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Votes at a glance: Ouachita Parish School Board actions and permissions from meeting
Summary
Summary of motions and roll-call outcomes on administrative and capital items: approval of minutes and agenda changes, officer selection, differentiated compensation revision, financial report, permissions to bid on two projects, and demolition permission for Richwood High School.
The Ouachita Parish School Board held a full agenda and recorded the following formal actions and administrative approvals. This summary lists each item, the motion outcome, and the key details recorded in the meeting transcript and packet.
1) Approval of minutes (Dec. 10) Motion to approve the Dec. 10 minutes was moved and seconded and carried by voice vote.
2) Agenda amendments The board voted to delete item number 3 under “permission to bid” and then approved the agenda as amended; motions carried by voice vote.
3) Selection of officers for 2025 Nominations were opened and a motion that “all should remain as they are for the year 2025” was moved and seconded. The motion carried.
4) Recognition of board training hours The board publicly recorded that members exceeded the six-hour training requirement mandated by Act 705 of the 2011 Louisiana Legislature and noted several members exceeded 20 hours for voluntary certification through the Louisiana School Boards Association.
5) Differentiated compensation distribution, fiscal year 2024–25 The board adopted a revision to the differentiated compensation implementation to set the distribution amount for “highly effective” classroom teachers at $604. A motion to adopt the revision was moved and seconded and passed on voice vote.
6) Financial report (period ending Nov. 30, 2024) The finance officer reported the general fund ended the period with $23,300,000 in fund balance, which the packet notes is 79% of the comparable point last year. The board accepted the financial report; discussion included that the difference was driven by the timing of state stipend distributions. The district also reported purchases of 11 buses this year; air-conditioning units were purchased primarily with ESSER funds, and installation/bracket costs for some older buses remain to be funded from M&O.
7) Construction and interrelation projects update Staff provided project updates (Thurman High anticipated completion targeted for March, Pinecrest car pickup operational, ongoing work at other sites). No separate formal action recorded other than discussion.
8) Permission to bid — West Monroe High School football field renovations (Bid 19-25) The board granted permission to bid on renovations to the playing surface at West Monroe High School, citing foundation and drainage concerns, with a listed budget amount of $1,300,000 and the funding source noted in the packet as "West Washtenaw sales tax" (as stated in the meeting materials). Motion carried.
9) Permission to bid — Richwood High School demolition (Bid 20-25) The board granted permission to bid for demolition of the old Richwood High School building with a budget of $510,000; staff said the work includes asbestos abatement. Motion carried.
10) Executive session and HB71 posting (see separate article) The board entered executive session under La. R.S. 42:17(A)(2) to discuss prospective litigation after a written demand from the ACLU and later approved a resolution in open session to post materials required by House Bill 71 (Act 676) by a roll-call vote of 6-1.
Meeting adjournment and calendar The board noted the next regular meeting on Feb. 11 and a convention on Feb. 25 in Lake Charles.
Notes on procedure and records: Every formal action recorded in this summary appears in the meeting minutes and packet. Where motions were carried by voice vote and no roll-call tally was read into the record, the minutes record the motion as passed; where roll call was taken, the roll-call results are recorded.
