East Baton Rouge Parish School Board

Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes

Thursday, April 3, 2025

A. Meeting Opening

1. Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance

The Invocation was led by School Board Member Cliff Lewis, and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by School Board Member Nathan Rust.

2. Call to Order and Roll Call

Vice-President Gaudet called the meeting to order at 5:01 PM.

Members present were Mark Bellue, Carla Powell Lewis, Shashonnie Steward, Cliff Lewis, Nathan Rust, Michael Gaudet, Emily Soulé, and Patrick Martin.

Dadrius Lanus was absent.

Others present were LaMont Cole, Superintendent; Adam Smith, Deputy Superintendent; Gwynn Shamlin Jr., General Counsel; Catasha Edwards, Chief Academic Officer; Taylor Gast, Administrative Director of Communications; Amy Jones, Chief Technology Officer; Andrea O’Konski, Chief of Accountability and Assessments; James Crochet, Chief Business Operations Officer; John McCann, Interim Chief Operations Officer; Kelly Lopez, Chief Financial Officer; Laura Williams, Chief of Schools; and Kwesi Gilbert, Chief of Plant Operations.

B. Information Only

1. Fiscal Transparency Report

C. Receive as Information

1. School Presentation

D. Items for Consideration

1. Contract: Pro-Vision Video System

Approval of a contract between the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board and Pro-Vision Video Systems in the amount of $708,000, a total of $3,540,000 over a five-year period to provide digital cameras, cloud connect services, and installation on buses.

Motion by Nathan Rust, second by Emily Soulé.

Final Resolution: Motion Carries

Yea: Bellue, Powell Lewis, Steward, Lewis, Nathan Rust, Gaudet, Soulé, Martin

2. Professional Services Contract: Renaissance Learning

Approval of the renewal of a professional services contract between the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board and Renaissance Learning in the amount of $171,471.96 to provide for the continuation of the eduClimber data analytics program. Funding Source: EEF

Motion by Cliff Lewis, second by Patrick Martin.

Final Resolution: Motion Carries

Yea: Bellue, Powell Lewis, Steward, Lewis, Rust, Gaudet, Soulé, Martin

3. Professional Services Contract: Exponent Education

Approval of a professional services contract between the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board and Exponent Education in the amount of $92,400 to provide data visualization and analytics consulting and related matters. Funding Source: Gates Grant/General Fund

Motion by Patrick Martin, second by Emily Soulé.

Final Resolution: Motion Carries

Yea: Bellue, Powell Lewis, Steward, Lewis, Rust, Gaudet, Soulé, Martin

4. Professional Services Contract: D2i (Data to Instruction)

Approval of a professional services contract between the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board and D2i (Data to Instruction) in the amount of $219,740 to provide professional development for data and academic support. Funding Source: Gates Grant/CLSD Grant

Motion by Nathan Rust, second by Patrick Martin.

Final Resolution: Motion Carries

Yea: Bellue, Powell Lewis, Steward, Lewis, Rust, Gaudet, Soulé, Martin

5. Litigation

Approval of the recommendation from Gwynn Shamlin, General Counsel, EBRPSB, in the matter of: Rene Smith and John Robins vs. East Baton Rouge Parish School System, Berkley Insurance Company, and Monique Jackson, Docket No. 697,106, Section 23, 19th Judicial District Court, Parish of East Baton Rogue.

Motion by Patrick Martin, second by Shashonnie Steward.

Final Resolution: Motion Carries

Yea: Bellue, Powell Lewis, Steward, Lewis, Rust, Gaudet, Soulé, Martin

6. Litigation

Consideration of a request for the approval of the recommendation from Gwynn Shamlin, General Counsel, EBRPSB, in the matter of: Dynasty Brown vs. East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, et al., Docket No. 746987, Section 33, 19th Judicial District Court, Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana.

Motion to enter into executive session.

Motion by Mark Bellue, second by Carla Powell Lewis.

Final Resolution: Motion Carries

Yea: Bellue, Powell Lewis, Steward, Lewis, Rust, Gaudet, Soulé, Martin

The Board entered into an executive session.

The Board returned from executive session.

Motion to approve the recommendation from Gwynn Shamlin, General Counsel, EBRPSB, in the matter of: Dynasty Brown vs. East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, et al., Docket No. 746987, Section 33, 19th Judicial District Court, Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana.

Motion by Mark Bellue, second by Cliff Lewis.

Final Resolution: Motion Carries

Yea: Bellue, Powell Lewis, Steward, Lewis, Rust, Gaudet, Soulé, Martin

E. Next Meeting Dates/Announcements

1. Announcement of Meetings

F. Adjournment