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Agenda:NOTICE OF MEETING: The Board of Education will meet on Tuesday, January 9, 2007 at 7:30pm at Lopatcong Township Middle School located at 321 Stonehenge Drive. The meeting will be held in the Multi-Purpose Room. To gain admittance, please use the entrance at Stonehenge Drive. The meeting will be open to the public at 7:30pm. AGENDA
Roll Call Correspondence Minutes of December 12, 2006 and Bill Lists; November 2006 Secretary/Treasurer Reports; Certify Financials Student Recognition; Brief Update on the Gifted and Talented Program Public Comment on Agenda Items New Business - Action Items R-092-07 Horizontal Salary Guide Movement R-093-07 Approve Stipends for 2006-2007 R-094-07 Transfer of Uncommitted Funds R-095-07 Final Payment Agreement with Ingrassia Construction Company, Inc. R-096-07 Agreement with Carol Ann Tomlinson R-097-07 Field Trip Approval R-098-07 Request for Use of Facilities R-099-07 Adopt Revised Policies R-100-07 First Reading of Policy File Code #9110 Entitled "Number of Members and Terms of Office"
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 your understanding.
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Minutes:MINUTES OF THE LOPATCONG TOWNSHIP BOARD OF EDUCATION President Gallant called the meeting to order on January 9, 2007 at 7:35pm. 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, Robert Edinger, Ernie Gallant, Terry Glennon, Kurt Kessler, Greg McGann, Jesse Rozycki and Bill Taggart. Absent: Frank Kish Others Present: Dr. Michael Rossi, Superintendent; Teresa E. Barna, Business Administrator/Board Secretary; Rosemary Kowalchuk, Principal, Stephen Geisel, Assistant Principal; Matthew Eagleburger, Assistant Principal; JoAnn Murray, CST Director; John Comegno, Board Attorney; and 26 members of the public. MINUTES Motion by Mr. Taggart, second by Mr. Drake, that the minutes of the December 12, 2006 meeting be approved and filed. Motion carried on unanimous voice vote. BILL LIST Motion by Mr. Taggart, seconded by Mr. Edinger, that the bills submitted for January 9, 2007 meeting, to include operating account and food service account be approved for payment. Motion carried on unanimous voice vote. SECRETARY/TREASURER’S REPORTS Motion by Mr. Taggart, seconded by Mr. Edinger, that the Secretary/Treasurer’s Report submitted for the month ending November 30, 2006 which agree with each other and the bank be approved and filed. Motion carried on unanimous voice vote. FINANCIAL REPORTS CERTIFICATION Motion by Mr. Taggart, seconded by Mr. Edinger, 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 November 30, 2006, 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 carried on unanimous voice vote. GIFTED AND TALENTED PROGRAM Dr. Rick Maisto addressed the Board and the public on the different activities that the Gifted and Talented program is offering to the middle school students. A Debate Team has been established. The topic for debate was “Should the Government be able to regulate what’s eaten in school?” The class participates in Strategic Thinking Games. A Chess Club has been established. Fifth and sixth grade is participating in Poetry Reading. Seventh and eighth grade is participating in World Game Simulation. And there is school-wide participation in the “Battle of the Books.” The G&T pull-out program consists of Creative Kids and longer term projects with Marsville and Cognetics. Mrs. Sandy Malham addressed the Board and the public on the progress of the Gifted and Talented Program at the elementary school. Mrs. Malham sees 220 first and second graders on a weekly basis and they work on Explorers Problem Solving. Mrs. Malham sees 15 third and fourth graders for the pull-out program and they are currently working on building a rollercoaster with tubing and marbles. A Chess Club at lunchtime has been started and has been quite a hit. 37 students participate in the Chess Club at lunchtime. 44 students are participating in Battle of the Books. STUDENT RECOGNITION Dr. Rossi recognized several students, Leslie Reid, Dan Servantes, Daniel Larsen, Amber-Leigh Attanasio, Christelle Tan and Samantha Steele for their performance as a member of the Debate Team. The team received a Blue Ribbon. Motion by Mr. Taggart, second by Mr. Kessler, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve the following staff members for horizontal salary guide movement effective February 1, 2007:
Roll call vote: 8 – Yes. Motion carried. Motion by Mr. Edinger, second by Mr. Drake, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve the following stipends for the 2006-2007 school year:
Roll call vote: 8 – Yes. Motion carried. Motion by Dr. McGann, second by Mr. Drake, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve the transfer of funds within the 2006-2007 school year in the amount of $ as presented and attached to these minutes. Roll call vote: 8 – Yes. Motion carried. Motion by Mr. Glennon, second by Mr. Kessler, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent and the Board Solicitor, authorizes the Business Administrator to release final payment in the amount of $65,000 to Ingrassia Construction Company, Inc. to close-out the General Contract on the Middle School Construction Project as agreed by both parties. Roll call vote: 8 – Yes. Motion carried. Motion by Mr. Kessler, second by Mr. Taggart, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve an agreement with Carol Ann Tomlinson, a nationally recognized speaker on Differentiated Instruction, to provide a day-long lecture at the Lopatcong Township Middle School on April 26, 2007 for a fee of $7500. This fee will be recouped by the admission charges for others to attend. Roll call vote: 8 – Yes. Motion carried. Motion by Mr. Drake, second by Mr. Rozycki, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve the following field trips:
Vote: 8 – Yes. Motion carried. Motion by Mr. Rozycki, second by Mr. Edinger, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve the following requests for use of facilities:
Vote: 8 – Yes. Motion carried. Motion by Mr. Taggart, second by Mr. Drake, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent and the policy committee, adopt the following revised policies as read, attached to these minutes and filed in the district policy manual:
Roll call vote: 8 – Yes. Motion carried.
