Caddo Spent 34 Kon Travel
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By Icess Fernandez [email protected] The Caddo Pa rish School Boa rd has spent more tha n $34,000 on travel to and from conferences so far this year in an effort to fulfill a state-man- dated contin uing educa tion requirement, according to re- cor ds obt ain ed by TheTimes. Among th e more cos tly trips was a visit to San Francis co in Aprilto atten d theNationa l As- socia tionof Scho ol Board s con- ferenc e. The trip has produ ced some ideas in governance and budget ary leade rship , said Lil- lian Priest , board presid ent. “Tha t’ s a wa y for sc ho ol boards to network and bring back ideas ,”she said. The Times gained access to the records through an open records request that asked for board trav el expe nses since Ja n. 1. Alth oughboardmemberssay the price tag is justified, some sa y th atduri ng a ti meof fin an- cial strain the board should be more selective with its travel expenses. Since January, board mem- bers have trav eled to Marks- ville , BatonRouge , Washin gton D.C. and San Francisco. Regis- tration has been paid for six board memb ers for a trip next wee k to Ash vill e,N.C., for a re- gional confer ence . The trip to San Franc isc o cos t mor e tha n $17 ,000 forsev- en board members to attend. However , depe nding on the board membe r, the stays in the Bay- area city varied , accord ing to docume nts. The price tag included reg- istration fees, flights and hotel stay . Therewere alsoaddition- al fees, including costs for at- tendi ng lunch eons and organi- zatio nalgatherings , notinclud- ed in theregis tra tio n fee . The money was wor th it, Priest said, because ideas for dealin g with Caddo’s budget crunch, which was happening atthe time,camefrom thecon- ference. Priest said the ideas brough t back were: Imp le me nt a spen di ng moratorium. Rene gotiat e vender con- tracts. Look to see if the district has over allocated staff posi- tio ns. Priest said Cadd o did havesome. Look at programs, organi- zations and compe nsatio n for pla cesto trim. However , therehaven’t been polic iesbrought forthby board membe rs becaus e those ideas havebeen giv ento dis tric t sta ff membe rs to imple ment. “School boards do not im- pleme nt progra ms, staff brings them to us for approval,” she said. BoardmemberCurtisHooks , who also att end ed the San Francisco conference, said he gained more than knowledge from the trip, he gained per- spective. He rented a car and drove more than 30 hours to the conference. He said he at- tende d 12.5sessions. “S omet imes you ha ve to learn to stand by yourself,” he said.“It (theconventio n) made me a stronger person. Before going to San Francisco, I won- der ed whe the r I wasdoingthe righ t thi ng.One of thesess ions brough t (that ) out for me.” In retros pect,he wishe s few- er people attended the confer- ence, Hooks said. As a result, he decided not to attend next week’ s trip to Ashvil le. “After laying off 300 people, I coul dn ’tfindit inmy heartto go, ” he said. School board members are re quir ed to ha ve a cert ai n number of continuing educa- tio n hou rs as perstatelaw . The hou rs ha ve to be comple ted face-to-face and can’t be done online , Priestsaid. Accor ding to the law, board member s nee d to comple te six hours. Part of the hours have to include workshops in cer- tain topics such as education- al policy issues, leadership de- velop ment and school disci- pline. In addition, boards with schools on the academical- ly unacceptable list must have twohourswort h of wor ksh ops dealing with school improve- ment. Priest said she had 12.5 hou rs so far . There isn’t a stipulation in the law about what happens if a school board member does not fulfill the annual require- ment. As part of the board ’s pol icy , membe rs can be reimbu rsed for: hotel room, cost of meals plus 15 percent in tips, regis- tration costs , transp ortatio n including a 15 percent tip and mil eag e. The y als o can tak e out advances if needed. Trips are booked months in advance and the board president signs off on wh o at te nds wh ic h meetings or conventions. The pre sid ent als o sig ns off on reimbursements. Sunday 07/10/11 • 3A DATACENTER: SE E WHO OWES CHIL D SUPPOR T IN LOUI SI ANA, shreveporttimes.com W hen searching for phone numbers to help find answers to problems, the Shreveport Police Department has a wealth of information on its website — http://www .shreveportla.gov/dept/police/. Aside from 911, which must be used only during emergencies, there is a non-emergency line for residents to call to report criminal activity. That number is 673-7300. Want to do your part and turn in a suspect in a crime? There’s a contact for that, too. Try Crime Stoppers at 673-7373. Residents also can report illegal narcotics in Shreveport or Caddo Parish by sending an email to drugstoppers@ shreveportla.gov. Here are some other helpful numbers if you