Warren Township Schools: Minutes for February 19, 2019

Minutes for February 19, 2019 Archived Minutes

A regular business meeting of the Board of Education was held this day at the Woodland School,

114 Stirling Road. The following is a record of that meeting.

I. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 6:32 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 February 6, 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, Naresh Chand, Lisa DiMaggio,

Marc Franco and David Brezee

Absent: Jeannine Sarosy, Ayanna Taylor-Venson and Patricia Zohn

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

IV. Executive Session

● At 6:33 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 and

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

Action will be taken upon return to public session;

the length of the meeting is anticipated to be approximately 30 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. Bellmann, the Board reconvened in open session at 7:04 p.m.

V. Minutes

● Mrs. DiMaggio moved the following:

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the public and private session minutes of the February 4, 2019 Board Meeting.

The motion was seconded by Mr. Bellmann and approved by 6-0 roll-call vote.

VI. Correspondence and Information

· HIB Information

Total # of Investigations:

Total # of Determined Bullying Incidents:

· Suspension Report

In School

Out of School

VII. President’s Remarks - Mr. David Brezee

Mr. Brezee welcomed all to Woodland School.

Mr. Brezee shared the joy of honoring the Excellence in Education winners.

Mr. Brezee also enjoyed watching the girls’ basketball team win its championship game.

VIII. Superintendent’s Remarks – Dr. Matthew Mingle

Dr. Mingle announced and congratulated the Excellence in Education award winners:

● Angelo L. Tomaso School - Jan Brennan, Nurse

● Central School - Lindsey LaNeve, Librarian

● Mt. Horeb School - Michelle Barbagallo, Occupational Therapist

● Woodland School - Nancy Braunstein, Reading Recovery Teacher

● Middle School - Jennifer Benn, Social Studies Teacher

Dr. Mingle also congratulated the girls basketball team on its League Championship.

Dr. Mingle thanked Mrs. Leonhardt and the Business Office team for the 2017-2018 audit, which had no recommendations.

XI. Presentation

● Woodland School - Third graders presented their Immigration Projects.

● Development in Warren Township - Mark Krane, Township Clerk and Jeff Lehrer, Township Attorney, discussed the township’s Council on Affordable Housing agreement.

X. Committee Reports

● Finance, Operations and Security Committee - Mr. Bellmann reported on the recent meeting which discussed the audit, and then the budget was discussed at length.

XI. Discussion

● 2019-2020 Budget - Mr. Bellmann introduced the budget conversation, with board members providing input.

XII. 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).

● Kevin Helewa, Reinman Road, discussed the budget and the role of capital reserve deposits. Also discussed was the role of PILOT projects and per pupil costs.

XIII. Items for Board Consideration/Action

Dr. Chand asked questions regarding bill list items..

On motion by Mrs. DiMaggio, seconded by Mr. Bellmann, the consent items A.1., A.2., B.1., through B.6., C.1., through C.4., and D.1., through D.3., were approved by a 6-0 roll-call vote.

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 February 4, 2019.

A.2. Contracted Services

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the following independent evaluations by AHS Hospital Corp. for the following students:

Student Number	Evaluation	Cost Not to Exceed
9968045917	Speech	$925
9968045917	Occupational Therapy	$875
9968045917	Physical Therapy	$875
7239122735	Speech	$925
7239122735	Occupational Therapy	$875
7239122735	Physical Therapy	$875

B. Finance/Operations/Transportation

B.1. Payment of Bills

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the payment of bills for the month of February 2019 in the amount of $3,822,500.73.

B.2. Board Secretary's and Treasurer's Report

WHEREAS, the Board of Education has received the report of the secretary for the month of January 31, 2019; and

WHEREAS, this report shows the following balances on January 31, 2019:

FUND	CASH BALANCE	APPROPRIATION BALANCE	FUND BALANCE
(10) General Current Expense Fund	$11,970,584.83		$1,001,355.68
(10) General Current Expense		$36,852.00
(11) Current Expense		$1,604,644.67
(12) Capital Outlay		$211,625.94
(13) Special Schools		$2,452.19
(20) Special Revenue Fund	($87,179.19)	$62,616.82	$0.00
(30) Capital Projects Fund	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
(40) Debt Service Fund	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
TOTAL	$11,883,405.64	$1,918,191.62	$1,001,355.68

WHEREAS, in compliance with law and code the secretary has certified that, as of the date of the reports, no budgetary line item account has obligations and payments (contractual orders) which in total exceed the amount appropriated by the district board of education, now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, the Board of Education accepts the above reference reports and certifications and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, in compliance with law and code, the Board of Education certifies that, after review of the secretary's monthly financial report (appropriation section), to the best of its knowledge, no major account or fund has been over expended in violation of law and code and that sufficient funds are available to meet the district's financial obligations for the remainder of the year.

