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A regular business meeting of the Board of Education was held this day in the Woodland School, Stirling Road. The following is a record of that meeting.

I. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 7:08 p.m. by the Board President, Dr. Przybylski

OPEN PUBLIC MEETING STATEMENT - Dr. Przybylski read the following Statement:

In accordance with the provisions New Jersey Open Public Meetings Law, the Board of Education has caused notice of this meeting to be posted in the Board Office and in the Township Office, mailed to the Courier News and Echoes Sentinel, and filed with the Clerk of the Township of Warren.

II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE - Dr. Przybylski led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

III. ROLL CALL
Present: Sue Burman, Roberta Monahan, Dr. Gregory Przybylski, Tony Sardis, Mildred Spiller, Patricia Toubin, Gina Voorhees, and Kathleen Winter
Absent: David Ricci
Also Present: Dr. James Crisfield, Superintendent, Peter Daquila, School Business Administrator/Board Secretary, members of the public

IV. PRESENTATION

• Youth Advocate of the Year
  Dr. Przybylski had the honor of presenting the Youth Advocate of the Year award to Roberta Monahan. This award is in honor of Doris Dealaman, who was a former Somerset County Freeholder and former Youth Services Commission member. Mrs. Monahan thanked Dr. Przybylski and noted that she enjoys volunteering and giving back to the children of Warren and that it has been very rewarding.

V. MINUTES (See Old Business Below)

VI. CORRESPONDENCE AND INFORMATION
The superintendent reported the following fire drills had been held.

• Fire Drills
  

  ALT	Central	Mt. Horeb	Woodland	Middle
  November 12, 24	November 10, 26	November 12, 24	November 21, 26	November 14, 21

VII. PRESIDENT'S REMARKS
Dr. Przybylski thanked the Woodland PTO for their hospitality on hosting the meeting. He also wished everyone a happy holiday season.

VIII. COMMITTEE REPORTS
Communications
Mrs. Spiller noted that the PTO meetings are going smoothly and board input is not needed at this point.

Finance
Mrs. Winter noted that the finance committee will meet tomorrow for the first time to discuss the preliminary budget.

IX. Discussion
None

X. PUBLIC COMMENTARY (including opportunity to speak about items for Board Consideration/Action)

Note on public input at BOE meetings: Board Policy #9322, adopted on April 14, 2008, provides for and encourages public participation in Board of Education meetings. Such participation is governed by the following rules:

1. A participant must be recognized by the presiding officer and must preface comments by an announcement of his/her name and place of residence;
2. Each Statement made by a participant shall be limited to three minutes' duration (limit may be adjusted at the discretion of the presiding officer as circumstances dictate);
3. No participant may speak more than once on the same topic until all others who wish to speak on that topic have been heard; and
4. All Statements shall be directed to the presiding officer-no participant may address or question Board members individually.

The portion of the meeting during which participation of the public is invited shall be limited to fifteen minutes (limit may be adjusted at the discretion of the presiding officer as circumstances dictate).

There was no public commentary.

XI. ITEMS FOR BOARD CONSIDERATION/ACTION (CONSENT AGENDA)

On motion by Mrs. Winter, seconded by Mrs. Toubin, the board approved A.1 through 4, B.1. through 3, C.1 through 8 and D.1., as a consent agenda. The consent agenda was approved by unanimous 8-0 roll-call vote.

A. Education

A.1. Change of Out of District Placement
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the change of out of district placement for one student (ID#0120753) from DLC, Warren to VanDeveer Elementary School, Somerville, effective December 8, 2008 (at an annual tuition of $56,307).

A.2. Out of Zone Request for the 2008-2009 School Year
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the out of zone request for one student (ID#2006235) to remain at Mt. Horeb School, grade 2, for the 2008-2009 school year.

A.3. Preschool Expansion Plan
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the Preschool Expansion Plan dated December 8, 2008.

A.4. Home Instruction
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves Home Instruction for the following students:

1. Student (ID#0120627) recovering from surgery, for approximately four weeks beginning December 3, 2008. The cost to the district for home instruction will be $1,400.
2. Student (ID4001030) recovering from surgery, for approximately four weeks beginning December 8, 2008. The cost to the district for home instruction will be $1,400.