need help reporting traffic congestion, neighbors who have several inoperable cars cluttering yards, suspicious activities or crimes, or even a police officer who may not be following the law or proper procedure. — From Staff Reports FIXIT: Helpful numbers for assistance The Times helps you get things done. Email [email protected] CODE VIOLATIONS: Call Code Enforcement at 673-6200 for concerns regarding enforcement of violations of statutes or ordinances regulating public health, safety and welfare, and public works. CRIME/SUSPIC IOUS ACTIVITY: Call general information at 673-BLUE for non-emergency calls, including criminal activity, safety issues, suspicious activity and questions. COMPLAINT S ON OFFICERS: Call the Internal Affairs Bureau at 673-6920 if there is a complaint or problem with the manner which calls for police service are handled. TRAFFIC PROBLEMS: Call the Traffic Bureau at 673-7255 for concerns regarding violations of traffic laws and motor vehicle safety. Catching Up updates readers in Bossier, Caddo, DeSoto and Webster parishes on previous stories reported in The Times. Email ideas for this column to vhunter@ shreveporttimes.com. Man who owe d chil d supp ort jail ed Shreveporter Charles B. Cooksey was featured in a previous edition of The Times as owing $153,000 in back child support for his son who is now 31 years old, according to court records. The 66-year-old is listed among those statewide who contribute to an estimated $619 million in delinquent child support owed in Louisiana. The total amount derives from more than 53,000 cases. Court records show that Cooksey took flight from a $350-a-month child support obligation more than 28 years ago, and now his arrears put him at No. 2 on Caddo Parish’s list of so-called “worst” deadbeat parents. UPDATE: Cooksey has since disputed the accusations and says he’s working with an attorney to clear up the matter and his name. However, he was booked into Caddo Correctional Center on June 30 for one count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and being a fugitive from the screening division of Caddo District Attorney’s Office for the child support matter, according to Caddo sheriff’s office. Cooksey is being held in CCC without a bond and is set to go before a Caddo judge soon. Cou rt dat e set forunionhearin g After Caddo Parish School Board eliminated 313 positions as part of its 2011-2012 budget process, Caddo Federation of Teachers and Support Personnel filed suit June 21 claiming the board had violated state law in how it chose which positions would be placed on the chopping block. State law requires boards to create and follow a reduction in force policy that takes into account certification and education, if applicable, seniority in the system and tenure of employees. Federation President Jackie Lansdale said the board broke the law when it chose to lay off personnel based on seniority within position rather than seniority in the system. Board attorney Reggie Abrams said he believes the board’s policy and action were in line with state regulations. UPDATE: A request made June 27 for a motion of judgement by the school board has been denied by Judge Scott Crichton. A case hearing has been set for 9:30 a.m. Aug. 10 in the Caddo Parish Courthouse and has been assigned to Judge Leon Emanuel. — Fr om Sta ff Rep orts CATCHINGUP Since January, the Caddo Parish School Board has spent more than $34,000 in trips to convent ions and conferences. School board member have to earn continuing education hours as per state law. Veteran members need six hours and new members need 16 hours during their first year to receive a “Distinguished School Board Member” designation. Among some of the locations traveled by board members are San Francisco, Washington D.C., and Baton Rouge. Board members are planning a trip for Ashville, N.C. next week and Pineville next month. The Board spent the most money on registration fees and hotel stays. Expenses for the trips come from the district’s general fund. Grand total $34,789.97 $10,639 Hotel $1,805.30 Other $425.60 Tips (meals/baggage) $15,030 Registration fees $2,566.50 Flights $110 Baggage fees $1,651.33 Meals $2,562.24 Mileage Source: Times research a nd Caddo Parish Public Schools TheTimes BY THE NUMBERS Caddo board spent $34K on travel Board president: Spend ing amount can be justified SEE CADDO, Page 4 D o c u m e n t : 0 S T 0 3 0 0 A 0 7 1 0 . p d f ; P a g e : 1 ; F o r m a t : ( 2 6 6 . 7 0 x 4 5 0 . 8 5 m m ) ; P l a t e : C o m p o s i t e ; D a t e : J u l 0 9 , 2 0 1 1 2 2 : 4 7 : 5 6 ; L o w R e s C M Y K
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Transcript of Caddo Spent 34 Kon Travel
By Icess [email protected]
The Caddo Parish SchoolBoard has spent more than$34,000 on travel to and fromconferences so far this year inan effort to fulfill a state-man-dated continuing educationrequirement, according to re-cords obtained by TheTimes.
