Minutes for December 12, 2005History icon Archived Minutes

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A regular business meeting of the Board of Education was held this day in the Board of Education Administration Building, Mt. Horeb Road. The following is a record of that meeting.

I. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 7:01 p.m. by Board of Education President Gina Voorhees.

II. OPEN PUBLIC MEETING STATEMENT – Mrs. Voorhees read the following statement:
In accordance with the provisions New Jersey Open Public Meetings Law, the Board of Education has caused notice of this meeting to be posted in the Board Office and in the Township Office, mailed to the Courier News and Echoes Sentinel, and filed with the Clerk of the Township of Warren.

III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Mrs. Voorhees led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

IV. ROLL CALL
Present:   Pamela Coley, Peter Fallon, Roberta Monahan, Mildred Spiller, Gina Voorhees, Jay Wilpon, Kathleen Winter, Dr. Ellen Zimmerman
Absent:   John Henschel
Also Present:   Dr. James Crisfield, superintendent, Steve Gillingham, school business administrator/board secretary, Peter Daquila, school business administrator/board secretary designate, public and press.

V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mrs. Monahan moved the following.
RESOLVED, the Board of Education approves the minutes of the following meetings as printed
and distributed:
November 28, 2005: Open Session
November 28, 2005: Closed Session
The motion was seconded by Mrs. Spiller and approved by unanimous voice vote.

VI. CORRESPONDENCE AND INFORMATION – The superintendent reported the following fire drills had been held:

ALT

Central

Mt. Horeb

Woodland

Middle

November 4, 23

November 4, 14

November 1, 4

November 3, 14

November 1, 4

VII. PRESIDENT’S REMARKS – Mrs. Voorhees reported on a number of contemporary issues.

VIII. COMMITTEE REPORTS – Mrs. Voorhees invited committee reports. There were none.

IX. PUBLIC COMMENTARY – One person expressed an opinion about report card format.

X. PRESENTATION – Chic Hansen, principal of Woodland School, conducted a presentation on “Brain-Based Learning.”
Mr. Henschel arrived at 7:55 p.m. and was marked present.

XI. ITEMS FOR BOARD CONSIDERATION/ACTION (CONSENT AGENDA)
Mrs. Coley moved the following as a consent agenda:

A. Education Nothing

B. Finance/Operations/Transportation

B.1.   Payment of Bills
a) RESOLVED, the Board of Education approves the partial payment of the attached bills for December 2005 (Check Numbers 020603-020721) in the amount of $174,741.39 (ATTACHMENT 1).
b) RESOLVED, the Board of Education authorizes the superintendent, pursuant to policy 3326, to audit pending bills and claims, to pay qualifying bills and claims within approved budget line item amounts, and to submit those bills to the Board of Education for approval at its next regular meeting.

B.2.   Accept NCLB Grant for 2005-2006
RESOLVED, the Board of Education accepts Grant # NCLB547006 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) for the 2005-2006 school year in the following amounts

PROGRAM NAME

AWARD AMOUNT

Title II – Part A

$25,339

Title III

11,730

Title IV

4,860

Title V

4,790

TOTAL

$46,719

B.3.   Somerset County United Way P.E.A.C.E. Mini Grants
RESOLVED, the Board of Education accepts with appreciation the Somerset County United Way P.E.A.C.E. Mini Grant awarded to Gina Vintalore (Health Club) in the amount of $460.

C. Personnel/Student Services

C.1.   Employment for the 2005-2006 School Year
Approve the application for emergent hiring for the following positions for the 2005-2006 school year under the requirements of N.J.S.A. 18A:16-1 et seq., N.J.S.A. 18A:39-17 et seq., and N.J.S.A. 6-4.14 et seq., as listed below:
a) Susan Sage Art Teacher, Mt. Horeb School, step 1, MA+15, effective January 1, 2006 through June 30, 2006.  Benefits are to start February 1, 2006.

C.2.   Leave Without Pay
RESOLVED, the Board of Education approves leave without pay for the following employees:
a) Christine Ryan, Woodland School, one day, November 14, 2005 (personal business).
b) Janet DelNero, Central School, seven days, January 30,31, February 1,2,3,6,7, 2006 (personal business).
c) Alida Gorin, Middle School, one day, December 23, 2005 (personal business)

C.3.   Use of Sick Days
RESOLVED, the Board of Education approves the request from a teaching staff member whose name is on file with the superintendent of schools, to use 20 sick days to meet the travel and other arrangements concerning the adoption of a child from overseas.

C.4.   Substitute Teachers
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the following Substitute Teachers for the 2005-2006 school year:
a) Helen Hsu

D. Policy

D.1.   Policy and Regulation 4133 Travel Reimbursement (ATTACHMENT 2)
RESOLVED, the Board of Education approves the revised Policy and Regulation 4133 entitled Travel Reimbursement dated December 12, 2005.
D.2.   Bylaw 9250 Remuneration and Reimbursement (ATTACHMENT 3)
RESOLVED, the Board of Education approves the revised Bylaw 9205 entitled Remuneration and Reimbursement dated December 12, 2005.
The motion was seconded by Mrs. Monahan and the consent agenda approved by unanimous role-call vote.

XII.    EXECUTIVE SESSION: At 8:00 p.m. Mr. Henschel 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:
1)    specific prospective or current employees unless all who could be adversely affected request an open session,
2)    a collective bargaining agreement and/or negotiations related to it   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. Spiller and approved by unanimous voice vote.
The Board reconvened in open session at 9:20 p.m. and discussed the process for developing a budget for the 2006-2007 school year and strategies for winning voter approval.

XIII.   OLD BUSINESS: The Board discussed its practice of waiving building use fees for PTOs using    facilities on weekends. It decided to continue the practice.

XIV.   NEW BUSINESS: The Board discussed

  1. The recently completed football field across from the Warren Middle School and its impact on the school.
  1. Proposed state legislation to reduce the extent of “drug-free” zones near schools. The Board agreed to write a letter to state legislators objecting to the proposed change.
  1. A request from the WHRHS Board of Education to distribute information about a planned

referendum by means of Warren students. Dr. Zimmerman moved that the request be granted. The motion was seconded by Mr. Henschel. After further discussion, the motion was withdrawn.

XV.    ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 10:10 p.m.
Minutes recorded by:
Steve Gillingham, Board Secretary