Warren Township Schools: Minutes for March 25, 2019

Minutes for March 25, 2019 Archived Minutes

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

109 Mount Bethel 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, 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, Marc Franco,

Patricia Zohn and David Brezee

Absent: Ayanna Taylor-Venson

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

Lisa DiMaggio arrived at 7:02 p.m.

Jeannine Sarosy arrived at 7:12 p.m.

IV. Minutes

● Mr. Brezee moved the following:

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the public and private session minutes of the March 11, 2019 Board Meeting.

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

V. Correspondence and Information

· HIB Information

Total # of Investigations:

Total # of Determined Bullying Incidents:

· Suspension Report

In School

Out of School

VI. President’s Remarks - Mr. David Brezee

Mr. Brezee welcomed all and thanked Mrs. Tugya for the building tour held earlier in the evening.

Mr. Brezee reported on attending the Warren Middle School’s rendition of Mary Poppins, which was excellent.

Mrs. DiMaggio arrived at 7:02 p.m.

Mr. Brezee announced that the Ad Hoc Strategic Planning Committee has been formed. The members will be: Mr. Bellmann, Mrs. DiMaggio, Mrs. Taylor and Mr. Brezee.

Mr. Brezee congratulated Dr. Mingle on his selection as ASCD’s Vice President.

Lastly, Mr. Brezee thanked the Mt. Horeb PTO (motions B.3. and B.4.) for its generous donations.

VII. Superintendent’s Remarks – Dr. Matthew Mingle

Dr. Mingle welcomed all and referred to the Boiler Replacement Project Award (motion B.5.) which came in below the project estimate, called attention to the evening’s retirements (motions C.4.) and corrected a typo in Policy 5756 (motion D.2.).

Lastly, Dr. Mingle shared that, effective the next board meeting, board agendas and backup documents will move to electronic only delivery for board members.

VIII. Presentation

● Central School Student Presentation - Principal Tugya, Ms. Peck and Mrs. Kolesar and her students discussed and provided an example of Responsive Classroom in action..

Mrs. Sarosy arrived at 7:12 p.m.

● Warren Middle School Schedule Update - Mr. Villar presented on the Middle School schedule changes. The board asked follow up questions.

IX. Committee Reports

N/A

X. Discussion

N/A

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, provided input regarding the Middle School schedule.

● Jennifer Nuzzi, Loren Way, spoke to the benefits of single grades only passing in the Middle School hallways.

XII. Items for Board Consideration/Action

Mr. Bellmann asked a question regarding A.2.c.

Mr. Franco discussed Policy 5756 (motion D.2.) and asked that it be pulled for separate vote.

On motion by Mr. Brezee, seconded by Mr. Franco, the consent item D.2., was approved to be tabled by a 6-2 roll-call vote.

On motion by Mrs. DiMaggio, seconded by Mr. Bellmann, the consent items A.1., through A.5., B.1., through B.7., C.1., through C.7., and D.1., were approved by a 8-0 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 March 11, 2018.

A.2. Field Trip Destination

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

1. Somerset County Environmental Center
2. Somerset County Crime Lab
3. Kingwood Middle School

A.3. Affirmative Action Team for Comprehensive Equity Plan

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby approves the Affirmative Action Officer and committee to undertake a needs assessment, develop a Comprehensive Equity Plan, submit the plan to the Somerset County Superintendent of Schools, and implement the plan.

A.4. Home Instruction

RESOLVED, the Board of Education approves up to 3 hours total of home instruction for Student #3385531519, beginning on or about March 26, 2019 at a rate of $50 per hour, at a cost not to exceed $150. Instruction to be provided by Leslie Ortega.

A.5. Bedside Instruction

RESOLVED, the Board of Education approves bedside instruction through Educational Services Commission of New Jersey for Student #2725435926, beginning March 26, 2019, at an hourly rate of $69, at a cost not to exceed $1,380.

B. Finance/Operations/Transportation

B.1. Payment of Bills

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the payment of bills for the month of March 2019 in the amount of $4,737,456.23.

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
Patricia Leonhardt	District	New Jersey Association of School Business Officials	Atlantic City	June 2019	$663
Kelly Stankiewicz	MH	Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder	Hillsborough	May 2019	$160
Melissa Silva	MS	NJ Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention	Long Branch	May 2019	$275
Shannon Regan	District	District Image: Perceptions Are Reality - New Jersey Association of School Administrators	Monroe	April 2019	$165
Candida Hengemuhle	District	New Jersey Association of School Administrators/New Jersey Association of Pupil Services Administrators Spring Leadership Conference	Atlantic City	May 2019	$645
Sean Convery	MS	International Society for Technology in Education Ed Tech Conference 2019	Philadelphia, PA	June 2019	$300
Rebecca Hartman	CS	Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder	Piscataway	May 2019	$163
Shannon Sharkey	District	NJ Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention	Long Branch	May 2019	$175

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. Donation - Mt. Horeb School PTO

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education accepts, with gratitude, a donation totaling $2,400 to be allocated for balls, sticks, stands and 3 years of access to videos for DrumFit at Mt. Horeb School.

B.4. Donation - Mt. Horeb School PTO

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education accepts, with gratitude, a donation totaling up to $15,300 to be allocated for a swing set which includes the product, demo/prep of the land, mulch, installation and tree removal at Mt. Horeb School.

