Warren Township Schools: Minutes for March 11, 2019

Minutes for March 11, 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, Naresh Chand, Lisa DiMaggio,

Marc Franco, Ayanna Taylor-Venson, Patricia Zohn and David Brezee

Absent:

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

Jeannine Sarosy arrived at 7:11 p.m.

IV. Certified Election Results

Mrs. Leonhardt provided the Somerset County Clerk certified results for the Election for the Warren School District Facilities Referendum Question, held on January 22, 2019:

Yes	No
824	185

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 6-0-2 roll-call vote. (Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Zohn abstained.)

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 and referenced the evening’s budget presentation.

Mr. Brezee reported that the rescheduled Read Across America Day, in which he participated, was quite enjoyable.

Lastly, Mr. Brezee referenced the district wide Strategic Plan overview sessions, which he attended.

VIII. Superintendent’s Remarks – Dr. Matthew Mingle

Dr. Mingle also welcomed all and referenced motion B.4., for which the winning bid is below even the lowest estimate.

Dr. Mingle referenced the retirements of two long time and valuable employees, per motion C.8.

Dr. Mingle thanked Mr. Brezee for his attendance at the Strategic Plan overview sessions.

Dr. Mingle highlighted Middle School nurse Lisa Lontai on her selection for the Excellence in School Nursing Award, which is the highest state level award in the field.

IX. Presentation

● Tentative Budget Hearing/Adoption - Dr. Mingle and Mrs. Leonhardt presented an overview of the proposed 2019-20 budget.

The board discussed the proposed budget at length.

X. Committee Reports

● Finance, Operations and Security Committee - Mr. Bellmann reviewed the recent meeting at which the 2019-20 budget, 403(b) vendor, boiler pump replacement project, and Central School Health Office renovation bid results were discussed.

● Curriculum, Communications and Technology Committee - Mrs. DiMaggio reported on the evening’s meeting which discussed the Math and Social Studies curriculum review, standardized testing and an update on the district’s expanded Capstone Project.

XI. Discussion

N/A

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).

N/A

XIII. Items for Board Consideration/Action

Mr. Bellmann requested that motions B.5. and B.6. be pulled for a separate vote. Mr. Franco requested that policy 5756 within motion D.1. be pulled for separate vote. Mr. Bellman requested that Policy 5337 within motion D.1. be pulled for separate vote. Entire motion D.1. was then pulled for separate vote.

On motion by Mrs. DiMaggio, seconded by Mrs. Zohn, the consent items A.1., through A.4., B.1., through B.4., C.1., through C.11., and D.2., were approved by a 9-0 roll-call vote.

On motion by Mrs. DiMaggio, seconded by Mr. Franco, the consent items B.5. and B.6., at a 2.53% tax rate increase, failed by a 4-5 roll-call vote. (Mr. Bellish, Mr. Bellmann, Mr. Franco and Mrs. Taylor voted yes. Dr. Chand, Mrs. DiMaggio, Mrs. Sarosy, Mrs. Zohn and Mr. Brezee voted no.)

The board then recessed for five minutes to allow calculation of a budget with a 2.91% tax rate increase (see Attachment A).

Mr. Franco then made a motion for this new budget with a 2.91% tax rate increase, which was seconded by Mrs. Zohn, but failed by a 4-5 roll-call vote. (Mr. Bellish, Mr. Bellmann, Mr. Franco and Mrs. Zohn voted yes. Dr. Chand, Mrs. DiMaggio, Mrs. Sarosy, Mrs. Taylor and

Mr. Brezee voted no.)

The board then recessed for five minutes to allow calculation of a budget with a 2% tax rate increase (see Attachment B).

Dr. Chand then made a motion for the new budget with a 2% tax rate increase, which was seconded by Mr. Brezee, but failed with a 3-6 roll-call vote. (Dr. Chand, Mrs. DiMaggio and Mr. Brezee voted yes. Mr. Bellish, Mr. Bellmann, Mr. Franco, Mrs. Sarosy, Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Zohn voted no.)

On motion by Mr. Bellish, seconded by Mr. Franco, the original consent items B.5. and B.6., at the 2.53% tax rate increase, failed with a 4-5 roll-call vote. (Mr. Bellish, Mr. Bellmann, Mr. Franco and Mrs. Taylor voted yes. Dr. Chand, Mrs. DiMaggio, Mrs. Sarosy, Mrs. Zohn and Mr. Brezee voted no.)

