MINUTES
POINTE COUPEE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
337 Napoleon Street
New Roads, LA 70760
REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
Thursday, March 27, 2025
The Pointe Coupee Parish School Board met for their regular monthly meeting on Thursday, March 27, 2025, at 337 Napoleon Street in New Roads, Louisiana 70760. President Lisa Loupe D’Aquila called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
Ms. Lisa Loupe D’Aquila offered the invocation and Mr. Thomas Nelson led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America.
Members of the School Board present when the roll was called: Chad Aguillard, Frank R. Aguillard, Jr., Lisa Loupe D’Aquila, Walter Grezaffi, Aubry Hendricks, Anita LeJeune, and Thomas Nelson.
School Board Members Jason Lemoine was absent.
Central Office Administrative Staff in attendance: Kim Canezaro, Superintendent; Natalie Aguillard, Director of Human Capital; Tonya Burgess, Dean of Students; Andrew Duhe,’ Supervisor of Maintenance and Operations; Stephen Langlois, Chief Fiscal Officer, and Dr. LaShonda Victorian, Supervisor of Child Welfare and Attendance.
School Administrative Staff in attendance: Bridget Bush Assistant Principal at STEM Magnet Academy of Pointe Coupee; Mrs. Tiffany Davis, Principal of Rougon Elementary School; Ms. Lamonica Edwards, Assistant Principal of Rosenwald Elementary; Ms. Sara Taylor, Principal of Valverda Elementary; and Mrs. Carolyn Wells, Principal of Upper Pointe Coupee Elementary School.
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Remarks from the Superintendent- Superintendent Canezaro made the following remarks:
STEM stadium renovation project is nearing completion. A final walk-through was done this week with the architect and the contractor; there are just a few things left on the punch list that need to be addressed.
The doors for the single point entry on the other campuses are in so they will be installed beginning the weekend of April 4th and 5th, and they will work their way to all campuses.
Next month’s Executive Committee Meeting will be on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, at 5:30 p.m., not Thursday, April 17, 2025, due to Thursday being Holy Thursday.
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Consent Agenda- Mr. Thomas Nelson offered a motion, seconded by Mr. Aubry Hendricks, to approve the adoption of the consent agenda items. Hearing no opposition, the motion carried by a unanimous vote of the seven members of the Board present and voting.
Approval of the minutes from the regular School Board meeting of Thursday,
February 20, 2025.
Approval of the minutes from the Executive Committee meeting of Thursday,
March 20, 2025.
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Receive the Head Start Supervisor’s Monthly Report- Superintendent Canezaro stated the Head Start Supervisor’s monthly report has been on BoardDocs, and no questions were received regarding the report. She further stated that Ms. Fontenot was not in attendance.
Mr. Frank Aguillard made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Anita LeJeune, to approve the February 2025 Head Start Monthly Report that was prepared by Ms. Fontenot and placed on BoardDocs. Hearing no opposition, the motion carried by a unanimous vote of the seven members of the Board present and voting.
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Discussion and/or Action Regarding Monthly Financial Information- Mr. Stephen Langlois mentioned that he was not in attendance at last week’s Executive Committee meeting; however, the monthly financial report has been on BoardDocs for members of the Board to review. Mr. Langlois stated that he would like to highlight a couple of things and referenced a transfer of revenue listed on page 1 of the report. Mr. Langlois stated the Ad Valoreum transfer of funds for 2025 were moved to the restricted accounts, reflecting a balance of $4,491,286.08 as of March 17, 2025. Mr. Langlois announced the month went smoothly; sales tax collections were at $704,000, which is $15,000 more than last January. He stated the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) collections were $859,528; however, the amount will be revised to $774,079 starting next month. He stated the MFP calculations are approximately $93,000 less per month for the remainder of the year which is an estimated $370,000 reduction, and will see this reflected in next month’s report.
Board Member Thomas Nelson inquired about the reduction in MFP and Mr. Langlois explained the February 1st enrollment numbers are used to determine the amount of funding, and the enrollment has decreased by over 140 students thus reducing the amount of MFP funding the school system received (funded on 2103 students in comparison to enrollment number 2248 on February 1, 2024).
Having no further questions, President D’Aquila entertained a motion to accept the monthly financial information.
Mr. Walter Grezaffi made a motion, seconded by Mr. Aubry Hendricks, to accept the February 2025 Monthly Financial Report prepared by Mr. Stephen Langlois. Hearing no opposition, the motion carried by a unanimous vote of the seven members of the Board present and voting.
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Consider Approval of RFP from Conterra for Category 1 E-Rate Internet and Wide Area Network Services for STEM Magnet Academy of Pointe Coupee- Mr. Stephen Langlois
explained the wide area network telecommunications service agreement with Conterra was approved in November 2024 for all sites in the school district, with the exception of the STEM Academy of Pointe Coupee, therefore, asking the Board to approve this RFP with Conterra to include STEM for the next 36 months. .
Mr. Thomas Nelson made a motion to approve the RFP from Conterra for Category 1 E-Rate Internet and Wide Area Network services for STEM Magnet Academy of Pointe Coupee. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Anita LeJeune. Hearing no opposition, the motion carried by a unanimous vote of the seven members of the Board present and voting.
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Discussion and/or Action Regarding Closing the $1.5 million CD at Guaranty Bank upon Maturity- Mr. Stephen Langlois stated the $1,500,000.00 deposited in a CD at Guaranty Bank for seven months (October 12, 2024) will expire on May 12, 2025. Mr. Langlois stated that he will contact Guaranty Bank to inquire if the bank will need a resolution to be adopted in April to close the account
Mr. Langlois explained due to end of year budget projections, and moving forward, he thinks it is best to keep as much “liquid” on hand as possible therefore, recommends closing the CD when it matures and depositing it in the restricted account for accessibility of funds in the fall of 2025. President D’Aquila inquired about the amount of interest that was earned. Mr. Langlois stated it was a good interest rate that earned the Board between $7,000 and $8,000 per month for the last seven months, which was fruitful in comparison to the money just sitting in the bank account.
Mr. Walter Grezaffi made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Anita LeJeune to close the $1.5 million Certificate of Deposit at Guaranty Bank upon maturity in May 2025. The motion carried by a unanimous vote of the seven members of the Board present and voting.
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Executive Session to Discuss the Superintendent’s Evaluation Pursuant to LA. R.S. 42:17 (A) (1). -President Lisa Loupe D’Aquila announced that Superintendent Canezaro is not requesting to enter into an executive session regarding her evaluation performance. Ms. D’Aquila thanked her fellow Board members for their participation in the evaluation and announced that Superintendent Canezaro received a rating of 3.40 (out of 4) on her annual performance evaluation which is proficient effective. Ms. Canezaro was applauded by members of the Board, and she stated she is thankful and will continue to try to improve.
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Adjournment - On a motion by Mr. Thomas Nelson, seconded by Mr. Frank Aguillard, the meeting adjourned at 5:38 p.m.
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Lisa Loupe D’Aquila, Superintendent
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Kim Canezaro, Superintendent