Warren Township Schools: Minutes for February 4, 2019

Minutes for February 4, 2019 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 7:02 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, 2019. 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: Aaron Bellish, Christian Bellmann, Lisa DiMaggio, Marc Franco,

Ayanna Taylor-Venson, Patricia Zohn and David Brezee

Absent: Naresh Chand

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

Jeannine Sarosy arrived at 7:07 p.m.

IV. Minutes

● Mrs. DiMaggio moved the following:

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the public and private session minutes of the January 22, 2019 Board Meeting.

The motion was seconded by Mr. Bellmann and approved by 7-0 roll-call vote.

V. Correspondence and Information

· HIB Information

Total # of Investigations:

Total # of Determined Bullying Incidents:

· Suspension Report

In School

Out of School

· Fire Drills

ALT	Central	Mt. Horeb	Woodland	Middle
January 16	January 29	January 28	January 25	January 25

· Security Drills

ALT	Central	Mt. Horeb	Woodland	Middle
January 29	January 11	January 11	January 10	January 3
Sheltering In	Sheltering In	Sheltering In	Sheltering In	Sheltering In

VI. President’s Remarks - Mr. David Brezee

Mr. Brezee called for a moment of silence out of respect for the death of a Middle School student.

Mr. Brezee shared the good news regarding the successful referendum vote.

Mr. Brezee referenced the excellent boys playoff basketball game, and the upcoming girls playoff game.

Mr. Brezee thanked the Mt. Horeb PTO for its generous donation (motion B.3.) and congratulated those staff members moving across the guide on tonight’s agenda (motion C.3.).

Mrs. Sarosy arrived at 7:07 p.m.

VII. Superintendent’s Remarks – Dr. Matthew Mingle

Dr. Mingle thanked the community for its support of the bond referendum.

Dr. Mingle thanked all those who supported the community as it processed the death of our 8th grade student.

Lastly, Dr. Mingle reviewed the status of goals at all levels (board, district and superintendent).

VIII. Presentation

● Warren Middle School Student Presentation - Mr. Villar and Mrs. Mensinger provided an overview of Middle School highlights.

At 7:33 p.m. the board recessed to view the Wellness Room.

The meeting reconvened at 7:50 p.m.

IX. Committee Reports

● Personnel/Negotiations - Ms. Taylor-Venson reported on the recent meeting which discussed job descriptions, stipends, 2019-2020 staffing, policy and the upcoming meeting with the WTEA.

● Curriculum, Communications and Technology - Mrs. DiMaggio reported on the evening’s meeting which discussed redesigned learning spaces, redesigned library spaces, and upcoming policy review.

● Finance/Operations/Security - Mr. Bellmann provided an overview of the recent meeting which discussed the referendum outcome, Wellness Room Phase 2 Project, 2019-2020 Budget, End of Year Financials, Security Action Plan and Policies.

X. Discussion

● 2019-2020 Budget - The board discussed the process moving forward with the proposed budget. As a result of the conversation, Mr. Bellmann made a motion as follows:

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby requests that administration create a line item listing of potential budget cuts, listing both associated dollar amounts and tax points.

It was seconded by Mrs. DiMaggio, and approved by a 8-0 roll-call vote.

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).

N/A

XII. Items for Board Consideration/Action

Mrs. Sarosy requested that motions B.4. and B.5. be held for separate votes.

On motion by Mrs. DiMaggio, seconded by Mr. Franco, the consent items A.1., A.2., B.1., through B.3., C.1., through C.10., D.1., and D.2., were approved by a 8-0 roll-call vote.

Mrs. Sarosy discussed concerns regarding the project referenced in motions B.4. and B.5.

On motion by Mrs. DiMaggio, seconded by Mr. Bellmann, the consent items B.4. and B.5. were approved by a 5-3 roll-call vote. (Mrs. Sarosy, Mrs. Taylor-Venson and Mr. Brezee voted no.)

A. Education

A.1. HIB Report

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education accepts the HIB Report submitted by the Superintendent for the period ending on January 22, 2019.

A.2. Tuition Contracts

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves tuition contracts with the parent of Students #622777 and #622778 for attendance at Mt. Horeb School, effective September 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020, at a monthly cost of $408 per student.

