Warren Township Schools

• Board Agenda
• Board Meeting Minutes
• Board Meeting Videos
• Board Members
• Board Office
• Board Policies
• Contact Information
• District Bulletin Board
• General Information
• History
• Mission
• Rules for Public Commentary

 regular business meeting of the Board of Education was held this day at the Warren Middle School, 100 Old Stirling 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, Tia Allocco.

Open Public Meeting Statement - Mrs. Allocco 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 4, 2017. This notice was on that date was posted on the Courier News, and TAP into Warren, all in accordance with the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act.”

II. Pledge of Allegiance - Mrs. Allocco led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

III. Roll Call

Present: Paige Albano, David Brezee, Len deMontagnac, Lisa DiMaggio,

Andrea Freijomil, Joan Schiller and Tia Allocco

Absent: Jeannine Sarosy and Patricia Zohn

Also Present: Dr. Matthew Mingle, Superintendent, and Patricia Leonhardt, Board Secretary, and members of the public and press.

IV. Minutes

Mr. deMontagnac moved the following:

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the public and private session minutes of the October 16, 2017 Board Meeting.

The motion was seconded by Dr. Schiller and approved by 7-0 roll-call vote.

V. Correspondence and Information

• HIB Information
  
  

  Total # of Investigations:

  1

  Total # of Determined Bullying Incidents:

  0

• Fire Drills
  
  

  ALT	Central	Mt. Horeb	Woodland	Middle
  3-Oct	3-Oct	6-Oct	3-Oct	6-Oct

• Security Drills
  
  

  ALT	Central	Mt. Horeb	Woodland	Middle
  24-Oct	20-Oct	25-Oct	23-Oct	26-Oct
  Lockdown	Lockdown	Lockdown	Lockdown	Lockdown

VI. President's Remarks

Mrs. Allocco welcomed all and congratulated those who won board seats in Tuesday’s election.

Mrs. Allocco reported on the positive feedback she and Dr. Mingle received regarding their presentation at the NJSBA Workshop in October.

Mrs. Allocco reminded all of the Monday, November 20th Cyber Security presentation.

Mrs. Allocco reminded all Board of Education members of the process for suggesting an item as a future board agenda.

Lastly, Mrs. Allocco reminded board members about the Woodland School Blue Ribbon celebration on November 30th, for which RSVPs are requested.

VII. Superintendent’s Remarks

Dr. Mingle reported on the district’s two award winners in the Rotary Club’s Essay contest.

Dr. Mingle also reported on his attendance last week at the Blue Ribbon recognition in Washington, DC for Woodland School, which was followed by a meeting with Representative Leonard Lance.

VIII. Presentation

• Special Recognition of Ms. Lauralee Dupper - Ms. Dupper was honored for her quick and lifesaving response for a student in need.
• Quarterly Goals Update - Dr. Mingle provided an update on goals at the board, district and superintendent level. The board asked some follow up questions.

IX. Committee Reports

• Personnel/Negotiations Committee - Mrs. Albano reported on the meeting which addressed a number of agenda items. The board asked follow up questions and supported reopening the timeline for the Superintendent evaluation process.
• Curriculum & Technology Committee - Mrs. DiMaggio reported on the meeting this evening which discussed the potential recording of board meetings and a review of policies.

X. Public Commentary (agenda items only)

Note on public input at BOE meetings: Board Policy #9322, adopted on January 21, 2013, provides for and encourages public participation in Board of Education meetings. Such participation is governed by the following rules:

• A participant must be recognized by the presiding officer and must preface comments by an announcement of his/her name and place of residence;
• 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);
• 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
• 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).

N/A

XI. Items for Board Consideration/Action

N/A

On motion by Mr. deMontagnac, seconded by Dr. Schiller, the consent items A.1., through A.3., B.1., through B.4., and C.1., and C.2., were approved by a 7-0 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 8, 2017.

A.2. Fieldwork Site

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the Clinical Affiliation Agreement with Kean University to secure Warren Township Schools as a fieldwork site to provide supervised clinical educational experiences in school psychology for the 2018 calendar year.

