Warren Township Schools

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A regular business meeting of the Board of Education was held this day in the Board of Education Administration Building, Mt. Horeb Road. The following is a record of that meeting.

I. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Board President Mildred Spiller.

Open Public Meeting Statement – Mrs. Spiller read the following Statement:

Re: Chapter 231 P.L. 1975: “The adequate notice of this regular meeting as required by the open public meetings act was provided by the posting, mailing/delivery, and filing of this notice on January 8, 2014. This notice was on that date posted on the bulletin board in the Township Office, mailed to the Courier News and the Echoes Sentinel, and filed with the Township Clerk of the Township of Warren, all in accordance with the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act.”

II. Pledge of allegiance – Mrs. Spiller led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

III. Roll Call

Present: Tia Allocco, Celeste Campos, Desiree DeNourie, Lisa DiMaggio, Kathy Helewa, Jim Sena, Mildred Spiller and Greg Steier

Absent:

Also Present: Dr. Tami Crader, Superintendent, Patricia Leonhardt, Board Secretary and a member of the public

Len deMontagnac arrived at 7:22 p.m., during Mr. Kimmick’s presentation.

IV. Presentation

Dr. Crader introduced Curriculum Supervisor Bill Kimmick, who provided an overview of NJASK testing results. Board members asked a variety of follow up questions.

V. Minutes

Mrs. Allocco moved the following:

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the public minutes of the November 3, 2014 Board Meeting.

The motion was seconded by Mrs. Helewa and approved by 6-0-3 roll-call vote. (Mr. deMontagnac, Ms. DeNourie and Mr. Sena abstained.)

Mrs. Allocco moved the following:

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the public and private session minutes of the November 10, 2014 Board Meeting.

The motion was seconded by Ms. Campos and approved by 8-0-1 roll-call vote. (Mr. Steier abstained.)

VI.Correspondence and Information

· HIB Information

Total # of Investigations:

1

Total # of Determined Bullying Incidents:

0

VII. President's Remarks – Mildred Spiller

Mrs. Spiller read the District Mission Statement:

Warren Township Schools’ Mission Statement: Warren Township Schools’ Mission Statement: The Mission of Warren Township School District is to provide, through a safe, nurturing yet challenging environment, all students with an outstanding education that fosters academic excellence, healthy social and emotional development, and a lifelong passion for learning. In partnership with family, community, and staff, our strategic goals will guide our programs and actions so that students can exceed the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards at all grade levels and leave the district confident in their ability to think critically and independently and to succeed as students and productive citizens of the community and world.

Mrs. Spiller congratulated 8th grader Cathleen Luo for her poster which won a variety of awards through the Warren Lion’s Club.

Mrs. Spiller suggested that future Board of Education presentations note the presenter on the agenda.

VIII. Superintendent’s Remarks – Tami Crader

Dr. Crader congratulated Mrs. Leonhardt on her tenure.

Dr. Crader thanked those board members who offered to deliver Thanksgiving baskets. In addition, Dr. Crader recognized exciting Math work in the district, the successful implementation of
Chromebrooks, and shared concerns regarding fundamentals in the primary grades. Also mentioned was the Middle School grading survey and the Hour of Code initiative.

IX. Committee Reports

Mrs. DiMaggio reported on her attendance at NJSBA’s Delegate Assembly.

X. Discussion

XI. 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).

Dr. Joan Schiller, Robin Road, who won a board seat in the November 4th election, introduced herself.

XII. Items for Board Consideration/Action

On motion by Mrs. Allocco seconded by Mrs. Helewa the consent items A.1. through A.3., B.1. through B.4., and C.1. through C.5. were approved by a 9-0 roll-call vote.

A. Education

A.1. HIB Report

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the HIB Report submitted by the Superintendent for the period ending on November 13, 2014.

A.2. Home Instruction

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves up to 5 hours per week of home instruction for Student #3141031551, beginning on or about November 13, 2014, at a rate of $40 per hour.

A.3. Tuition Out Student

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the out of district placements for the following:

a. Student #2610013558, to Rock Brook School, beginning November 17, 2014 through June 30, 2015, at a cost not to exceed $37,230.

b. Student #1794155813, to Horizon School, beginning November 17, 2014 through June 30, 2015, at a cost not to exceed $63,373. This contract supersedes the contract with MUJC.

