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Agenda:NOTICE OF REGULAR MEETING: The Board of Education will meet on Tuesday, February 14, 2006 at 7:30pm at Lopatcong Township Middle School located at 321 Stonehenge Drive. The meeting will be held in the Cafetorium. To gain admittance, please use the entrance at Stonehenge Drive. The meeting will be open to the public at 7:30pm. AGENDA
R-103-06 Retirement of Health and Physical Education Teacher R-104-06 Maternity Leave Request R-105-06 Substitute Approval R-106-06 Set Polling Hours R-107-06 Set Public Hearing Date R-108-06 Accept Fiscal Year 2006 IDEA Grant Funds R-109-06 Installation of Fiber Optics R-110-06 Revise Policy File Code 6142.10 Entitled "Technology (Computer/Internet Use)" R-111-06 Field Trip Approval R-112-06 Requests for Use of Facilities R-113-06 Transfer of Uncommitted Funds R-114-06 Hire Assistant Principal R-115-06 Air Duct Cleaning R-116-06 Window Treatments R-117-06 Ductless Air Conditioning System
An Executive Session will be called at the end of the regular session for the purpose of discussing personnel and legal issues. Public comments are invited on any educationally pertinent subject. All participants will be given five (5) minutes to state their issue. In addition, the subject matter may be discussed by the Board for an additional five (5) minutes. All audience participants must state their name and address before speaking. Thank you for understanding.
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Minutes:MINUTES OF THE LOPATCONG TOWNSHIP BOARD OF EDUCATION President Gallant called the meeting to order on February 14, 2006 at 7:34 pm. Mrs. Barna read the following opening statement, “I would like to announce and have placed in the minutes that adequate notice of this regular meeting of the Lopatcong Township Board of Education has been provided in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act by publication of the annual notice in the Express-Times. A copy of this notice has been filed with the Township Clerk and posted at both school locations.” The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all present. ROLL CALL Present: Dennis Drake, Ernie Gallant, Terry Glennon, Frank Kish (arrived at 7:36pm), Greg McGann (arrived at 7:42pm), Jesse Rozycki, Raisy Stammherr (arrived at 7:35pm) and Bill Taggart. Absent: Tim McGuinness Others Present: Dr. Michael Rossi, Superintendent; Teresa E. Barna, Business Administrator/Board Secretary; Rosemary Kowalchuk, Principal; JoAnn Murray, CST Director; and approximately 15 staff and public.
MINUTES Motion by Mr. Taggart, second by Mr. Rozycki that the minutes of the January 10, 2006 meeting and the minutes of the January 14, 2006 Board Retreat be approved and filed. Motion carried on unanimous voice vote. BILL LIST Motion by Mr. Taggart, seconded by Mrs. Stammherr, that the bills submitted for February 14, 2006 meeting, to include operating account and food service be approved for payment; motion unanimous on voice vote. SECRETARY/TREASURER’S REPORT Motion by Mr. Taggart, seconded by Mr. Glennon, that the Secretary/Treasurer’s Report submitted for the month ending December 31, 2005 which agree with each other and the bank be approved and filed; motion unanimous on voice vote. FINANCIAL REPORTS CERTIFICATION Motion by Mr. Glennon, seconded by Mr. Drake, as follows: Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:23-2.11(c)3, the Board Secretary certifies that no line account has encumbrances and expenditures, which in total exceed the line item appropriation in violation of N.J.A.C. 6A:23-2.11(a) and; Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:23-2.11(c)4, we certify that as of December 31, 2005, after review of the monthly report (appropriation section) and upon consultation with the appropriate officials, to the best of our knowledge no major line account or fund has been over expended in violation of N.J.A.C. 6A:23-2.11(b), and that sufficient funds are available to meet the district’s financial obligations for the entire fiscal year. Motion unanimous on voice vote. Dr. Rossi introduced the custodial staff: Henry Hooper, Dave Bommieno, Bob Marinelli, Maynard Reeves, Jim Wilson, and Ron Marinelli. John Feleppo was unable to attend the meeting. Each custodian was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation and a gift certificate for dinner for two at Applebees. Dr. Rossi then introduced the secretarial staff: Jenny Secula, Laura Ruggiero, Terry Lynch, Mary Alice Zito, Pay Seymore and Teri Fogt. Each secretary was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation and a gift certificate for dinner for two at Applebees. INTRODUCTION OF ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL Dr. Rossi introduced the new Assistant Principal, Stephen Geisel. Mr. Geisel comes to Lopatcong Township with over 20 years of experience in education. Mr. Geisel will be the Assistant Principal at the middle school. Mr. Eagleburger will be moving to the elementary school as the assistant principal.
