HJH principal appointment spurs Act 1
debate over hiring authority
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
Two Claiborne Parish School
Board members voiced their displeasure at having their authority seemingly
ripped out from under them -- again.
The issue stems from an exchange
among Dr. Robert Haynes, District 5, Tommy Davidson, 6, and Schools
Superintendent Dr. Janice Williams over the hiring of Dr. Sue Barfield as
principal at Homer Junior High School (HJH). Haynes and Davidson accused Dr.
Williams of going around the authority of the board by hiding behind Act 1,
which gives authority to the superintendent to hire.
Haynes pointed a finger at Dr.
Williams and said, “You had this researched so that you could show that you had
the authority over us. That’s what you’re saying.”
Dr. Williams said approval of
personnel actions by the board recently were taken under the advisement of
another attorney (Bob Hammonds), but when she spoke to Guice from the Monroe
office, he told her Act 1 was still in place.
“Just as confusing as it is to
you all, they (attorneys) are just as confused because they don’t know what to
tell people,” Williams said. “Their response is to follow Act 1 until they are
told something differently.”
And currently, the school board
has received nothing in writing saying Act 1 is unconstitutional, and the board
must abide by the law until they are told otherwise.
“You mean we don’t get to vote
on it anymore?” Davidson asked Dr. Williams. “You mean the supreme court said
(Act 1) was unconstitutional and yet we don’t get to vote on it? We answer to
the people, yet we have no say so.”
Jim Hatch, school board
attorney, explained the portion of Act 1 that gives “inherent authority” to the
superintendent to hire school personnel.
“This was all enacted by the
legislature, which was part of the package presented by the governor and his
‘allies,’” Hatch said.
The supreme court sent it back
to the district court for reconsideration, and there has been no opinion from
the district court as of yet, Hatch continued
Joey White, District 7, said he
didn’t understand what was going on because Dr. Barfield’s appointment was
presented to them as if they were to act on it. Other board members voiced
their concerns they felt like the rug was literally being pulled out from under
them by taking away the authority in which they were elected under.
Just a few short months ago,
when Act 1 was declared unconstitutional, the school board retroacted all
personnel issues from the time the law went into effect until that meeting.
Since then, the board has approved personnel actions on a monthly basis.
Dr. Williams explained she was
discussing other issues with Jon Guice, an attorney working with the school
board on its case for unitary status, along with Hammonds in Baton Rouge, when
she spoke with him for clarification of what they should do.
Hatch went on to explain that
even when the district court issues a ruling, there is still the appeals
process, leading board members to believe it could be a while before anyone
knows anything.
During a special called meeting
in late June, board members heavily questioned Dr. Williams on the
recommendation to place Dr. Barfield in the principalship at HJH. Davidson said
in a telephone interview following the meeting in July that Dr. Barfield’s
credentials meet the requirements to be a principal.
Members were concerned about her
inexperience, not necessarily her credentials. According to Dr. Williams, in
previous employment, she was a teacher, working closely with the administrator
at that school, in the auspices of grooming her to take the helm.
Concerns expressed included
starting her at the junior high school where the kids are at a transitional age
from childhood to adolescence. Twyla Hilton spoke up, as former principal of
HJHS, saying she had “no qualms about Dr. Barfield, because she comes highly
experienced. She knows middle school.”
She said junior high would be
the perfect place for her to start because she’s only dealing with three
grades, whereas at the elementary school, she’d have been dealing with PreK
through fifth grade.
Dr. Barfield was originally
hired for the created position of data analysis and professional development,
which would have been paid through Title II funds for one year. Now that she’s
not going to serve in that position, Dr. Williams said the position would be
handled through other means.
“What we have to do at this
point is go back and take a look at it ourselves, get principals more involved,
get teachers more involved and to bring in Sandra Lee, who has always looked at
data,” she said. “She has always looked at data, but more in a ‘reading’
capacity, and we will be fortunate enough to have additional personnel with us
from the Louisiana Department of Education. Last year we only had one, this
year we have two people, and we also have at our disposal other members of the
Department of Education. Those people will be in our district for a minimum of
two days per week.”
Kirk, Reynolds plead guilty to manslaughter
The Guardian-Journal
Two women have pled guilty to
manslaughter charges after each were accused of killing their significant
others.
Patishi S. Kirk, 24, of Homer,
pled guilty to manslaughter charges after she was charged with the second
degree murder of Vincent Dunn, her boyfriend at the time.
According to the judgment, Kirk
was sentenced to 25 years at hard labor on Thursday, July 11 in the Second
Judicial District Court in Jonesboro by Judge Jimmy Teat.
“There were negotiations for a
plea, and a plea agreement was reached,” District Attorney Jonathan Stewart
said, regarding the Kirk case. “We were in close consultation with the victim’s
family and they approved of the plea before we offered it. They felt like it
was a just resolution to the case.”
Kirk was charged with second
degree murder in the July 3, 2010 death of Dunn after she admitted to stabbing
him. Dunn was found deceased inside a bedroom at a residence on Hunter Street.