B.3. Budget Transfers for Month of January 2019

RESOLVED, the Board of Education ratifies the following transfers between budget line items that have been approved by the Superintendent of Schools and that are now being reported to the Board pursuant to Policy 3160:

	TO:		FROM:
1.	11-000-222-600-035-04-10	Library Supplies - MHS	11-190-100-610-035-04-10	Instructional Supplies - MHS	$300
2.	11-000-223-500-030-12-00	Staff Training - Other Purchased Services - CS	11-000-223-580-030-12-00	Workshops & Travel - Staff Training - CS	$25
3.	11-000-223-500-033-12-00	Staff Training - Other Purchased Services - MS	11-000-223-580-033-12-00	Workshops & Travel - Staff Training - MS	$20
4.	11-000-223-500-035-12-00	Staff Training - Other Purchased Services - MHS	11-000-223-580-035-12-00	Workshops & Travel- Staff Training - MHS	$425
5.	11-000-223-500-040-12-00	Staff Training - Other Purchased Services - ALT	11-000-223-580-040-12-00	Workshops & Travel - Staff Training - ALT	$20
6.	11-000-223-500-050-12-00	Staff Training - Other Purchased Services - WS	11-000-223-580-050-12-00	Workshops & Travel - Staff Training - WS	$20
7.	11-000-230-331-000-01-00	Legal Services	11-000-100-562-000-08-01	Tuition - Other LEAs	$23,000
8.	11-000-230-339-000-01-00	Admin - Purchased Professional Services	11-000-100-562-000-08-01	Tuition - Other LEAs	$8,000
9.	11-000-230-590-000-00-23	Legal Ads	11-000-100-562-000-08-01	Tuition - Other LEAs	$5,000
10.	11-000-240-600-030-03-10	Admin. Supplies - Central	11-000-291-270-000-00-00	Health Benefits	$19,000
11.	11-000-240-600-033-04-10	Admin. Supplies - Middle	11-000-291-270-000-00-00	Health Benefits	$19,000
12.	11-000-240-600-035-04-10	Admin. Supplies - Mt. Horeb	11-000-291-270-000-00-00	Health Benefits	$19,000
13.	11-000-240-600-040-05-10	Admin. Supplies - ALT	11-000-291-270-000-00-00	Health Benefits	$19,000
14.	11-000-240-600-050-06-10	Admin. Supplies - Woodland	11-000-291-270-000-00-00	Health Benefits	$19,000
15.	11-000-251-580-000-00-00	Business Office - Workshops & Travel	11-000-291-270-000-00-00	Health Benefits	$5,000
16.	11-000-251-600-000-01-00	Business Office - Supplies	11-000-291-290-000-00-01	Medical Return	$4,000
17.	11-000-252-500-000-11-01	Technology - Other Purchased Services	11-000-291-290-000-00-01	Medical Return	$17,000
18.	11-000-252-600-000-11-01	Admin Technology - Supplies	11-000-291-270-000-00-00	Health Benefits	$17,000
19.	11-000-270-503-000-10-00	Aide in Lieu of Transportation	11-000-270-161-000-10-00	Salaries - Special Ed Transportation	$22,000
20.	11-000-270-512-033-07-01	Sports & Music Trips - Middle	11-000-270-518-000-10-00	Contracted Special Ed Transportation - ESC	$275
21.	11-000-270-580-000-10-00	Transportation - Workshops & Travel	11-000-270-518-000-10-00	Contracted Special Ed Transportation - ESC	$160
22.	11-120-100-101-035-04-00	Salaries - Grades 1-5 Teachers - MHS	11-130-100-101-033-07-00	Salaries - Grades 6-8 Teachers - MS	$18,500
23.	11-120-100-101-035-04-00	Salaries - Grades 1-5 Teachers - MHS	11-130-100-101-033-07-02	Grades 6-8 - Substitute Teachers - MS	$3,832
24.	11-150-100-320-033-08-00	Home Instruction - Purchased Services. - MS	11-000-100-562-000-08-01	Tuition - Other LEAs	$800
25.	11-401-100-500-033-07-00	Co-Curricular Club - Purchased Services - MS	11-401-100-600-033-07-00	Co-Curricular Clubs - Supplies - MS	$90
26.	11-401-100-600-030-03-00	Co-Curricular Supplies - CS	11-190-100-610-030-03-10	Instructional Supplies - CS	$350
27.	13-422-100-500-040-00-00	Summer Fun - Purchased Services - ALT	11-000-291-270-000-00-00	Health Benefits	$3,270
28.	13-422-100-500-040-00-00	Summer Fun - Purchased Services - ALT	13-422-100-101-035-00-02	Summer Fun - Teachers - ESY - MHS	$230

