Warren Township Schools: Minutes for June 4, 2018

Minutes for June 4, 2018 Archived Minutes

A 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

David Brezee.

Open Public Meeting Statement – Mr. Brezee 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, 2018. 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 – Mr. Brezee led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

III. Roll Call

Present: Paige Albano, Lisa DiMaggio, Andrea Freijomil, Ilana Goldstein,

Ayanna Taylor-Venson, Patricia Zohn and David Brezee

Absent: Christian Bellmann

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

Mrs. Sarosy arrived at 7:09 p.m.

IV. Minutes

Mrs. DiMaggio moved the following:

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the public and private session minutes of the May 21, 2018 Board Meeting.

The motion was seconded by Mrs. Freijomil and approved by 6-0-1 roll-call vote.

(Mrs. Albano abstained.)

V. Correspondence and Information

· HIB Information

Total # of Investigations:

Total # of Determined Bullying Incidents:

· Fire Drills

ALT	Central	Mt. Horeb	Woodland	Middle
May 29	May 01	May 30	May 10	May 21

· Security Drills

ALT	Central	Mt. Horeb	Woodland	Middle
May 30	May 30	May 29	May 23	May 31
Bomb Threat	Bomb Threat	Bomb Threat	Bomb Threat	Bomb Threat

VI. President's Remarks - Mr. David Brezee

Mr. Brezee welcomed all and commended the PTO for last week’s Art Show.

Mr. Breeze reminded Board of Education members that the retreat is scheduled for July 16th at 4 p.m. and thanked Mrs. Zohn for her work on the Superintendent’s evaluation.

Mr. Breeze reminded all that the deadline for petitions for a ballot position for a Board of Education seat for the November election are due July 30th.

Lastly, Mr. Breeze shared that he and Mrs. Freijomil participated in the day’s Safe Havens security meeting.

VII. Superintendent’s Remarks - Dr. Matthew Mingle

Dr. Mingle thanked Mr. Brezee and Mrs. Freijomil for their attendance at the Safe Havens meeting and provided and an overview of the day’s schedule.

Dr. Mingle shared the Assemblyman Jon Bramnick will be speaking in Watchung tomorrow night regarding affordable housing.

Dr. Mingle mentioned that the Board of Education self evaluation results will be distributed tomorrow.

Lastly, Dr. Mingle announced that the Warren Middle School team won the National Quiz Bowl, which is part of the National Academic Quiz Tournaments!

VIII. Presentations

● Grade 8 English Language Arts - Mr. Kimmick, Mr. Villar, and Ms. Modugno - After a presentation on the proposed change, the board asked follow up questions and discussed.

IX. Discussion

N/A

X. Committee Reports

● Personnel Committee - Mrs. Zohn reported on the evening’s meeting, which discussed updated job descriptions and recently enacted legislation regarding hiring.

XI. 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).

● Heather Silver, Quail Run, discussed the experience of her student regarding writing and 8th grade ELA PARCC scores.

● Rekha Law, Appletree Lane, discussed the ELA program.

● Tanya McAusland, Sandalwood Dr., also asked questions regarding writing across the curriculum.

● Stacy McAteer, Highmont Lane, discussed students with a great love of reading.

XII. Items for Board Consideration/Action

Mrs. Zohn asked that motion B.3. be pulled for separate vote.

Mrs. DiMaggio asked a question regarding motion A.3.

On motion by Mrs. DiMaggio, seconded by Mrs. Freijomil the consent items A.1. through A.3., B.1., B.2., and C.1., through C.7., were approved by a 8-0 roll-call vote.

Mr. Brezee requested that Section 6 within motion B.3. be separated for voting.

Mrs. Zohn provided her input regarding motion B.3.

The board discussed motion B.3.