After additional discussion, Mr. Bellmann moved again the original B.5. and B.6. motions. WIth no second, the motions did not move forward for vote.

A motion to table motions B.5. and B.6 was made by Mr. Franco, seconded by Mrs. Zohn, and was approved by a 9-0 roll-call vote.

A motion to table Policy 5337 within motion D.1. was made by Mr. Bellmann, seconded by Mr. Franco and approved by a 8-1 roll-call vote. (Mrs. Sarosy voted no.)

An motion to table Policy 5756 within motion D.1. was made by Mr. Franco, seconded by Mr. Bellmann,and approved by a 6-3 roll-call vote. (Mrs. Sarosy, Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Zohn voted no.)

On motion by Mrs. DiMaggio, seconded by Mr. Bellmann, the consent item D.1., without Policy Numbers 5337 and 5756, was approved by a 9-0 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 19, 2019.

A.2. Fieldwork Site

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the School Psychology Externship Agreement with Kean University, from September 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020, securing Warren Township as a fieldwork site to provide supervised clinical educational experiences in psychology.

A.3. Field Trip Destination

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby approves the field trip destination for the 2018-2019 School Year as follows:

1. Montgomery High School

A.4. School Safety Data System Summary Report

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the School Safety Data System Summary Report submitted by the Superintendent for the period July 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018.

B. Finance/Operations/Transportation

B.1. Board Secretary's and Treasurer's Report

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

WHEREAS, this report shows the following balances on Feb. 28, 2019:

FUND	CASH BALANCE	APPROPRIATION BALANCE	FUND BALANCE
(10) General Current Expense Fund	$11,942,747.60		$1,001,355.68
(10) General Current Expense		$36,852.00
(11) Current Expense		$1,733,748.67
(12) Capital Outlay		$209,155.94
(13) Special Schools		$1,262.19
(20) Special Revenue Fund	($4,467.53)	$51,306.45	$0.00
(30) Capital Projects Fund	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
(40) Debt Service Fund	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
TOTAL	$11,938,280.07	$2,032,325.25	$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.2. Budget Transfers for Month of February 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.	11-000-219-390-050-08-00	CST-Other Purchased Professional/Technical Svcs. - WS	11-000-100-562-000-08-01	Tuition - Other LEAs	$8,870
2.	11-000-261-610-035-09-04	Maintenance Supplies - MHS	11-190-100-610-035-04-10	Instructional Supplies - MHS	$300
3.	11-000-270-615-000-10-00	Transportation Supplies	11-000-270-610-000-10-00	General Transportation Supplies	$5,000
4.	11-204-100-101-033-07-00	Salaries - LLD Teachers	11-213-100-106-033-07-00	Salaries - RC Aides - MS	$1,540
5.	11-204-100-500-033-08-00	LLD - Other Purchased Svcs. - MS	11-204-100-610-033-08-00	LLD - Supplies - MS	$62
6.	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	$30
7.	11-401-100-600-030-03-00	Co-Curricular Supplies - CS	11-190-100-610-030-03-10	Instructional Supplies - CS	$85

B.3. 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
Cynthia Cassidy	MS	International Society for Technology in Education Ed Tech Conference 2019	Philadelphia, PA	June 2019	$281
Lance Riegler	District	International Society for Technology in Education Ed Tech Conference 2019	Philadelphia, PA	June 2019	$345
Susan Cooper	MS	Junior National Academic Championship	Alexandria, VA	May and June 2019	$705

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.4. Central School Health Office Renovations Project Award

WHEREAS, a recommendation was made by the Superintendent of Schools to the Warren Township Board of Education (“Board") to seek a contract for construction services for the Health Office Renovation Project at the Central School (hereinafter “Project”); and

WHEREAS, the Project was properly advertised to prospective bidders in accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:18A-4; and

WHEREAS, on Thursday, February 21, 2019 the Board received the following bids from potential bidders in accordance with N.J.S.A.18A:18A-1, et seq.;

Contractor	Amount
Lanyi & Tevald, Inc.	$160,000
Hahr Construction	$166,777
Ascend Construction Company Management Inc.	$173,900
AVCO Construction, Inc.	$182,800
Frankoski Construction	$187,700
Goksu Construction, LLC	$211,000
DeSapio Construction, Inc.	$212,800
Academy Construction Inc.	$285,000
K&D Contractors, LLC	$385,000

WHEREAS, Lanyi & Tevald, Inc.’s bid has been reviewed by the design professionals and attorney and is the lowest and is responsive to the bid requirements for the Project,

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board hereby awards the Project to Lanyi & Tevald, Inc. for One hundred sixty thousand dollars ($160,000). Motion includes approval to transfer monies from Capital Reserve for full cost of the project, including professional fees.