B. Finance/Operations/Transportation

B.1. Payment of Bills

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the payment of bills for the month of November 2014 in the amount of $4,171,830.10.

B.2. 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:

Name	School	Workshop/ Conference	Location	Month/Yr	Cost
Doris Zanchelli	MHS	Pediatric Emergencies	NYC, NY	Dec 2014	$190
Paula Pontoriero	ALT	Universal Design for Learning	Monroe	Dec 2014	$158
Rebecca Olszyk	CS	ODD, ASD, ADHD & Mood Disorders	Edison	Dec 2014	$206
Fran Blabolil	CS	Universal Design for Learning	Monroe	Dec 2014	$160
Patricia Morris	CS	ODD, ASD, ADHD & Mood Disorders	Edison	Dec 2014	$199

 

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

B.3. Election Results

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education acceptsthe Certificate of Election as presented by the Board of County Canvassers of Somerset County regarding the election held in Warren Township on November 4, 2014, whereby Mrs. Christina ‘Tia’ Allocco, Mr. Leonard deMontagnac and Mrs. Joan Schiller were each elected members of the Warren Township Board of Education for full three (3) year terms and Mr. Glenn Mastrobattista was elected to the Watchung Hills Regional Board of Education for a full three (3) year term.

B.4. Transportation for Out of District Student - 2014-2015 School Year

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves 2014-2015 School Year transportation for out of district student as follows from November 17, 2014 through April 17, 2015:

Contractor Student ID# School Cost

UCESC 1794155813 Horizon $26,208.00

C. Personnel/Student Services

C.1. Employment for the 2014-2015 School Year

RESOLVED, upon recommendation from the Superintendent that the Board of Education approve the following Personnel items including the emergent employment of the following employees (indicated by *) conditional upon the final approval by the New Jersey Department of Education, for the 2014-2015 school year and the Board further authorizes the submission of an application for emergency hiring pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:6-7.1, et. Seq., N.J.S.A. 18A:6.14.12, et. Seq.”

1. Deanna Roberman, Leave Replacement Teacher, Mt. Horeb School, MA, Step 1-2 of the 2014-2015 salary guide, $61,694 (pro-rated), effective on or about February 5, 2015 through June 30, 2015. (This motion extends her original approval on the August 11, 2014 agenda as a leave replacement teacher for Employee #2041.)
2. Laurie Green, ASAP Teacher, Mt. Horeb School, increase from 19.6 hours to 35 hours, BA+15, Step 14-15 of the 2014-2015 salary guide, $65,630 (pro-rated), effective December 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015.

C.2. Extended Hours

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the extended hours for

Joseph Larramendia to accompany Student #8221597405, to Library Club for 7 weeks, starting January 8, 2015, at a cost not to exceed $130.

C.3. Substitute Teachers

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the following to be appointed as substitute teachers for the 2014-2015 school year:

1. Lindsay Rosenberg
2. Alexis D’Annunzio
3. Cheryl Kallio

C.4. Extension of Family Leave Request

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the following leave extension:

1. Employee #2041, for NJFLA (unpaid with benefits) from on or about February 2, 2015 through on or about March 24, 2015 and for Child Rearing leave (unpaid without benefits) from on or about March 25, 2015 through June 30,2015, with an expected return date of September 1, 2015.

C.5. After School Club – 2014-2015

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves Lesley Duncan to be a Club Advisor, for the Academic Tournament of Middle School (ATOMS), for 15 sessions, at a stipend of $715.

XIII. Old Business

Mrs. Allocco highlighted the items of focus from the board’s self evaluation for those not present at the last meeting. These items will be reviewed when the new board is seated in January.

Mrs. Helewa reiterated her desire for a board review of the district’s policy for nonresidents. The board supported a review by the policy committee.

XIV. New Business

N/A

XV. Public Commentary

N/A

XVI. Adjourn

On motion by Mrs. Allocco, seconded by Mr. deMontagnac, the meeting adjourned at 8:12 p.m.

Minutes recorded by

Patricia Leonhardt

Board Secretary