On motion by Mrs. DiMaggio, seconded by Mrs. Freijomil the consent item B.3., Sections 1 through 5, and 7 through 9, was approved by a 5-1-2 roll-call vote. (Mrs. Taylor-Venson voted nay. Mrs. Sarosy and Mrs. Zohn abstained.)

On motion by Mrs. DiMaggio, seconded by Mrs. Freijomil the consent item B.3., Section 6, was not approved by a 4-1-3 roll-call vote. (Mrs. Taylor-Venson voted nay. Mrs. Sarosy,

Mrs. Zohn and Mr. Brezee abstained.)

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 May 31, 2018.

A.2. Fieldwork Site

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves a Clinical Affiliation Agreement with Kean University for the 2018-2019 school year to secure Warren Township Schools as a fieldwork site to provide supervised clinical educational experiences in occupational therapy.

A.3. Contracted Services

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves an independent Psychiatric Evaluation by Dr. Bartky, for Student #9929595022, at a cost not to exceed $1,200.

B. Finance/Operations/Transportation

B.1. Submission of Amendment for Federal Grant Monies

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the submission to the Department of Education of an amendment of the application for 2017-18 NCLB Title I Federal Grant Programs as follows:

● NCLB - Title IA - $ 53,729.

Amendment reflects a reallocation of monies from salaries to instructional

Supplies.

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
Beatrice Schwarzkopf	MS	Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Training Program	New Providence	Sep 2018	$1,399
Rebecca Hartman	CS	Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Training Renewal	New Providence	Sep 2018	$888

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. Proposed School Facilities Project

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the authorization of certain actions in connection with a proposed school facilities projects.

WHEREAS, The Board of Education of the Township of Warren in the County of Somerset, New Jersey (the “Board” when referring to the governing body and the “School District” when referring to the territorial boundaries governed thereby), seeks to submit to the voters a school facilities project consisting generally of boiler and pump replacements at the A. L. Tomaso School, the Mt. Horeb School and the Middle School; window replacement at Central School, roof replacement at the Middle School and HVAC upgrades at A. L. Tomaso School and Central School (collectively, the “Project”); and

WHEREAS, the School District will seek Debt Service Aid with respect to the Project; and

WHEREAS, the Board now seeks to take the initial steps in order to proceed with the planning and authorization of (i) the Project and (ii) a special School District election at which a bond referendum authorizing the Project shall be presented to the voters.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF WARREN IN THE COUNTY OF SOMERSET, NEW JERSEY, as follows:

Section 1. In accordance with the requirements of Section 6A:26-5.1 through 6A:26-5.3 of the New Jersey Administrative Code, the Board hereby approves the preparation of Schematic Plans and Educational Specifications, if required, by Parette Somjen Architects (“PSA”) in connection with the Project and the Board further authorizes and directs PSA to submit same to the New Jersey Department of Education and to the Somerset County Superintendent of Schools for review and approval. The Board further authorizes and directs the submission of the Schematic Plans to the Warren Township Planning Board for its review, to the extent required by law.

Section 2. In accordance with the requirements of Section 6A:26-2.3 of the New Jersey Administrative Code, the Board hereby approves an amendment to the Long Range Facilities Plan, as necessary, to reflect the Project and approves the submission of such amendment to the New Jersey Department of Education.

Section 3. In accordance with the requirements of Section 6A:26-3.2 of the New Jersey Administrative Code, the Board hereby approves the Project Application, and PSA is hereby directed to submit such application to the New Jersey Department of Education seeking debt service aid for the Project.

Section 4. With respect to the Project, the Board hereby authorizes and directs the Board President, the Superintendent and the Business Administrator/Board Secretary, as applicable, to execute the schematic plans and educational specifications, the amendment to the Long Range Facilities Plan, the Project cost estimate sheets and all related project documents allowing submission of same to the New Jersey Department of Education.