B. Finance/Operations/Transportation

B.1. Payment of Bills
RESOLVED, the Board of Education authorizes the School Business Administrator/Board Secretary, pursuant to policy 3326, to audit pending bills and claims during the month of December 2008, to pay qualifying bills and claims within approved budget line item amounts, and to submit those bills to the Board of Education for approval at its next regular meeting.

B.2. ExxonMobil Educational Alliance Donation - Central School
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves, with appreciation, the donation of $500 from the ExxonMobil Educational Alliance towards the purchase of SMART Boards.

B.3. Travel Approval
Whereas, in accordance with State of New Jersey School District Accountability Act (A-5) and the Warren Township Schools' policy number 4133 - Travel and Work Related Expense Reimbursement, travel by school district employees and Board of Education members must be approved in advance.

Now Therefore Be It RESOLVED, the Warren Township Schools Board of Education approves the following expenses for faculty, staff, administrators, and board members for seminars, conferences and workshops. The expense includes travel costs, if applicable:

December 2009

• Mary Lynch, ALT - SMART Board Training, New Providence, NJ $125
• Nancy deMarsi, ALT - SMART Board Training, New Providence, NJ $110
• Brian Kilroy, Woodland - SMART Board Training, Union, NJ $140
• Colleen Krumm, Woodland - SMART Board Training, Union, NJ $140
• Marge Pfeifer, Woodland - SMART Board Training, Union, NJ $145

January 2009

• Mary Pat Brown, Woodland - NJ Literacy Consortium, Union, NJ $ 15
• Jeanne Vecchione, Woodland - NJ Literacy Consortium, Union, NJ $ 10
• Laurie Donavan, Mt Horeb - Creative Curriculum, New Providence, NJ $ 45
• Fran Blabolil, Central - INRS Strategies for Success, New Providence, NJ $115
• Vicki Caprari, Central - Multimedia Curriculum on the Holocaust, Union, NJ $ 15
• Stacey Modugno, Woodland - Practical Poetry, Union, NJ $ 20

March 2009

• Robert Comba, Middle - NJ Middle School Conference, Union, NJ $ 96
• Barbara LaSaracina, Middle - NJ Middle School Conference, Union, NJ $ 96
• Diane Burak, Middle - NJ Middle School Conference, Union, NJ $ 96
• Pat LaMorte, Middle - NJ Middle School Conference, Union, NJ $ 96
• Laura Sudol, Middle - NJ Middle School Conference, Union, NJ $ 96

All of the above travel has been approved by the Superintendent and the board of Education. The School business Administrator shall track and record these costs to insure that the maximum amount is not exceeded.

C. Personnel/Student Services

C.1. Middle School Boys and Girls Basketball Supervisor
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves David Arnold as the Middle School after school boys and girls basketball supervisor, effective December 9, 2008 through February 2, 2009 at the rate of $35 a hour.

C.2. Amendment of Family Leave Request
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education amends the family leave request for Anabela Santos-Ordner, grade 4 teacher, Angelo L. Tomaso School, as follows: 8 weeks under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), unpaid with benefits, effective February 4, 2009 through April 2, 2009 and 12 weeks under the NJ Family Leave Act (NJFLA), unpaid with benefits, effective April 3, 2009 through the end of the school year. Ms. Santos-Ordner will be returning September 1, 2009.

C.3. Out of District Speech Pathologist
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves Karen Golding-Kushner, Ph.D. to provide two 30 minute sessions per week of Neurodevelopmental Therapy to one student (ID#0120846) at a cost of $70 per session for a total cost to the district of $4,480. (Therapy for the student along with the cost of therapy was approved at the November 24, 2008 Board meeting.)

C.4. ABA Training Services
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves Catherine Bocage to provide ABA training services for one student (ID#0120540). Ms. Bocage will be taking over two hours per week at $55 per hour for Kelly Clark (Ms Clark was approved at the August 25, 2008 Board meeting), effective December 1, 2008.