Among the more costly tripswas a visit to San Francisco in
Aprilto attend theNational As-sociationof School Boards con-ference. The trip has producedsome ideas in governance and
budgetary leadership, said Lil-lian Priest, board president.
“That’s a way for school boards to network and bring back ideas,”she said.
The Times gained access tothe records through an openrecords request that asked for
board travel expenses sinceJan. 1.
Althoughboardmemberssay the price tag is justified, somesay thatduring a timeof finan-cial strain the board should bemore selective with its travelexpenses.
Since January, board mem- bers have traveled to Marks- ville, BatonRouge, WashingtonD.C. and San Francisco. Regis-tration has been paid for six
board members for a trip nextweek to Ashville,N.C., for a re-gional conference.
The trip to San Franciscocost more than $17,000 forsev-en board members to attend.However, depending on the
board member, the stays in theBay-area city varied, according to documents.
The price tag included reg-istration fees, flights and hotelstay. Therewere also addition-al fees, including costs for at-tending luncheons and organi-zationalgatherings, notinclud-ed in theregistration fee.
The money was worth it,Priest said, because ideas fordealing with Caddo’s budgetcrunch, which was happening
atthe time,camefrom thecon-ference. Priest said the ideas
brought back were:Implement a spending
moratorium.Renegotiate vender con-
tracts.Look to see if the district
has over allocated staff posi-tions. Priest said Caddo didhavesome.Look at programs, organi-
zations and compensation forplacesto trim.
However, therehaven’t beenpoliciesbrought forthby boardmembers because those ideashavebeen givento district staff members to implement.
“School boards do not im-plement programs, staff bringsthem to us for approval,” shesaid.
BoardmemberCurtisHooks,who also attended the SanFrancisco conference, said hegained more than knowledgefrom the trip, he gained per-spective. He rented a car anddrove more than 30 hours to
the conference. He said he at-tended 12.5sessions.
“Sometimes you have tolearn to stand by yourself,” hesaid.“It (theconvention) mademe a stronger person. Beforegoing to San Francisco, I won-dered whether I wasdoingtheright thing.One of thesessions
brought (that) out for me.”In retrospect,he wishes few-
er people attended the confer-ence, Hooks said. As a result,he decided not to attend nextweek’s trip to Ashville.
“After laying off 300 people,I couldn’tfindit inmy hearttogo,” he said.
School board members arerequired to have a certainnumber of continuing educa-tion hours as perstatelaw. Thehours have to be completedface-to-face and can’t be doneonline, Priestsaid.
According to the law, boardmembers need to complete sixhours. Part of the hours haveto include workshops in cer-tain topics such as education-
al policy issues, leadership de- velopment and school disci-pline. In addition, boards withschools on the academical-ly unacceptable list must havetwohoursworth of workshopsdealing with school improve-ment. Priest said she had 12.5hours so far.
There isn’t a stipulation inthe law about what happens if a school board member doesnot fulfill the annual require-ment.
As part of the board’s policy,members can be reimbursedfor: hotel room, cost of mealsplus 15 percent in tips, regis-tration costs, transportationincluding a 15 percent tip andmileage. They also can takeout advances if needed. Tripsare booked months in advanceand the board president signsoff on who attends whichmeetings or conventions. Thepresident also signs off onreimbursements.
Sunday 07/10/11 •3A
DATACENTER: SEEWHO OWESCHILD SUPPORT IN LOUISIANA, shreveporttimes.com
When searching for phone numbers to help find answersto problems, the Shreveport Police Department has awealth of information on its website — http://www
.shreveportla.gov/dept/police/.Aside from 911, which must be used only during emergencies,
there is a non-emergency line for residents to call to reportcriminal activity. That number is 673-7300.
Want to do your part and turn in a suspect in a crime?There’s a contact for that, too. Try Crime Stoppers at 673-7373.Residents also can report illegal narcotics in Shreveportor Caddo Parish by sending an email to [email protected].