Motion by Mr. Taggart, second by Mr. Drake, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, accept with regrets the retirement of Nancy L. Chuss from her position as Health and Physical Education Teacher effective July 1, 2006. Motion carried on unanimous roll call vote.
Motion by Mr. Kish, second by Mr. Taggart, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve a maternity leave for Amy Harman effective April 18, 2006 and return on September 1, 2006 as requested. Motion carried on unanimous roll call vote.
Motion by Dr. McGann, second by Mr. Rozycki, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve David Gross and Patrice Otani as substitute teachers for the remainder of the 2005-2006 school year. Motion carried on unanimous roll call vote.
Motion by Mr. Drake, second by Mr. Glennon, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education set the polling hours for the Annual School Election on April 18, 2006 from 2:00pm to 9:00pm. Motion carried on unanimous voice vote.
Motion by Mr. Glennon, second by Mrs. Stammherr, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education set the date for the public hearing on the 2006-2007 school year budget for Tuesday, March 28, 2006 at 7:30pm. Motion carried on unanimous voice vote.
Motion by Mr. Rozycki, second by Mr. Drake, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, accept Fiscal Year 2006 IDEA Grant Funds as follows:
Motion carried on unanimous roll call vote.
Motion by Mrs. Stammherr, second by Mr. Drake, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent and the Facilities Committee, offer a contract to Service Electric for the installation of fiber optics between the elementary school and the middle school at a cost not to exceed $27,554.88. Motion carried on unanimous roll call vote.
Motion by Mr. Taggart, second by Mr. Kish, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent and the Policy Committee, adopt revised policy file code 6142.10 and revised regulation file code 6142.10R entitled “Technology (Computer/Internet Use) as read, attached to these minutes and filed in the district policy manual. Motion carried on unanimous roll call vote.
Motion by Mr. Kish, second by Mrs. Stammherr, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve the following field trips:
Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.
Motion by Dr. McGann, second by Mr. Glennon, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve the following requests for use of facilities:
Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.
Motion by Mr. Drake, second by Mr. Taggart, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve the following transfer of funds within the 2005-2006 school year budget:
Motion carried on unanimous roll call vote.
Motion by Mr. Glennon, second by Mr. Drake, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve the emergent hiring of Stephen Geisel as the Assistant Principal effective March 1, 2006 as per the agreement between Mr. Geisel and the Board of Education. Motion carried on unanimous roll call vote.
Motion by Mr. Rozycki, second by Mrs. Stammherr, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent and the Facilities Committee, approve a contract with Air Care & Restoration Co., Inc. to perform air duct cleaning at the Lopatcong Elementary School at a cost not to exceed $11,140. Motion carried on unanimous roll call vote.
Motion by Mrs. Stammherr, second by Mr. Kish, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent and the Facilities Committee, approve a contract with Kaplan's Enterprises, Inc. to provide roller shades at the Lopatcong Elementary School at a cost not to exceed $8,700. Motion carried on unanimous roll call vote.