B.4. 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
Myranda Shimko	MS	New Jersey Branch International Dyslexia Association and New Jersey Speech-Language-Hearing Association	Garwood	Mar 2019	$220
Catherine Lazas	MS	New Jersey Branch International Dyslexia Association and New Jersey Speech-Language-Hearing Association	Garwood	Mar 2019	$220
Denise Kennedy	MH	New Jersey Branch International Dyslexia Association and New Jersey Speech-Language-Hearing Association	Garwood	Mar 2019	$225
Patricia Iannacone	CS	New Jersey Branch International Dyslexia Association and New Jersey Speech-Language-Hearing Association	Garwood	Mar 2019	$220
Joyce Pekarsky	CS	New Jersey Branch International Dyslexia Association and New Jersey Speech-Language-Hearing Association	Garwood	Mar 2019	$220
Catherine Murphy	ALT	New Jersey Branch International Dyslexia Association and New Jersey Speech-Language-Hearing Association	Garwood	Mar 2019	$220
Susan Jackson	ALT	Winners Workshop; The 100 Top Children's Books of the Year	Piscataway	May 2019	$209
William Kimmick	District	Annual Tenure and Seniority Conference - Califon Consultants	Edison	Apr 2019	$325
Sean Mealey	MS	Nike Championship Basketball Clinic	Storrs, CT	Apr 2019	$415

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.5. Acceptance of Audit for the 2017-2018 School Year

WHEREAS, the Board of Education has engaged Suplee Clooney & Company of Westfield, NJ, to audit the district's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018, in compliance with N.J.S.A.18A:23-1 et seq, and,

WHEREAS, this audit has been completed and the CAFR filed with the State Department of Education and submitted to the Warren Township Board of Education along with a synopsis of the audit report and recommendations, which synopsis and recommendations are available for public review, and,

WHEREAS, pertinent results of operations during the 2017-2018 school year are:

SCHOOL YEAR 2017-2018
REVENUES	FINAL BUDGET	ACTUAL
Local Sources	$39,867,069	$40,236,335
State Sources*	$1,447,692	$7,746,026
Federal Sources	-	-
TOTAL	$41,314,761	$47,982,361
EXPENDITURES
Regular Instruction	$11,923,416	$11,674,521
Special Education	$4,195,699	$4,148,752
Other Instruction	$1,741,118	$1,717,658
Undistributed Expenditures*	$24,025,892	$28,098,378
Total General Expenses(A1-4)	$41,886,125	$45,639,309
Capital Outlay	$2,272,668	$972,446
Special Schools	$262,967	$252,409
Transfer of Funds to Charter School	$50,433	$50,433
TOTAL	$44,472,193	$46,914,597
OTHER SOURCES/USES
Transfer in from Capital Projects	-	$184,260
Transfer to Capital Projects	-	-
EXCESS (DEFICIENCY)	-	$1,252,024
Fund Balance July 1, 2017	-	$7,997,969
Fund Balance June 30, 2018	-	$9,249,993
Analysis of Fund Balance
Analysis of Fund Balance
Excess Surplus- subsequent year's expenditures (18-19)		$459,000
Excess Surplus (19-20)		$ 460,000
Emergency Reserve Account		$56,659
Maintenance Reserve Account		$180,775
Capital Reserve Account		$5,478,917
Encumbrances		$1,613,286
TOTAL** (Undesignated Fund Balance)		$1,001,356
**Allowable Undesignated Fund Balance is as follows:
2% of 2017-18 General Fund Expenditures		$817,434
2017-18 NP Transportation		$40,600
Excess 2017-18 Extraordinary Aid		$143,322
TOTAL		$1,001,356
*Majority of variance due to State’s TPAF FICA reimbursement and payments to pension($6,042,913)