Here are some other helpful numbers if you need helpreporting traffic congestion, neighbors who have severalinoperable cars cluttering yards, suspicious activities or crimes,or even a police officer who may not be following the law orproper procedure.
— From Staff Reports
FIXIT: Helpful numbers for assistance The Times helps you get things done.Email [email protected]
CODE VIOLATIONS: Call Code Enforcement at 673-6200 forconcerns regarding enforcement of violations of statutes orordinances regulating public health, safety and welfare, andpublic works.
CRIME/SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY: Call general information at673-BLUE for non-emergency calls, including criminal activity,safety issues, suspicious activity and questions.
COMPLAINTS ON OFFICERS: Call the Internal Affairs Bureauat 673-6920 if there is a complaint or problem with the mannerwhich calls for police service are handled.
TRAFFIC PROBLEMS: Call the Traffic Bureau at 673-7255 forconcerns regarding violations of traffic laws and motor vehiclesafety.
Catching Up updates readers in Bossier,Caddo, DeSoto and Webster parishes onprevious stories reported in The Times.Email ideas for this column to [email protected].
Manwhoowedchild support jailedShreveporter Charles B. Cooksey was
featured in a previous edition of TheTimes as owing $153,000 in back childsupport for his son who is now 31 yearsold, according to court records.
The 66-year-old is listed among thosestatewide who contribute to an estimated$619 million in delinquent child supportowed in Louisiana. The total amountderives from more than 53,000 cases.Court records show that Cooksey tookflight from a $350-a-month child supportobligation more than 28 years ago, andnow his arrears put him at No. 2 on CaddoParish’s list of so-called “worst” deadbeatparents.
UPDATE: Cooksey has since disputedthe accusations and says he’s workingwith an attorney to clear up the matterand his name. However, he was bookedinto Caddo Correctional Center on June30 for one count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and being a fugitive fromthe screening division of Caddo DistrictAttorney’s Office for the child supportmatter, according to Caddo sheriff’s office.
Cooksey is being held in CCC without abond and is set to go before a Caddo judgesoon.
Courtdate setforunionhearingAfter Caddo Parish School Board
eliminated 313 positions as part of its 2011-2012 budget process, CaddoFederation of Teachers and SupportPersonnel filed suit June 21 claiming theboard had violated state law in how itchose which positions would be placed onthe chopping block.
State law requires boards to createand follow a reduction in force policythat takes into account certification andeducation, if applicable, seniority in thesystem and tenure of employees.
Federation President Jackie Lansdalesaid the board broke the law when itchose to lay off personnel based onseniority within position rather thanseniority in the system.
Board attorney Reggie Abrams said hebelieves the board’s policy and action werein line with state regulations.
UPDATE: A request made June 27 for amotion of judgement by the school boardhas been denied by Judge Scott Crichton.A case hearing has been set for 9:30 a.m.Aug. 10 in the Caddo Parish Courthouseand has been assigned to Judge LeonEmanuel.
— From StaffReports
CATCHINGUP
Since January, the Caddo ParishSchool Board has spent more than$34,000 in trips to conventions andconferences.
School board member have to earncontinuing education hours as per statelaw. Veteran members need six hours
and new members need 16 hoursduring their first year to receive a“Distinguished School Board Member”designation.
Among some of the locations traveledby board members are San Francisco,Washington D.C., and Baton Rouge.
Board members are planning a trip forAshville, N.C. next week and Pinevillenext month.
The Board spent the most money onregistration fees and hotel stays.Expenses for the trips come from thedistrict’s general fund.
Grand total $34,789.97
$10,639Hotel
$1,805.30Other$425.60
Tips(meals/baggage)
$15,030Registration fees
$2,566.50Flights
$110Baggagefees
$1,651.33Meals
$2,562.24Mileage
Source: Times research andCaddo Parish Public Schools
TheTimes
BY THE NUMBERS
Caddo board spent $34K on travelBoard president:Spending amountcan be justified
SEE CADDO, Page 4
D o c u m e n
t : 0 S T 0 3 0 0 A 0 7 1 0
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C o m p o s
i t e ; D a
t e :
J u
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7 : 5
6 ; L o w
R e s
C M Y K
SH-1000250620
CONTACT: Velda Hunter, 459-3534 or [email protected] ONLINE: Help/Contact us at shreveporttimes.com
KEEPTHEWATCHDOGDIGGING: Got a tip for us to investigate? Send ideas to [email protected], or call our tips line: (318) 439-8000