Police say at the time she offered no motive, and Dunn previously had a
restraining order on her.
She voluntarily turned herself
in on Tuesday, June 11 and a few days later, bond was denied.
Assistant District Attorney Lea
Hall handled the final stages of the case.
Betty Reynolds, 38, of
Haynesville, pled Wednesday, July 10, in the Second Judicial District Court in
front of Judge Jenifer Clason. She received a sentence of 20 years at hard
labor, according to the judgment.
Reynolds was charged with second
degree murder in the death of her husband, Kenneth Reynolds on April 19, 2011.
According to Haynesville Police Chief Anthony Smith, in earlier reports, the
police department received a call at approximately 8 p.m. about a disturbance
on Gary Lane. Smith said she told officers her husband walked into a knife, but
after an investigation, there was no evidence that he’d “walked into a knife.”
The two were having an argument
at the time, she told police, and that she wanted a divorce. At that time, Mr.
Reynolds allegedly slapped her and that’s when he allegedly turned around and
walked into the knife.
Autopsy results showed that he
was stabbed in the left chest area, where the knife punctured his heart, Smith
said at the time.
Homer’s Town Clerk resigns
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
Homer Town Clerk Lisa Foster has
resigned amid the ongoing issues that have plagued the town for the last
several months.
In her resignation letter, she
cites poor leadership, nit-picking and other issues as her reasons for
terminating her employment with the town.
“The overall knick-picking[sic]
and underhanded events that are currently taking place at the Town of Homer
with certain individuals have forced me to make this decision; therefore I can
no longer provide my service under this leadership,” she writes in her letter.
In an email to The
Guardian-Journal, Foster asked this newspaper to publish her resignation letter
in its entirety.
Foster has been the town clerk
for the last few years, since Mayor Alecia Smith took office. She expresses her
love for Homer and says she hopes the town will “become whole again.”
“Words can’t express the love I
have for the Town of Homer and it saddens me that the Town of Homer has become
divided due to personal vendettas and poor leadership,” she writes. “I am very
thankful to have had the privilege to serve the Town of Homer citizens and wish
to have the opportunity to serve again in the future.”
In a special called meeting
Tuesday night, the town council appointed Lori Kirkpatrick as interim town
clerk. According to Councilman Michael Wade, District 2, she comes highly
recommended.
“Based upon the sudden
resignation of our former town clerk, Lisa Foster, I make a motion that we
appoint Lori Kirkpatrick as interim town clerk until the position is posted,”
he said. “She is an alum of Homer High, and I am confident in the job that she
can do.”
Currently, she is employed with
Grambling State University as the assistant to the director of retention. Her
other professional experience includes administrative assistant/office manager
with the Claiborne Boys and Girls Club, and Medicaid Collector/emergency
outpatient registration.
Kirkpatrick is a native and
current resident of Homer and is a member of First Ebenezer Missionary Baptist
Church. She is also a student at Grambling pursuing a degree in mass
communications/public relations.
The motion to hire Kirkpatrick
came from Wade, was seconded by Councilwoman Linda Mozeke, District 1, and was
approved. Councilwoman Carlette Sanford, District 4, was the lone opposing
vote.
Councilman Don McCalman,
District 3, was absent.
Foster’s resignation comes just
a few short days on the heels of the town treasurer’s resignation. Shenovia
Harris worked for the Town of Homer for roughly 16 years. Shenika Wright was
appointed interim town treasurer.
The positions must be advertised
and interviews conducted before permanent placements or replacements can be
made.
Police jury asks questions about request to increase
DA funding
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
The Claiborne and Jackson Parish
Police Juries are holding fast on a request made to District Attorney Jonathan
Stewart for documents requested after Stewart asked for an additional $50,000
for the year ending December 31, to operate his office.
According to Police Jury
President Scott Davidson, both police juries requested certain documents
roughly 16 months ago from Stewart so they could see exactly how the money was
being spent. This way, they could make a more informed decision about his
request.
Bienville Parish has already
approved a $38,000 increase for this year.
As of yet, those documents have
not been provided, so the motion was tabled at the Claiborne meeting. Lavelle
Penix made the motion, which was seconded by Jerry Adkins and approved.
“They (DA) had a funding request
then (April 2012), and we asked for this then,” Davidson said. “There’s nothing
hidden. It’s all public record. We just want to know how the money is being
spent to make sure that it’s being spent in a way that benefits the taxpayers.
It’s our job to protect them, and we want to make sure they are protected. I’m
sure Mr. Stewart is not wasting any money, but I want to see that for myself.”
Roy Mardis said the fact they
asked for it 16 months ago needed to be added to the letter they intended to
send to Mr. Stewart.
In the letter, dated June 21,
Stewart enclosed the budget message for the year ending December 31 and spread
sheets for the general fund, Title IVD Special Revenue Fund and Worthless Check
Special Revenue Fund, which reflects the 2012 budget, the 2012 actual revenues
and expenditures and the proposed 2013 budget.