Motion by Mr. Edinger, second by Mr. Drake, that be it RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve the 1st reading of policy file code # 9110 entitled “Number of Members and Terms of Office” as presented and read. Roll call vote: 8 – Yes. Motion carried. Dr. Rossi reported that the K-8 Math and the K-8 Technology Curriculums that were approved last month are now available on the district web-site. Looking forward, the board will be reviewing and adopting the K-8 Phys Ed. and the K-8 Art Curriculum. The next phase of the Diversity Project will be taking place this Friday when 12 students and 6 staff members from the Avon Avenue School in Newark will be spending the day at the middle school. They will be visiting classes, keeping a journal and taking pictures. On February 22nd the final project meeting will take place. The students will memorialize the experience via video and student presentations. There is an action research piece of this. Dr. Rossi provided the staff with a survey prior to the project and the staff will complete another survey at the end of the project. Dr. Rossi will then prepare a paper summarizing the project. The reading initiative is moving forward. Mary Beth Allen will be in district next Thursday to sample a lesson in fourth grade and assist the teachers in developing learning centers. The 5-8 grade level teams are meeting to select their grade level libraries. The district has investing is an on-line program called “Study Island”. This program can be used by students in grades 3-8. Students and parents can access this program from home. This program is a study tool to prepare students for the state test. Lopatcong is in district factor group ”DE.” Dr. Rossi compared the test results of the students from Lopatcong to other “DE” factor group schools and determined that Lopatcong fairs very similar with other schools in the same socio-economic category. Mr. Glennon reported that the four bipartisan committees that were established by the Governor have released their report of findings. Mr. Glennon distributed the finding reports to the Board members for their review. The legislature will be reviewing and analyzing these report and will be considering the recommendations in an attempt to reduce property taxes. Judy Liptak – Thanked the Board for looking into the possibility of a before and after school program. What is the status of the survey? Dr. Rossi answered that the survey is being developed and it will be to the board for review by the end of the month and distributed to the parents early in February. A discussion took place regarding a before and after school program. Mrs. Liptak – Do you (Dr. Rossi) have a before and after program? Dr. Rossi responded that the program will come at the expense of other district programs. Mrs. Liptak – What percentage of responses do you need to receive to seriously consider this program? Dr. McGann responded that the Board does not have a presupposed number of responses. Dr. McGann stated that the board is cautious going into this program because of past experience, but is still interested in the results. Gail Secalaris – Requested that Dr. Rossi remind the teacher of her child to send the password home so that her child can access the Math textbook on-line. Lee Rozycki – Is there a certain number of students in special education that take the state test in order for the results to be published. Yes, there must be a minimum of 20 students in special education that have taken the state test in order for the results to be published separately. Motion by Mr. Taggart seconded by Mr. Edinger, 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 involving legal and personnel 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 8:42pm 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. Motion by Mr. Edinger, second by Mr. Drake, that the Board of Education return to regular session at 9:32pm. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Mr. Gallant and Mr. Taggart left the executive session for discussions on the Superintendent’s contract. Hearing no further business, the Board adjourned at 9:33pm on a motion by Dr. McGann, second by Mr. Kessler. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Respectfully submitted, Teresa E. Barna, RSBO Business Administrator/ Board Secretary
These minutes are provided as a convenience to the residents of Lopatcong Township and do not constitute the official minutes of the Lopatcong Township Board of Education which are maintained in the BOE Office in the Middle School.
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