MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE MILLBURN BOARD OF EDUCATION JANUARY 25, 2010

Transcription

1 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE MILLBURN BOARD OF EDUCATION JANUARY 25, 2010 The Board of Education of the Township of Millburn in the County of Essex, New Jersey convened in regular session on Monday, January 25, 2010 at the Hartshorn Elementary School, 400 Hartshorn Drive, Short Hills, NJ. A. CALL TO ORDER Board President Noreen Brunini called the meeting to order at 7:45 PM. B. SILENT COUNT OF BOARD MEMBERS Present: Michael Birnberg Noreen Brunini Lise Chapman Debra Fox ** Scott Kamber Sam Levy Eric Siegel Jeffrey Waters Mark Zucker ** Ms Fox arrived after the start of the meeting Also Present: Richard L. Brodow, Superintendent Elaine Vislocky, Asst. Supt. for Curriculum, Instruction and Technology Integration Robert L. Zeglarski, Interim Business Administrator Approximately fifty-four members of the public, staff and press. C. ANNOUNCEMENT OF MEETING NOTICE Ms. Brunini read the statement indicating that appropriate notice of the meeting had been given. D. STATEMENTS The resolution to hold a closed meeting on January 25, 2010 during the public meeting on this date was moved, seconded, and carried by unanimous voice vote. E. MINUTES 1. Minutes of the open meetings of January 11, January 15 and January 16, 2010 were approved by unanimous voice vote. 2. Minutes of the closed meetings of January 11, January 15, January 16 and January 18, 2010 were approved by unanimous voice vote.

2 F. PRESENTATION 1. Creating Units of Study in Writing Hartshorn Staff Mr. Ronald Castaldo, Principal of Hartshorn School, and Ms. Krista LaCroix, Instructional Supervisor, presented an overview entitled, Creating Units of Study in Writing. Mr. Castaldo explained the process used at Hartshorn to determine need for a school goal, the process used for initiating a professional development plan, and how they planned to evaluate the outcomes of the process. Ms. LaCroix followed with a description of the various writing units of study from Kindergarten through grade 5 Genre Study, Language System Skills, Craft Skills, and Revision Strategies. The presentation concluded with 21 students in Miss Jennifer O Reilly s third grade class describing the process they used to write their Memoir, presented the cover of their publication, and gave a brief synopsis of the content. 2. New Jersey State Testing Elaine Vislocky Ms. Vislocky presented a report on New Jersey State Testing. A copy of her PowerPoint presentation is attached to the official minutes of this meeting. G. BOARD COMMITTEE REPORTS 1. Personnel Committee Report Ms. Brunini gave her committee report from the meeting of January 19, The minutes of this meeting, from which her report came, are attached to the official minutes of this meeting. 2. Property Committee Report Mr. Birnberg gave his committee report from the meeting of January 25, The minutes of this meeting, from which his report came, are attached to the official minutes of this meeting. 3. Program Committee Report Ms. Chapman gave her committee report from the meeting of January 14, The minutes of this meeting, from which her report came, are attached to the official minutes of this meeting. 4. High School Liaison Committee Report Dr. Siegel gave his committee report from the meeting of January 12, The minutes of this meeting, from which his report came, are attached to the official minutes of this meeting. 2

3 5. Search Committee Report Mr. Levy gave his committee report regarding the search for Chief School Administrator. The minutes of this meeting, from which his report came, are attached to the official minutes of this meeting. 6. Finance Committee Report Mr. Waters gave his committee report from the meeting of January 21, The minutes of this meeting, from which his report came, are attached to the official minutes of this meeting. It was moved, seconded and passed by unanimous voice vote to switch the sequence of the Public Comments and the Board Member Comments sections of the meeting. I. PUBLIC COMMENT Ms. Brunini opened the meeting for public comments. Members of the public made statements or asked questions about: Superintendent Search Student enrollment vs. facility capacity QSAC Gifted and Talented Program Special Needs Student Action Plan regarding recent test results Future Technology Presentation H. BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS Noting that the board settled on one "unbelievable outstanding candidate"', Ms Chapman expressed her satisfaction with the way the Board and Hazard & Young handled the superintendent search process. After thanking Sam Levy for his comprehensive report, Mr. Waters stated that the board did its job by identifying the person who will be our next superintendent. He hoped the public would be as "extremely happy" as he is with the selection. Explaining that the board is as unified as it ever has been on any decision, Mr. Birnberg stated "The board really did its homework on the resumes provided by the search consultant, taking affirmative action by asking good questions of each candidate." Labeling the search process as cathartic, Mr. Kamber stated that the board came together in a way that the community expected to reach a conclusion that will serve the community well for many years to come. Ms Fox expressed her support for the candidate, stating, "We are very lucky to have this person." 3