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
Candida Hengemuhle	District	New Jersey Association of Pupil Services Administrators Spring Academy Conference for Directors, Supervisors, Child Study Team, Principals and Administrators	Monroe	Mar 2019	$161
Kenya Cook	WS	Foreign Language Educators of New Jersey 2019 Annual Conference	Iselin	Apr 2019	$183
Amanda McGrath	WS	35th Annual Winners! Workshop	Whippany	May 2019	$209
Christine Burkhardt	MH	35th Annual Winners! Workshop	Whippany	May 2019	$209
Jan Donlay	District	School Transportation Supervisors of New Jersey Annual Conference	Atlantic City	Mar 2019	$560
Lauren Valera	WS	New Jersey Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Language/New Jersey Bilingual Educators, Inc. Spring Conference	New Brunswick	May 2019	$205
Deborah Yankowicz	MH	Advanced Applied Behavioral Strategies	Hamilton	Feb 2019	$179
Jan Brennan	ALT	New Jersey State School Nurses Association	Princeton	Mar 2019	$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.2. Waiver of Requirements - Special Education Medicaid Initiative (SEMI)

Program

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the Waiver of Requirements Special Education Medicaid Initiative (SEMI) Program:

WHEREAS, NJAC 6A:23A-5.3 provides that a school district may request a waiver of compliance with respect to the district’s participation in the Special Education Medicaid Initiative (SEMI) Program for the 2019-2020 School Year, and

WHEREAS, that the Board of Education desires to apply for this waiver due to the fact that it has fewer than 40 Medicaid eligible classified students,

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby authorizes the Superintendent to submit to the Executive County Superintendent of Schools in Somerset County the appropriate waiver of the requirements of NJAC 6A:23A-5.3 for the 2019-2020 school year.

B.3. Donation - Mt. Horeb PTO

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education accepts, with gratitude, a $1,000 donation from the Mt. Horeb PTO, for the rental of 30 DrumFits. Rental fee to be applied toward purchase price, if applicable.

B.4. Approval - Interior Renovations at Warren Middle School

RESOLVED, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, that the Warren Township School District, in the County of Somerset, New Jersey authorizes Parette Somjen Architects to submit all necessary plans and paperwork to the Department of Education concerning the Interior Renovations at Warren Middle School to serve as an application to the Office of School Facilities and an amendment to the District’s Long Range Facility Plan; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, this project shall be an “Other Capital” project and the Board of Education is NOT seeking State funding but will fund the Project through the District’s Capital Reserve Account.

B.5. Capital Reserve Withdrawal

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves withdrawals from Capital Reserve for purposes of all costs for the board’s approved Interior Renovations at Warren Middle School.

C. Personnel/Student Services

C.1. Employment for the 2018-2019 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 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., if applicable Staff members shall be paid in accordance with provisions in their collective bargaining agreement and/or in accordance with a schedule provided to all employees prior to the beginning of the contract or school year.

Name

Position/PCR

Location

Degree

Step

Salary

Effective Date

Discussion

Deborah Ruocco

Leave Replacement

Special Education Teacher

Central

$66,633

(prorated)

2/6/2019 - 6/30/2019

(This motion supersedes the previous motion approved January 22, 2019.)

Replacing employee

#3058

C.2. Substitute Teacher

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the following to be appointed as a substitute teacher for the 2018-2019 school year.

Name

Kayla Oaks

Samantha Ferreira

C.3. Movement on the Guide

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the following staff for amended placements on the 2018-2019 salary guide:

Name	From	To	Effective
Mark Weber	MA+45	Doctorate in Philosophy	02/01/2019
Amanda Rodrigues	MA+45	Doctorate in Education	02/01/2019
Kristen Boni	MA+30	MA+45	02/01/2019
Deborah Hunt	MA+30	MA+45	02/01/2019
Wendy Piller	MA+30	MA+45	02/01/2019
Susan Sage	MA+30	MA+45	02/01/2019
Michelle Zgombic	MA+15	MA+30	02/01/2019
Michele Scott	MA+15	MA+30	02/01/2019
Justin Guglielmino	MA+15	MA+30	02/01/2019
Lori Vigliotti	MA	MA+15	02/01/2019
Dannine Albanese	MA	MA+15	02/01/2019

C.4. Warren Academy Courses Instructor Stipend 2018-2019

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the following staff for reimbursement as an Instructor. Each instructor will be reimbursed at the WTEA contractual rate $50 per hour. The total cost shall not exceed $2,950.