Now therefore be it,

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby accepts the report, notes the following recommendations, and directs that appropriate corrective action be taken:

Recommendation: None

Corrective Action: None

B.6. Donation - Warren Middle School PTO

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education accepts, with gratitude, a donation totaling approximately $1,246 for teacher mini grants.

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

Laura Colantoni

Leave Replacement Science Teacher

$58,855

9/20/2018 -6/3/2019

(This motion supersedes previous motion January 7, 2019.)

Replacing employee #2684

C.2. 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 $400.

Staff Member	Course	Date	Prep Hours	Instructor Hours	Cost Total
Justin Guglielmino	Potential Harmful Effects of Video Gaming and Social Media	Mar 5, 2019	3	1	$200
Jessica Nathan	Classroom Management PART 2: The Sequel	Mar 6, 2019	1	1	$100
Michele Wolkun	Adapting Units of Study in Writing for Students with IEPS	Feb 25, 2019	1	1	$100

C.3. 2018-2019 Approval of Title I - Extended Day Tutor

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the appointment of the following staff members as Title I - Extended Day Tutors, to be paid the contractual rate of $50 per hour. Total cost dependent upon needs of identified students in the district’s Title I school, which is Central School, at a total cost not to exceed $43,114. Cost to be fully funded by ESEA Title I.

Name

Carla Annese

Melanie Munoz

C.4. Leave Request

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

Employee ID	Paid/Unpaid
#2574	FMLA - May 23, 2019 through June 30, 2019 (paid) NJFLA - August 28, 2019 through November 15, 2019 (unpaid) Extended Leave - November 18, 2019 through December 20, 2019 (unpaid)
#1128	FMLA - October 29, 2018 - through January 28, 2019 (paid) Extended Leave - January 29, 2019 through March 27, 2019 (paid) (This motion supersedes the previous motion approved January 7, 2019.)
#3043	Extended Leave - February 20, 2019 through March 11, 2019 (unpaid, no benefits)
#3282	Extended Leave - February 20, 2019 through March 11, 2019 (unpaid, benefits terminate March 1, 2019)

D. Policy

D.1. Policy - First Reading

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

Policy 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
2422	Health and Physical Education	Revision	SEA
2610	Educational Program Evaluation	Revision	SEA
5111	Eligibility of Resident/Non Resident Students	Revision	SEA
5337	Service Animals	Revision	SEA
2415.06	Unsafe School Choice Options	Revision	SEA
5600	Student Discipline/Code of Conduct	Revision	SEA
5611	Removal of Students for Firearms Offenses	Revision	SEA
5612	Assaults on District Board of Education Members or Employees	Revision	SEA
5613	Removal of Students for Assaults with Weapons Offenses	Revision	SEA
5756	Transgender Students	Revision	SEA

D.2. Regulations - First Reading

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the first reading of the following Regulations:

Policy

Number

Name

New/Revision

Source of Changes

5530

Substance Abuse

Revision

SEA

2460.8

Special Education - Free and Appropriate Public Education

Revision

SEA

D.3. Policy – Abolish

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

Number	Name	New/Revision	Source of Changes
5330.04	Administering an Opioid Antidote	N/A	SEA

XIV. Unfinished Business

N/A

XV. New Business

● Superintendent Merit Goals - Dr. Mingle discussed his recommendation regarding one of his goals. A motion will be on the next Board of Education agenda.

● NJSBA Delegate Assembly - Resolution recommendation - Dr. Chand canvassed the board for resolutions; none were offered.

XVI. Public Commentary (any topic)

N/A

XVII. Adjourn

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

8:51 p.m.

Minutes submitted by,

Patricia Leonhardt

Board Secretary