B.5. Boiler and Pump Replacements 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 Boiler and Pump Replacement Projects at Angelo L. Tomaso, Mt. Horeb and Warren Middle Schools (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, March 14, 2019 the Board received the following bids from potential bidders in accordance with N.J.S.A.18A:18A-1, et seq.;

Contractor	Amount
Industrial Cooling Corp.	$1,493,000
Liberty Mechanical	$1,597,800
DeSesa Engineering Company Inc.	$1,653,000
UniTemp	$1,695,500
H&S Construction & Mechanical	$1,744,000
AMCO Enterprises Inc.	$1,791,000
DuMont Mechanical	$1,903,940
Kelin Heating, Air Conditioning, Inc.	$1,976,785.17
K&D Contractors LLC	$2,382,000

WHEREAS, Industrial Cooling Corp’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 Industrial Cooling Corp. for one million, four hundred ninety-three thousand dollars ($1,493,000). Motion includes approval to transfer monies from Capital Reserve for full cost of the project, including professional fees.

B.6. Capital Reserve Transfer for Referendum Costs

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves a transfer from Capital Reserve in an amount not to exceed $50,000 for costs associated with the district’s January 22, 2019 referendum and its associated project costs..

B.7. 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 2018-19 ESEA Title I Federal Grant Program as follows:

● ESEA - Title I

Amendment reflects a reallocation of monies between account lines from Salaries and Other Purchased Services to Instructional Supplies.

C. Personnel/Student Services

C.1. Leave Request

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

Employee ID	Paid/Unpaid
#2766	FMLA - January 22, 2019 through March 22, 2019 (unpaid with benefits)
#0171	FMLA - February 4, 2019 through April 26, 2019 (paid)
#3225	FMLA - March 15, 2019 through April 1, 2019 (paid) FMLA - April 2, 2019 through June 10, 2019 (unpaid) NJFLA - June 11, 2019 through June 30, 2019 (unpaid)

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

Marissa Tavaglione

C.3. Long Term Substitute

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

Name

Effective Date

Replacing

Employee

Tam Quach

4/22/2019 - 6/30/2019

#3225

Sarah Claxton

3/26/2019 - 6/30/2019

#2846

C.4. Retirement/Resignation

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

Name	Position	Location	Retirement/ Resignation	Dates of Service
Kristyn Westcott	1:1 Paraprofessional	Woodland	Resignation	9/1/2018 - 4/12/2019
Karen Leski	School Psychologist	ALT	Retirement	9/1/2004 - 6/30/2019
Kristen Chmielewski	1:1 Paraprofessional	Central	Resignation	10/23/2017 - 4/12/2019
Kathy Brown	ASAP Reading Teacher	Woodland	Retirement	9/15/1981 - 6/30/2019
Sheri DeShields	ASAP Math Teacher	Central	Retirement	9/1/1985 - 6/30/2019

C.5. Approval to Create Positions

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby approves creating the following position:

Location

Position

PCR

Full-Time Equivalent

Mt. Horeb School

1:1 Paraprofessional

32.5 hours

08-35-08/biv

1.00

C.6. Additional Hours

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

Name	Student #	Club/Purpose	Starting Date	Cost
Ashley Allegra	2172586586	Spring Vocal Concert	April 10, 2019	$25

C.7. 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

Alexis Canary

1:1 Paraprofessional 32.5 hours

08-50-08/bfa

Woodland

N/A

$24,299 (prorated)

4/22/2019 - 6/30/2019

Replacing employee #3350

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
5337	Service Animals	Revision	SEA

D.2. Policy - Second Reading - TABLED

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

Policy Number	Name	New/Revision	Source of Changes
5756	Transgender Students	Revision	SEA

XIII. Unfinished Business

Middle School 8th Grade Trip - Mrs. Zohn brought up for discussion payment and payment assistance for the trip.

XIV. New Business

Mr. Brezee made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Zohn, requesting that Dr. Mingle review proposed Policy 5756 with the district’s Board Attorney.

The board then discussed options for the policy review.

Mr. Bellmann then made a motion to table the above motion requesting the Superintendent and Board Attorney review of proposed Policy 5756. The motion to table was seconded by Mr. Franco and approved by a 8-0 roll-call vote.

Mr. Franco then made the following motion:

● RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby authorize the Curriculum Committee to research Proposed Policy 5756, in regard to legal mandates versus recommendation and return to the board with a recommendation. Work to be done with Strauss Esmay, with no engagement of board counsel.

Seconded by Mr. Bellmann, motion was approved by a 8-0 roll-call vote.

● Norms for Board Communication

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby adopts the updated Norms for Communication as presented.

On motion by Mr. Brezee, seconded by Mrs. DiMaggio, the updated Norms for Communication were approved by a 7-0-1 roll-call vote (Dr. Chand abstained).

XV. Public Commentary (any topic)

● Heather Silver, Quail Run, clarified the Middle School PTO’s support for students identified as being in need.

XVI. Adjourn

On motion by Mr. Franco, seconded by Mr. Bellmann, the meeting adjourned at 9:04 p.m.

Minutes submitted by,

Patricia Leonhardt

Board Secretary