A.3. Bedside Instruction

RESOLVED, the Board of Education approves bedside instruction through Brookfield Educational Services Program for Student #6894416342, beginning November 8, 2017, at an hourly rate of $50, at a cost not to exceed $2,000.

B. Finance/Operations/Transportation

B.1. 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
Jessica Nathan	CS	MUJC Jennifer Serravallo-Reading	New Providence	Mar 2018	$195
Sean Mealey	MS	NJAPHERD Annual Convention	Long Branch	Feb 2018	$208
John Seremula	MS	NJMEA Music Conference	East Brunswick	Feb 2018	$182
Diane McCloskey	MS	NJMEA Music Conference	East Brunswick	Feb 2018	$304
Bruce Gant	MS	NJMEA Music Conference	East Brunswick	Feb 2018	$304
Joel Van Tine	MS	NJMEA Music Conference	East Brunswick	Feb 2018	$298
Joseph Scott	MS	Boiler Training	Piscataway	Jan & Feb 2018	$550
Melissa Smolenski	MS	NGSS Workshop	Branchburg	Nov 2017, Jan & Mar 2018	$390

 

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.2. Sale of Obsolete Item

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education declares as obsolete the following item:

Item Type	Make	Serial Number
20 Passenger Bus	2005 Chevy	1GBJG31U951105919

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the sale

of the listed equipment in accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:18A:45 – Sale of Property.

B.3. Submission of Amendment for IDEA FY18 Application

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the submission to the Department of Education of an amendment for the application for the 2017-18 IDEA Federal Grant Program in order to amend the number of Special Education students on roll.

B.4. Class Trip Approval

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby approves AMC Loews Mountainside Theatre as a field trip destination for the 2017-2018 School Year.

C. Personnel/Student Services

C.1. Employment for the 2017-2018 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 2017-2018 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.”

a. Luis Marciscano, Head Day Custodian, Mt. Horeb School, at an annual salary of $46,748, effective July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018. (This motion supersedes previous motion dated September 11, 2017.)

C.2. Assistant Principal/Supervisor of Summer Programs

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves Melissa Smolenski as the 2018-2019 Assistant Principal/Supervisor of Summer Programs, at a salary of $9,649.

XII. Unfinished Business

• Middle School Open House - Mrs. Albano asked follow up from the initial conversation at the board’s last meeting. It was determined to place this item on a future agenda for discussion.

XIII. New Business

• Delegate Assembly - In Mrs. Sarosy’s absence, Mrs. Allocco discussed the motions on the Delegate Assembly agenda and NJSBA’s guidance regarding the delegate’s vote. The board is in support of continuing its current process of directing its delegate's vote. The board voted to support the motion regarding state aid and to abstain on the vote regarding special education finances.
• Questions about Bus Route Times - Dr. Mingle reviewed the data. The board asked some follow up questions. It was determined that no further action will be undertaken at this time.

XIV. Public Commentary (any topic)

Note on public input at BOE meetings: Board Policy #9322, adopted on January 21, 2013, 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).

• Heather Silver, Quail Run, spoke to the idea of a parent’s ability to provide feedback regarding transportation.
• Rachel Singleton, Deer Trail West, provided input regarding her family’s bus route.

At 8:35 p.m. the board took a recess.

Mrs. Freijomil left the meeting at this time.

At 8:40 p.m. the board reconvened.

XV. Executive Session

At 8:41 p.m. Mr. deMontagnac 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:

pending or anticipated litigation or contract negotiation and/or matters of attorney-client privilege

Action will not be taken upon return to public session;

the length of the meeting is anticipated to be approximately 15 minutes; 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 Mr. Brezee and approved by unanimous voice vote.

On motion by Mr. deMontagnac, seconded by Mr. Brezee, the Board reconvened in open session at 8:56 p.m.

XVI. Adjourn

On motion by Mr. deMontagnac, seconded by Mr. Brezee, the meeting adjourned at

8:57 p.m.

Minutes submitted by,

Patricia Leonhardt

Board Secretary