Staff Member	Course	Date	Prep Hours	Instructor Hours	Cost Total
Michelle Barbagallo	Executive Functioning in the Classroom	Feb 27, 2019	2.25	0.75	$150
Cynthia Cassidy	An Overview of John Hattie's Visible Learning Research	Apr 8, 2019	3	1	$200
Cynthia Cassidy	Breakout EDU	Apr 29, 2019	6	2	$400
Rebecca Hartman	CPI Refresher	Mar 14 and 21, 2019	4	4	$400
Brittany Leonard	Strategies for Unique Learners	Feb 20, Mar 6 and 13, 2019	9	3	$600
Bonnie Pierson	Safe Zone Training	Feb 25, 2019	2	2	$200
Helen Scully	Safe Zone Training	Feb 25, 2019	2	2	$200
Kristina Traynor	Organizing Guided Reading & The Daily 5	Mar 8, 2019	3	1	$200
Michelle Zgombic	Memes in the Classroom	Apr 4, 2019	4.5	1.5	$300
Michelle Zgombic	GoGuardian: Online Student Management	Apr 29, 2019	4.5	1.5	$300

C.5. Leave Request

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

Employee ID

Paid/Unpaid

#3058

FMLA - February 11, 2019 through March 6, 2019 (paid)

NJFLA - March 6, 2019 thru June 30, 2019 (unpaid)

(This motion supersedes the previous motion approved October 1, 2018.)

#3228

FMLA - December 14, 2018 through January 1, 2019 (paid)

FMLA - January 2, 2019 through February 28, 2019 (unpaid)

(This motion supersedes the previous motion approved January 22, 2019.)

C.6. Custodial Substitute

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the following as a Substitute Custodian for the 2018-2019 school year at the approved substitute custodian pay rate.

Name

Laura Lamson

C.7. Coaching Stipend - Rescind

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education rescinds the appointment of the following coach for the 2018-2019 school year as per the WTEA agreement:

Name	Sport
Danielle Buzby	Softball Coach

C.8. Coaching Stipend

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the appointment of the following coach for the 2018-2019 school year as per the WTEA agreement:

Name	Sport
Cathryn Ticchio	Softball Coach

C.9. Additional Hours

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the following additional hours:

Name	Student #	Club/Purpose	Starting Date	Cost
Nancy Lauber	8433407152	Gold Band Concert	March 28, 2019	$50
Khara Patti	8649543813	Little Leaders	February 6, 2019	$549
Kristyn Westcott	2162506652	Photography Club	April 4, 2019	$198
Shari DeCarli	7152876083	Photography Club	April 4, 2019	$209

C.10. Special Education Service Provider List

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the following rate for provider Cindy Levy, Speech/Language Therapy at a per diem rate of $358.29 for the 2018-2019 school year.

D. Policy/Regulation

D.1. Policy - First Reading

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves to abolish the first reading of the following policies:

Number	Name	New/Revision	Source of Changes
4219	Commercial Driver’s License Controlled Substance and Alcohol Use Testing	Revision	SEA
7440	School District Security	Revision	SEA
8461	Reporting Violence, Vandalism, Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying, Alcohol, and Other Drug Offenses	Revision	SEA

D.2. Regulation – Abolish

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves to abolish the following regulation:

Number	Name	New/Revision	Source of Changes
5512	Harassment, Intimidation or Bullying Investigation Procedure	N/A	SEA

XIII. Unfinished Business

N/A

XIV. New Business

● Policy Review Process - Mr. Brezee brought up for discussion the future process for modifying policies in addition to introducing new ones. The board reached a consensus to allow policies to be placed on the board agenda without going through committee.

● Board Binders - The board discussed hard copy versus electronic agenda and back up documents distribution. The consensus was to move to electronic delivery.

XV. Public Commentary (any topic)

N/A

XVI. Executive Session

● At 9:06 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 may 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. Bellmann and approved by unanimous voice vote.

On motion by Mrs. DiMaggio, seconded by Mr. Franco, the Board reconvened in open session at 9:39 p.m.

On motion by Mrs. DiMaggio, seconded by Mr. Bellmann, the following motion was approved by a 8-0 roll-call vote:

C.11. Leave Request

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

Employee ID	Paid/Unpaid
#3282	October 15, 2018 through February 19, 2019 (unpaid with benefits) (This motion supersedes the previous motion approved January 7, 2019.)
#3043	FMLA - October 15, 2018 through November 1, 2018 (paid) FMLA - November 1, 2018 through January 11, 2019 (unpaid) Extended Leave January 14, 2019 through February 19, 2019 (unpaid) (This motion supersedes the previous motion approved January 7, 2019.)
#1267	January 28, 2019 (paid) January 29, 2019 through March 16, 2019 (unpaid)

XVII. Adjourn

On motion by Mrs. DiMaggio, seconded by Mr. Bellmann, the meeting adjourned at

9:40 p.m.

Minutes submitted by,

Patricia Leonhardt

Board Secretary

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