Section 5. The Board reasonably expects to reimburse its expenditure of Project costs paid prior to the issuance of the tax-exempt obligations issued pursuant to the bond referendum (the “Obligations”) with proceeds of the Obligations. This resolution is intended to be and hereby is a declaration of the Board's official intent to reimburse the expenditure of Project costs paid prior to the issuance of the Obligations with the proceeds of the Obligations, in accordance with Treasury Regulations §150-2. The maximum principal amount of the Obligations expected to be issued to finance the Project is $6,500,000. The Project costs to be reimbursed with the proceeds of the Obligations will be "capital expenditures" in accordance with the meaning of Section 150 of the Code. No reimbursement allocation will employ an "abusive arbitrage device" under Treasury Regulations §1.148-10 to avoid the arbitrage restrictions or to avoid the restrictions under Sections 142 through 147, inclusive, of the Code. The proceeds of the Obligations used to reimburse the Board for Project costs, or funds corresponding to such amounts, will not be used in a manner that results in the creation of "replacement proceeds", including "sinking funds", "pledged funds" or funds subject to a "negative pledge" (as such terms are defined in Treasury Regulations §1.148-1), of the Obligations or another issue of debt obligations of the Board, other than amounts deposited into a "bona fide debt service fund" (as defined in Treasury Regulations §1.148-1). All reimbursement allocations will occur not later than 18 months after the later of (i) the date the expenditure from a source other than the Obligations is paid, or (ii) the date the Project is "placed in service" (within the meaning of Treasury Regulations §1.150-2) or abandoned, but in no event more than 3 years after the expenditure is paid.

Section 6. The law firm of Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A., Woodbridge, New Jersey is hereby retained to provide specialized bond counsel legal services necessary in connection with the undertaking of a referendum and the authorization and the issuance of obligations by the Board in accordance with its proposal. The Board President and the Business Administrator/Board Secretary are hereby authorized to execute a Bond Services Contract (the “BCS Contract”). The BCS Contract is awarded without competitive bidding and as a “Professional Service” in accordance with the Public School Contracts Law, N.J.S.A. 18A:18A-5(a)(1), because it is for services performed by persons authorized by law to practice a recognized profession. A copy of this resolution as well as the BCS Contract shall be placed on file with the Business Administrator/Board Secretary. The publication required pursuant to Section 5(a)(1) of the School Public Contracts Law, N.J.S.A. 18A:-1 et seq. is hereby authorized.

Section 7. The firm of Phoenix Advisors, Bordentown, New Jersey is hereby retained to provide financial advisory services necessary in connection with the undertaking of a referendum and the authorization and the issuance of obligations by the Board in accordance with its proposal. The Board President and the Board Secretary are hereby authorized to execute a Financial Advisor Services Contract (the “Financial Advisor Contract”). The Financial Advisor Contract is awarded without competitive bidding as its amount does not exceed the bid threshold in accordance with the Public School Contracts Law. A copy of this resolution as well as the Financial Advisory Contract shall be placed on file with the Business Administrator/Board Secretary.

Section 8. The Board hereby authorizes and directs the Board President, the Superintendent, the Business Administrator/Board Secretary, PSA and Bond Counsel, as applicable, to take all action required to preserve the opportunity to present the Project to the voters via a bond referendum at a special School District election to be held on January 22, 2019.

Section 9. This resolution shall take effect immediately.

C. Personnel/Student Services

C.1. Extended Work Schedule

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves an extended work schedule, to a maximum of five days total per school, beginning after the last day of the 2017-2018 school year and ending before the commencement of the 2018-2019 school year, at the employee’s per diem rate, as follows:

a. Carmella Motyczka, Multi-Duty Paraprofessional, Central School - not to exceed $696.80

b. Michele Delserro, Multi-Duty Paraprofessional, Mt. Horeb School - not to exceed $776.60

c. Susan Francione, Multi-Duty Paraprofessional, Woodland School - not to exceed $556.35

d. Mary Cagnetta, Multi-Dury Paraprofessional, ALT School - not to exceed $556.35

C.2. Interim Grade 6 Team Leader

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves Ann Marie Christou as Interim Grade 6 Team Leader as per the WTEA agreement, effective on or about December 1, 2017 through on or about June 30, 2018. (Ms. Christou is interim team leader for Employee #2088.) (This motion supersedes previous motion from January 16, 2018.)