C.5. Substitute Teachers
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the following Substitute Teachers for the 2008-2009 school year:

3. Carol Homeyer
4. David Rubey
5. Lindsey Downey

C.6. Student Teachers
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the following Student Teachers for the 2008-2009 school year:

• a) Catherine Grundman, Physical Education - Central School
• b) Lauren Regal, Internship School Counseling - Mt. Horeb School

C.7. Per Diem Deduct Request
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the following per diem deduct requests for:

a) Hildy Jackson, Spanish Teacher, Central School, for one day, November 10, 2008.
b) Susan Sage, Art Teacher, Mt. Horeb School, for four days, February 17-20, 2009.

C.8. After School Clubs - 2008-2009 School Year
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the following after school clubs for the 2008-2009 school year and the instructors for each club at the negotiated stipend rate.
Central School
a) Scrabble Club - advisor Victoria Caprari at a stipend of $715.

D. Policy

D.1. Policy #5131 - Conduct/Discipline
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the first and only reading (due to limited scope of changes) of revised Policy #5131 - Conduct/Discipline.

XII. OLD BUSINESS

• Verbatim statement in BOE meeting minutes
  Dr. Crisfield noted that per the board attorney, past practice rules as not to include verbatim statements in the meeting.
  Mr. Sardis commented that the reporting of the minutes needs to be thorough & efficient and accurate.
• Dispensation of public and private session minutes from November 10, 2008 BOE meeting
  

  Mr. Sardis made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Monahan, to record all future meetings and commented that the minutes need to be thorough and efficient. The current system relies on the board secretary and is subject to interpretation, with no review process.

  Mrs. Monahan noted that board meetings were recorded in the past and there are reasons not to record the minutes. The review process exists and the minutes can be edited before they are approved.

  Mrs. Burman asked if the district has a recording system and the cost of a new system.

  Dr. Crisfield noted that a cassette tape recorder was used in the past and has been discarded and he does not know the cost of a proper recording system.

  Mrs. Toubin noted that being recorded may prevent board members from speaking frankly since they will be recorded.

  The Board discussed the motion in further detail

  The motion failed on a 7-1 vote (Mr. Sardis voted yes).

  On motion by Mr. Sardis, seconded by Mrs. Voorhees, the board voted that at the request of the speaker, verbatim statements be included in the minutes.

  Mrs. Voorhees commented that the option of including statements will be cumbersome and could create issues.

  The board discussed the pros and cons of the motion in more detail.

  The motion failed on a 7-1 vote (Mr. Sardis voted yes.)

  On motion by Mrs. Burman, seconded by Mrs. Winter and approved on a 7-1 roll call vote, the board approved amending the November 10, 2008 public session minutes to note that Mr. Sardis read a statement about Special Education and summarize his comments. (Mr. Sardis voted no.)

• Approval of public and private session minutes from November 24, 2008 BOE meeting
  On motion by Mrs. Winter, seconded by Mrs. Spiller and approved on an 8-0 roll call vote, the board approved the November 24, 2008 public session minutes.

Mr. Sardis reported that he attended 1^st year board member training on 12/6/2008.

XII. NEW BUSINESS
None

XIV. PUBLIC COMMENTARY
None

XV. EXECUTIVE SESSION:
At 7:44 p.m. Mrs. Winter moved the following:
WHEREAS, the Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A.10:4-11, permits the Board of Education to meet in closed session to discuss certain matters, now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, the Board of Education adjourns to closed session to discuss:
1) matter rendered confidential by federal or State law
2) pending or anticipated litigation or contract negotiation and/or matters of attorney-client privilege
3) a matter in which release of information would impair the right to receive government funds
4) material the disclosure of which constitutes an unwarranted invasion of individual privacy
5) a collective bargaining agreement and/or negotiations related to it
6) a matter involving the purchase, lease, or acquisition of real property with public funds
7) protection of public safety and property and/or investigations of possible violations or violations of law
8) specific prospective or current employees unless all who could be adversely affected request an open session
9) deliberation after a public hearing that could result in a civil penalty or other loss
and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, the minutes of this closed session be made public when the need for confidentiality no longer exists.
The motion was seconded by Mrs. Burman and approved by unanimous voice vote.
On motion by Mrs. Winter and seconded by Mrs. Spiller, the board reconvened in open session at 8:37 p.m.

ADJOURNMENT: On motion by Mrs. Winter, seconded by Mrs. Spiller, the meeting adjourned at 8:39 p.m.

Minutes recorded by:
Peter Daquila