“As reflected in the Budget
Message,” Stewart wrote in the letter, “we intend to operate the district
attorney’s office with no significant changes in personnel. However, we will
have increased expenditures in certain important categories and also decreasing
revenues from fines and forfeitures and criminal court fund revenues, which are
beyond the control of the Office of the District Attorney.”
He goes on to say that none of
the assistant district attorneys have received a raise since 2009, and some
have worked for 10 years or more.
“In order to be able to keep
competent staff, the district attorney must give raises to assistant district
attorneys this year,” he writes. “In addition to salaries, health insurance and
other insurance has increased every year.”
The items requested from both
juries include:
• “a list of all employees by
parish with job classification and pay level for the years 2008 to present,
• “a list of vehicles
owned/leased and the assigned drivers,
• “equipment purchased during
the current fiscal year,
• “anticipated equipment
purchased for the next fiscal year,
• “a list of recurring
contracted services,
• “breakdown of fringe benefits
provided to employees -- health, life, dental and other plans that have the
employer’s participation,
• “list of employees using credit
cards issued under the D.A.’s office,
• “final line item budgets for
2009-2013,
• “consolidated budgets from
2002-2008,
• “What role does Kenneth Folden
and Company play in the financial management of the D.A.’s Office?”
According to the police jury’s
response letter, they said they would “gladly consider your budget request,”
once that information is received.
Stewart explained his motives
behind asking for so much from Claiborne and Jackson. He broke it down, saying
he was asking for $50,000 each from Claiborne and Jackson parishes, but only
$38,000 from Bienville, because Bienville was already paying more than $12,000
per year. The $38,000 increase he got from Bienville equals $50,000 for their
portion.
“In essence, I asked for all
three parishes to be made equal,” he said. “A big part of our funding comes
from fines and forfeitures and the biggest part of those are traffic tickets.
The number of traffic tickets that have been written per year have gone down
drastically since 2008. The money that comes in from traffic tickets and fines
and forfeitures, it not only helps to fund our office, but also the public
defenders, the judges, the clerks offices and the sheriffs all get money from
it. It’s gone down so drastically, that it leaves us without sufficient funds
to operate.”
While he said the documents both
police juries are asking for will be provided this week, he also answered a
question posed by the two entities. Kenneth Folden and Company takes care of
the bookkeeping for the district attorney’s office and has for many years. In
fact, Stewart continued, Kenneth Folden and Company used to take care of the
office’s audit reports, but because of changes to the law, that is no longer
the case.
CPPJ Secretary Treasurer Dwayne
Woodard said in a telephone interview that Claiborne Parish is the poorest of
the three parishes that encompass the Second Judicial District. According to
figures obtained from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s website, the general
fund budgeted expenditures for Claiborne Parish in 2012 were roughly $2.3
million. In Bienville Parish, the general fund budgeted expenditures were
approximately $3.7 million, while Jackson Parish’s is about $2.65 million.
The district attorney’s office
is funded by a portion of the general fund from each parish.
And to answer a question posed
by Davidson concerning the reason for requesting increases in the middle of the
year, Stewart said the DA’s office is on a calendar year, whereas the police
juries are on a fiscal year. Claiborne’s fiscal year runs on the calendar year
as well.
“In terms of being able to
forecast and see where you are with criminal court fines and fines and
forfeitures, you’re not able to tell early in the year, like January or
February,” he said. “These are always dead months, and you don’t start getting
a true picture of traffic tickets and offenses until towards the middle of the
year.”
In essence, he’s requesting the
money based on a projection for the rest of the calendar year.
“The last two years, in November
and December, we haven’t gotten any money from the criminal court fund,” he
continued. “Usually during the holidays, things pick up, but in the last couple
of years that hasn’t been the case.”
The issue has been tabled until
the documents requested by the police juries have been provided and studied.
However, at a special called meeting, the Jackson Parish Police Jury refused
Stewart’s request.
Mark Your Calendar!
Library Hours Change
Beginning August 3, 2013, the
hours for Joe W. Webb Memorial Library will change to the following: 9:00 a.m.
– 5:00 p.m. Monday – Friday. The library will no longer be open on Saturdays.
MOCS Rodeo set for July 26-27
Brown Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of
Minden and LA Chemical would like to invite everyone to the 31st Annual Mt.
Olive Christian School Rodeo July 26-27 at the Gantt Arena in Athens. The
rodeo starts at 8 p.m. This year we welcome back our favorite rodeo
entertainer and barrel man Rudy Burns. Concessions and restrooms will be
available. General Admission for the rodeo is $10 and children 10 and under
are free. Bring your horse to ride in the grand entry and get in for free.
Advance tickets are $8 and are available at GBT in Athens, Patton’s Western
Wear in Ruston, J & H Boots and Jeans in West Monroe and the Mt. Olive Christian
School Office. For more information, advance tickets or directions to the
arena, call 318-243-0674 or 318-843-4103.