C.3. Family Leave Request

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the following:

a. Employee #2276 for leave (paid/unpaid according to legal and contractual entitlement), under FMLA/NJFLA, from September 4, 2018 through on or about February 6, 2019.

b. Employee #0547 for leave (paid according to legal and contractual entitlement), under FMLA, from June 6, 2018 through on or about June 15, 2018.

C.4. Retirement/Resignation

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the retirement/resignations of the following staff:

a. Lauralee Dupper, Bus Monitor, Warren Township Schools, for the purpose of resignation, with appreciation for her 4 years of service to the Warren Township students, effective June 30, 2018.

b. Ashley Militch, District Data Manager, Warren Township School District, for the purpose of resignation, with appreciation for her 4 years of service to the Warren Township students, effective June 30, 2018. (This motion supersedes the previous motion from April 24, 2018.)

c. Susan Small, District Data Manager, Warren Township School District, for the purpose of resignation, effective June 4, 2018.

C.5. Warren Middle School Guidance Additional Hours

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the following Middle School Guidance Counselors to work three days prior to June 30, 2018 at the employee’s per diem rate:

Midge Johnson - $428.01 per day, not to exceed $1,284.03
Lauren Regal - $372.32 per day, not to exceed $1,116.96
Helen Scully - $422.85 per day, not to exceed $1,268.55

C.6. Warren Middle School Guidance Additional Hours

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the following Middle School Guidance Counselors to work three days in August at the employee’s per diem rate:

a. Midge Johnson - $443.13 per day, not to exceed $1,329.39

b. Lauren Regal - $383.36 per day, not to exceed $1,150.08

c. Helen Scully - $437.60 per day, not to exceed $1,312.80

C.7. Transfer/Change in Assignment

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the transfer/change in

assignment of the following district staff:

Ashley Militch, from 0.8 FTE District Data Manager, Warren Township School District, at an annual salary of $51,166 (prorated) to to 1.0 FTE District Data Manager, Warren Township Schools District, at an annual salary of $63,958 (prorated), effective June 4, 2018 through June 30, 2018. (This motion supersedes the previous motion from April 24, 2018.)

XIII. Unfinished Business

● Middle School Quiz Bowl - Andrew McAusland was in the audience and acknowledged for his participation on the winning National Quiz Bowl Middle School team.

● Middle School Trips - Mrs. Zohn requested some post trip data. Mrs. Zohn

and Mrs. Freijomil spoke to concerns regarding arrangements for those not traveling.

XIV. New Business

N/A

XV. Public Commentary (any topic)

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.

● Heather Silver, Quail Run, spoke to the role of the PTO in serving 6th graders during the Grade 7 and Grade 8 class trips.

● Tanya McAusland also spoke to the work for students not participating in the class trips.

● Andrew McAusland, Middle School student, spoke to the excellence of his education in the Warren Township School District.

XVI. Executive Session

At 8:49 p.m. Mrs. DiMaggio 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:

specific prospective or current employees unless all who could be adversely affected request an open session

Action will not be taken upon return to public session;

the length of the meeting is anticipated to be approximately 45 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 Mrs. Freijomil and approved by unanimous voice vote.

Mrs. DiMaggio left Executive Session at 10:40 p.m.

On motion by Mrs. Freijomil, seconded by Mrs. Goldstein, the Board reconvened in open session at 12:07 a.m.

XVII. Adjourn

On motion by Mrs. Freijomil, seconded by Mrs. Goldstein, the meeting adjourned at

12:08 a.m.

Minutes submitted by,

Patricia Leonhardt

Board Secretary

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