B.5. Tentative 2019-2020 Warren Township School District Budget

RESOLVED, the Board of Education approves the tentative 2019-2020 Warren Township School District Budget and approves the tentative budget for submission to the Executive County Superintendent of Schools for Somerset County for review.

The tentative budget includes sufficient funds to provide curriculum and instruction which will enable all students to achieve the New Jersey Student Learning Standards and is in compliance with N.J.S.A. 18A and N.J.A.C Title 6 and 6A.

Proposed 2019-2020 Budget
Appropriations:		Revenue:
Fund 10
Operating Budget	$43,263,295	State Aid: General Fund	$1,658,159
Transfer to Charter Schools	$57,522	Tax Levy: General Fund	$41,193,378
Deposit to Capital Reserve	$100,500	Other Revenues	$622,157
Capital Outlay	$321,415	Fund Balance	$460,000
Summer School	$282,962	Withdrawal from Capital Reserves	$60,000
		Withdrawal from Maintenance Reserves	$32,000
TOTAL	$44,025,694		$44,025,694

Fund 20
Special Revenue Appropriations	$415,505	Grants: Federal, State and Local	$415,505

Fund 40	$0	Fund 40	$0

FURTHER RESOLVED, per NJAC 6A:23B-1.2(b), the tentative budget provides for a maximum expenditure amount that may be allotted for travel and expense reimbursement. The 2019-2020 tentative budget includes a maximum travel appropriation of $125,050. The School Business Administrator shall track and record these costs to insure that the maximum amount is not exceeded, and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, a Board of Education may, and this Board does, establish, for regular district business travel only, an annual school year threshold of $1,500 per staff member where prior Board approval shall not be required for regular business travel, and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, the Board of Education hereby establishes May 6, 2019 as the date for the Public Hearing on the budget and authorizes the Superintendent and Board Secretary, after approval by the Executive County Superintendent of Schools, to advertise the budget and the budget hearing as required by law.

B.6. Approval of the Use of Banked Cap

WHEREAS, in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:23A-10.3(b)1, a district can request use of banked cap only after it has fully exhausted all eligible statutory spending authority in the budget year; and

WHEREAS, banked cap from the earliest pre-budget year must be used before the amount from a more recent year; and

WHEREAS, the Warren Township Board of Education has fully exhausted all eligible statutory spending authority for the 2019-2020 budget year and has determined the need for banked cap in order to balance the general fund for the 2019-2020 budget, maintain existing programs and continue implementing the district’s goals; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby approves the use of $211,783 from the 2016-2017 banked cap for the 2019-2020 budget year and to complete said purposes by June, 2020.

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

Sharon Harvey

Bus Driver

12-00-24/act

District

N/A

$16,200 (prorated)

3/25/2019 - 6/30/2019

Replacing employee #2478

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

Loriann Mirenda

Florence Swanstrom

C.3. Leave Request

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

Employee ID	Paid/Unpaid
#0171	FMLA - February 4, 2019 through March 8, 2019 (paid)
#2684	FMLA - September 24, 2018 through November 30, 2018 (paid) NJFLA - December 3, 2018 through March 1, 2019 (unpaid) Extended Leave - March 4, 2019 through May 31, 2019 (unpaid) (This motion supersedes the previous motion approved December 11, 2018)
#2954	FMLA - March 26, 2019 through April 9, 2019 (paid)
#1128	FMLA - October 29, 2018 - through January 28, 2019 (paid) Extended Leave - January 29, 2019 through April 12, 2019 (paid) (This motion supersedes the previous motion approved January 7, 2019)
#2055	FMLA - February 28, 2019 through on or about May 7, 2019 (paid)
#1324	December 5, 2018 through April 12, 2019 (paid with benefits) (This motion supersedes the previous motion approved January 22, 2019)

C.4. Employee Termination

RESOLVED, the Board of Education terminates the 2018-2019 employment contract for Employee #3043 effective March 11, 2019.

