley with her award and recognized Covington High School Principal, Roslyn Hanson. A check was also presented to Amanda from Capitol One Bank. Superintendent Folse said our theme this school year is “Moving Forward: Children. Community. Commitment.” He said these two (2) awards sum up that theme. They are all about our Children, they involve our Community, and they include a Commitment to making the world a better place. 2. National Merit Scholarship Finalists Superintendent Folse said the National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. He said high school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Superintendent Folse said of these 1.5 million students taking the qualifying test, some 50,000 students with the highest scores qualify for recognition in the National Merit Scholarship Program, and approximately 16,000 high scorers are later notified that they have qualified as semifinalists; those students are the highest scoring entrants in each state. Superintendent Folse said roughly 8000 semifinalists receive notification of being a finalist and receive a Merit Scholarship award. Superintendent Folse announced that St. Tammany had nine (9) National Merit Finalist recipients for the 2014-2015 school year. Superintendent Folse introduced the students, who all recently graduated, and gave an overview of their accomplishments, career interests, community service activities and college plans. The 2014-2015 National Merit Finalists: Andrew Roy Bennett and Alexander Michael Lew from Northshore High School; Christopher J. Klein, Ana K. Owen and Corey P. St. Romain from Mandeville High School; Louis Bubrig, Rachel Campbell and Sara Pohlman from Fontainebleau High; and Michelle DeGeorge from Lakeshore High. 3 Superintendent Folse congratulated all the National Merit Finalists, their parents and administrators. 3. Louisiana State Senate Leadership Award Dr. Regina Sanford, Assistant Superintendent, said the Louisiana Legislative Youth Advisory Council recognizes young people for demonstrating outstanding leadership and/or citizenship in their communities by selecting and honoring a young leader in each congressional district in the state. Dr. Sanford introduced students Ms. Beverly Brown and Ms. Rachel Campbell, Legislative Youth Advisory Council Members, to present the Congressional District #1 award. The 2015 LYAC Leadership Award for Congressional District #1 was presented to Ms. Bailey Evans, Lakeshore High School senior. 4. Board Member Service Recognition Mr. Peter Jabbia, Assistant Superintendent, recognized Board Member Charles Harrell with a 20-year service pin and thanked him for his service to the students of St. Tammany. Mr. Jabbia also presented a 30-year service pin to Superintendent Trey Folse, and he thanked Superintendent Folse for his service to the students of St. Tammany. II. PUBLIC COMMENTS A. Five Minutes – None. B. Three Minutes Mrs. Debbie Green, the newly elected President of the St. Tammany Parish Federation of Teachers and School Employees, addressed the Board. Mrs. Green said she looked forward to working with Superintendent Folse and the Board. III. AGENDA ITEMS A. Approval of minutes for the regular meeting held April 16, 2015. It was moved by Mr. Bettencourtt, seconded by Mr. Dirmann, to approve the minutes from the regular meeting held April 16, 2015. President Loup asked if there were any questions from the Board or comments by the public. There being none, the motion carried unanimously. B. Approval of minutes for the special meeting held April 16, 2015. It was moved by Mrs. Heintz, seconded by Mr. Jeter, to approve the minutes from the special meeting held April 16, 2015. President Loup asked if there were any questions from the Board or comments by the public. There being none, the motion carried unanimously. C. Approval of minutes for the special meeting held April 23, 2015. It was moved by Mrs. Drucker, seconded by Mr. Cousin, to approve the minutes from the special meeting held April 23, 2015. President Loup asked if there were any questions from the Board or comments by the public. There being none, the motion carried unanimously. D. Appropriate retirement