Avoyelles School Board changes committee meeting policy/procedure

While final approval of issues affecting the public schools must be done at the Avoyelles School Board’s regular monthly meeting, the real work on the items occurs in the committee meetings before then.

The School Board has made a few changes to its committee schedule since seven new members were seated in January. Now they are making another one.

The board used to hold three committee meetings on the third Tuesday and two on the fourth Tuesday. Board members decided to hold all five on one day.

The new board decided to change the meeting day from the third Tuesday to the third Monday.

Then the board adopted a four-day school week, Tuesday-Friday.

“We will not have school on Mondays,” Superintendent Blaine Dauzat said. “That means we will be calling employees in on their day off to attend the committee meetings on that Monday.”

So the board made another change to its committee schedule -- to hold all five committees’ meetings on the third Tuesday.

CONVENE IMMEDIATELY

The board also decided to start the committee meetings at 4:30 p.m. and to convene the next committee immediately after the previous committee is adjourned.

This policy replaces the “committee may start up to 30 minutes earlier than scheduled.”

What that means for someone with an item on one of the agendas is that they need to be at the Central Office meeting room at 4:30 p.m. even if the committee they plan to address will meet later.

For example, the May 21 committee schedule has the Bus Committee leading off at 4:30 p.m., followed by the Education, Executive, Finance and Building & Lands committees.

Under the previous policy, the Education Committee would have an official start time of 5 p.m., Executive 5:30 p.m., Finance 6 p.m. and Building & Lands 6:30 p.m.

Each committee after the Bus Committee could start up to 30 minutes earlier than the time printed on the agenda.

In a previous committee meeting night, board members had too much “dead time” in between meetings. Had the new policy been in place, the committee meetings would have ended earlier.

Since all board members attend every committee meeting and are members of two or more committees, the new policy will not force them to change their third Tuesday schedules.

So instead of meetings that begin at 4:30 p.m. and may not end until 7 p.m., the night’s business could be over in 60 minutes if there are a few light agendas on tap.

Under the previous system, there might be 60 minutes of business with a schedule that would hold board members and meeting audiences there for 2 1/2 hours or more.

‘NO WAKE’ RESOLUTION

In another matter, the board adopted a resolution to request the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries create a “no wake” zone in an area of Spring Bayou that has School Board property on both sides of the waterway.

Signs will be erected to advise boaters of the regulation and LDWF will be asked to enforce it.

Board member Rickey Adams said the action is needed due to high water in that area. He said the water is “up to doors of some camps in that area.” Waves caused by speeding boats forces the water into some camps, he added.