C.5. Employee Termination

RESOLVED, the Board of Education terminates the 2018-2019 employment contract for Employee #3282 effective March 11, 2019.

C.6. 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 $700.

Staff Member	Course	Date	Prep Hours	Instructor Hours	Cost Total
Jessica Nathan	This Differentiated Classroom	Apr 3, 2019	3	1	$200
Jessica Nathan	This Differentiated Classroom	Apr 4, 2019	1	1	$100
Kristen Stoyanov	Conferencing in Reading Workshop Part 1	Mar 27, 2019	3	1	$200
Kristen Stoyanov	Conferencing in Reading Workshop Part 2	Apr 3, 2019	3	1	$200

C.7. Approval of Merit Goals 2018-2019 - Superintendent

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the following Superintendent’s merit goals for 2018-2019, which supersede the goals approved on September 4, 2018:

● Quantitative: 3.33% per goal

○ Update school and district practices and procedures to reflect the new Board policies and regulations.

○ Revise all job descriptions to bring into alignment with current practices and develop a five-year process for future review.

○ Conduct quarterly focus group meetings with grade eight students who have demonstrated exceptional success (level five) on PARCC English language arts for four straight years to develop recommendations for meeting the needs of highly able students.

● Qualitative: 2.5% per goal

○ Communicate details about the January 2019 referendum with various stakeholders.

○ Develop an understanding of the district’s strengths among community stakeholders through documented outreach programs.

C.8 Retirement/Resignation

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the retirement/resignations

of the following staff:

Name	Position	Location	Retirement/ Resignation	Dates of Service
Candida Hengemuhle	Director of Special Services	District	July 1, 2019	7/1/2014 - 6/30/2019
Elizabeth Monaghan	Secretary	ALT	July 1, 2019	8/1/2007 - 6/30/2019
Nicholas Zebrowski	0.4 Health and Physical Education Teacher	WMS	May 6, 2019 (or sooner if applicable)	10/8/2018 - 5/6/2019
Emily Bruno	Track Coach	MS	March 7, 2019	N/A

C.9. Coaching Stipends

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the appointment of the following positions for the 2018-2019 school year:

Name	Club	Stipend
Keith Koellhoffer	Track Coach	$2,262

C.10. After School Activities/Clubs

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the following advisors:

Name	Club	Location	Sessions	Cost
Nick Galluccio	Boys Council Advisor	MS	15	$735*
Carol Brown	Boys Council Advisor	MS	N/A	$500*

*(Paid for by Somerset County Municipal Youth Services Commission Grant)

C.11. Long Term Substitute

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the following individual as a Long Term Substitute:

Name

Effective Date

Replacing Employee #

Christina Mancino

February 28, 2019 -

May 7, 2019

#2055

D. Policy

D.1. Policy - Second Reading

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the second 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
TABLED 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
TABLED 5756	Transgender Students	Revision	SEA

D.2. Regulations - Second Reading

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the second 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

XIV. Unfinished Business

N/A

XV. New Business

The board began to discuss scheduling a new meeting for adoption of the tentative budget.

On motion by Mr. Bellish, seconded by Mrs. Sarosy, modified consent items B.5. and B.6., at a 2.32% tax rate increase (see Attachment C), failed by a 3-6 roll-call vote. (Mr. Bellish, Mrs. Sarosy and Mr. Brezee voted yes. Mr. Bellmann, Dr. Chand, Mrs. DiMaggio, Mr. Franco, Mrs. Taylor, and Mrs. Zohn voted no.)

On motion by Mr. Bellmann, seconded by Mr. Franco, the original consent items B.5. and B.6., at a 2.53% tax rate increase, were approved by a 5-4 roll-call vote. (Mr. Bellish, Mr. Bellmann, Mr. Franco, Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Zohn voted yes. Dr. Chand, Mrs. DiMaggio, Mrs. Sarosy and Mr. Brezee voted no.)

XVI. Public Commentary (any topic)

N/A

XVII. Adjourn

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

10:38 p.m.

Minutes submitted by,

Patricia Leonhardt

Board Secretary