The Lincoln Parish School Board approved its portion of the proposed 2022/23 budget for the Lincoln Parish Sales and Use Tax Commission and granted permission to distribute instructional monies from the 1979 sales tax collections during its June monthly meeting held Wednesday night at the School Board office.
Lincoln Parish Schools Superintendent Ricky Durrett said the sales tax monies dating back to a 1979 ruling dedicates funding to subjects that are always considered in the main budget.
“That’s for things like music, libraries, newspapers, band and choir — all of those types of things,” Durrett said. “It’s a formality we’ve done every year going back to 1979. The distribution of funding is based on the number of students each school and program has.”
In light of recent on-goings on a national level, Durrett said the meeting opened with a special prayer.
“We opened up by holding hands and saying ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ to start the meeting because (District 11 representative George Mack, Jr.) asked us to, feeling it would be appropriate,” Durrett said. “It was just a way to remember everything that’s going on in the country right now while hoping for better times to come.”
Durrett said school safety measures will be reviewed this summer, but that he feels good about what’s already in place to protect Lincoln Parish Schools.
“A lot of that we’ve been doing,” Durrett said. “This summer we’re going to do a review of all that with our Sheriff’s Department and try to see what we can improve upon or just to help make sure everybody’s following the proper procedures.”
Also approved was the LPSB’s 2022-23 salary schedule while a revised budget for the school year ending on June 30 was adopted.
“We’ve got one more month, but I think all of that looked really good for us,” Durrett said of the budget. “Sales tax has been up this year some and with other things, the budget is looking like it’s in good shape as we close out this school year.”
Board members also heard reports on personnel matters, sales tax receipts for May of 2022, a financial update for April 2022 and a health plan update for April 2022 as well as discussing some minor policy revisions for the upcoming school year.
The Board also granted permission to declare surplus property.
“That was mainly old computers that are so out-of-date they’re no longer really serviceable,” Durrett said.