Motion by Mr. Taggart, second by Mr. Rozycki, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent and the Facilities Committee, approve a contract with Honeywell, Inc. to install a ductless air conditioning system in the Lopatcong Elementary School server room at a cost not to exceed $4,940.77 Motion carried on unanimous roll call vote. Dr. Rossi spoke about articulation meetings taking place with all the cluster districts to discuss the math curriculum. The Board of Education held a retreat in January. The retreat was facilitated by Diane Morris of the New Jersey School Boards Association. The board discussed short and long term goals. The board discussed many other topics including the Election and Budget Vote in April. In the area of curriculum, a group of teachers will meet with Dr. Rossi on Thursday to discuss and come out with a K-5 Math Series. In the area of guided reading, the second grade staff has had a training with Mary Beth Allen. The staff will then be visiting two sites in which these techniques have been implemented. As far as facilities, the board approved several projects for the elementary school which has some needs and needs some upgrades. The policy committee will continue to meet and recommend policies for revision and adoption. ETS, the Educational Testing Service was here on February 9th to give a presentation and answer questions from the audience of about 125 people regarding the formal test preparation process. The technology committee met and had a good session. The website is making progress. It has been decided to go from a one person webmaster approach to a web-team approach. The committee also spoke about the installation of fiber between the schools in order to have better connectivity between the schools in the area of internet, security and telecommunications. REPRESENTATIVE INFORMATION FROM PHILLIPSBURG Mr. Kish mentioned that the newspaper reported that the Phillipsburg Board was questioning the transfer of students to Phillipsburg from other districts. Catholic Charities places students into better situations and are often placed in homes that would enroll those students at Phillipsburg High School. Such things as bomb threats, fights with weapons have come from these students. Board refused to accept another student at last night’s meeting. The sending district board representatives have questioned the adequacy of the Phillipsburg Guidance Program. A group has been developed to review this program. A mission statement was developed by this group. Mr. Kish hopes that this program is moving from a reactive to a proactive program. John Gregory, President of the New Jersey Association of Student Councils attended a meeting at which Senator Lance made a statement that the Phillipsburg High School will be built. Phillipsburg High School has asked all to help with a letter writing campaign to add an additional $2B in bonds to help fund uncompleted NJSCC projects. Executive Order #3 changed the Board of Directors for the NJSCC. The direction for the new board is to overhaul and oversee the SCC. There are bills proposing the following: Allowing Boards to extend their school day by one hour to make-up snow days. Recommending a license plate for education to help fund education. Bullying and Harassment to include text messaging. Add $42M to the Class Size Reduction Program. Drivers given tickets for motor vehicle incidents that happen on school property would have to make a court appearance. Mandatory Full-day Kindergarten. Students administering their own medications, should not leave the classroom. Require PTA’s to provide bank statements to the Board of Education. Lee Rozycki – When parents receive the test results, will the parents be getting any information that may move their child from non-proficient to proficient. Yes, we want to help guide the program and build upon the information that is provided. Lee Rozycki – the PTA raised fund through it’s carnival to provide AED’s to the school. Where are we with getting those? The AED Policy is in place, the AED regulation should be approved at the March meeting. AED’s are ready to be ordered. Lee Rozycki – When will the new Assistant Principal start? On or about March 1. Mr. Kish stated that the Phillipsburg Board was questioning Catholic Charities and whether they are other schools are getting these kids or just Phillipsburg. Phillipsburg is also interested in knowing what the criteria is for placement of these children. There are certain group homes and where the home is located is responsible for educating the students. JoAnn Buckley was questioning the accuracy of the information reported by the Phillipsburg School District on the New Jersey School Report Card in the area of instructional time. Mr. Kish suggested that she contact George Chando at the high school to get a clarification on how the information is reported. Judy Levermore – Who is responsible for clearing sidewalks along Stonehenge Drive and Puddingstone? The township should be clearing the sidewalks beyond the retention basin. EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion by Dr. McGann, seconded by Mr. Taggart WHEREAS, Section 7 of the Open Public Meetings Act, Chapter 231, P.L. 1975 (R.S. 10:4-13), permits the exclusion of the public from a meeting or portion of a meeting of this public body in certain circumstances; and WHEREAS, the Board of Education must consider matters related to the personnel and legal issues, the disclosure of which could constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy; now THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education adjourn to executive session at 8:50pm to discuss the above mentioned matter to the exclusion of all others. Matters discussed may or may not be made public this evening. Any resulting action will be taken after re-entry into regular session. Vote: 8 - Yes. Motion carried. Board returned to regular session at 10:34pm on a motion by Dr. McGann, second by Mr. Rozycki. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Hearing no further business, the Board adjourned at 10:34pm on a motion by Mr. Taggart, second by Dr. McGann. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Respectfully submitted, Teresa E. Barna, RSBO Business Administrator/ Board Secretary
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