4 Noting that the district had a backup plan just in case this candidate did not work out, Mr. Levy praised the board and candidates for doing their homework on each other. He also stated that Hazard & Young will continue its work with the district after the candidate is formally hired by the board by helping the new superintendent and board acclimate to each other. Ms Brunini said while she thought it was unlikely that the board would agree on one candidate, she was very pleased that in fact it did. J. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT Dr. Brodow thanked Mr. Castaldo and Ms. LaCroix for tonight s presentation. He announced that $80,000 was raised district-wide for Haiti Relief. 1. Instruction Dr. Brodow recommended and the following items were moved, seconded and approved by unanimous voice vote: a. Approval to accept Physical Education grant from Easton Sports Development Foundation (ESDF) in the amount of $3,000 to purchase archery equipment. b. Approval to accept donations from the Deerfield School PTO: (1) One Traverse Climbing Wall installed in the gym valued at $4,360.00; (2) One Traverse Climbing Wall installed in the Multi-Purpose Room valued at $4, c. Approval of Professional Development Requests / Teacher Conferences as per policies 3440 and 4440 requiring prior approval of travel reimbursement expenses. d. Approval of the revised District Nursing Plan. e. Resolution to accept out-of-district Special Education student for the School Year 2009/2010. f. Resolution regarding Waiver of Requirements Special Education Medicare Initiative (SEMI) Program. 2. Asst. Superintendent s Report Ms. Vislocky had given her report earlier in the meeting. 4

5 J. 3. Approval of Personnel Reports, dated January 25, 2010 a. Non-Athletic Staff Report Dr. Brodow recommended, Mr. Waters moved and Ms. Fox seconded to approve the Non-Athletic Staff Personnel Report. Under discussion, Ms. Chapman moved and Mr. Levy seconded to remove the appointment for Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) approved by unanimous voice vote. Dr. Brodow recommended, Ms. Fox moved and Mr. Levy seconded approval of the Non-Athletic Staff Personnel Report as amended. The amended report passed by the following roll call vote: Yes: Ms. Fox Mr. Kamber Dr. Siegel Mr. Waters Ms. Brunini Abstain: Mr. Birnberg Ms. Chapman Mr. Levy Dr. Zucker b. Athletic Staff Report Dr. Brodow recommended, Ms. Fox moved and Dr. Siegel seconded approval of the Athletic Staff Personnel Report. The report passed by the following roll call vote: Yes: Mr. Birnberg Ms. Fox Mr. Kamber Mr. Levy Dr. Siegel Mr. Waters Ms. Brunini Abstain: Ms. Chapman Dr. Zucker 4. Business Mr. Zeglarski recommended and the following items were moved, seconded and approved by unanimous voice vote: a. Approval of budget transfers for the month of December b. Approval of Treasurer of School Moneys report for period ending December 31,

6 J. 4. c. Board Secretary's Report Mr. Zeglarski recommended, Mr. Levy moved and Mr. Waters seconded approval of the Board Secretary's Report for period ending December 31, The report passed by the following roll call vote: Yes: Mr. Birnberg Ms. Chapman Ms. Fox Mr. Kamber Mr. Levy Dr. Siegel Mr. Waters Ms. Brunini Dr. Zucker K. OLD BUSINESS None L. NEW BUSINESS None Mr. Zeglarski recommended and the following items were moved, seconded and approved by unanimous voice vote: d. Approval of Bill Schedule # 8 dated January 25, 2010 in the amount of $9,083, e. Approval of copier lease agreement (replacement) at Millburn High School Guidance Office - Savin 9033 SP Digital Copier with a term of 60 months at $ per month. After Mr. Zeglarski s recommendation, the following motion was tabled: f. Motion to approve a contract with LunchByte to enable electronic payments for school lunches at High School and Middle School cafeteria. M. PUBLIC COMMENTS Ms. Brunini opened the meeting for public comments. Members of the public made statements or asked questions about: Test Preparation Funds for regular education students Testing special needs students N. BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS Dr. Siegel asked of the NJASK scores, "What are we doing right in South Mountain School where the scores are higher?" Stating that we should review the data, he exclaimed, We should educate our high-flyers to soar even higher." 6

7 Ms Chapman announced the program committee's intention to review curriculum on an annual basis. Ms. Brunini reminded the public of the Board's Open Forum scheduled for this Sunday, from 3:00 to 5:00 PM at the Millburn Public Library. O. EXECUTIVE SESSION It was moved and seconded to convene in executive session as per the resolution approved in Item D. After a break from 10:25 PM to 10:30 PM, the board convened in executive session and returned to this public session at 11:10 PM. P. RECESS At 11:10 PM, it was moved, seconded and carried by unanimous voice vote to recess the meeting until Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 9:00 PM. The board reconvened on Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 9:00 PM to discuss aspects of the Chief School Administrator search. Present: Michael Birnberg Noreen Brunini Lise Chapman Debra Fox Mark Zucker Scott Kamber ** Eric Siegel ** Jeffrey Waters ** Sam Levy ** Arrived at 10:00 PM Also Present: Nine members of various community groups until 10:00 PM The board received feed-back from the community groups who had interviewed the Chief School Administrator candidate. Q. STATEMENT The resolution to hold a closed meeting on January 28, 2010 in order to discuss the feedback received from the three staff groups who had interviewed the candidate for Chief School Administrator was moved, seconded, and carried by unanimous voice vote. R. EXECUTIVE SESSION At 10:00 PM, the board convened in executive session and returned to this public session at 10:45 PM. 7

8 S. ADJOURNMENT At 10:45 PM, it was moved and seconded to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. /s/ Robert L. Zeglarski Robert L. Zeglarski Interim Board Secretary 8