THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

METUCHEN, NEW JERSEY

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2023

MEETING AGENDA

of the Metuchen Board of Education

Metuchen High School

400 Grove Avenue

Metuchen, NJ  08840

1. Call to Order

2. Flag Salute

3. Notice of Meeting

I hereby make this statement to indicate compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act known as Chapter 231 of the Public Laws of New Jersey, 1975, which became effective 90 days after enactment, January 19, 1976.

Notice of this meeting was given by providing the location, time and date of this meeting, and posting of the same on the front door of the Board of Education offices, by delivering copies to the Borough Hall and the Metuchen Public Library, The Home News and Tribune, The Star Ledger, and by filing a copy with the Borough Clerk as prescribed by this law.

4. Roll Call

5. Showcase of Success

❖    EMS Play Preview

Edgar Middle School drama club will proudly present Honk Jr. on Feb. 24, 25, and 26 at Metuchen High School. Honk! celebrates the joy of being unique with jazzy songs and fantastic dance numbers- you've never seen the Ugly Duckling like this before! Tonight, Mickey LaTorre and Nell Massey will preview our show with a performance of "The Joys of Motherhood."

6. Meeting Open to the Public (for any topic)

7. Presentations 

❖    Review of baseline data, maintenance and custodial, transportation - Mr. Harvier

❖    2022 Start Strong Results Presentation By Rick Cohen, Brooke Kirschner, Neyda Evans, and Brian Stike 

8. Reports

• President’s Report

• Superintendent's Report

• Committee Reports

• Student Board Member Report

9. Old Business

10. New Business

11. Approval of Minutes of the Board of Education Meetings

12. Meeting Open to the Public (for any topic)

13. Recommendations of the Superintendent of Schools

(at this time the Board will take formal action on the following items – see attachments)

Often times it may appear to members of our audience that the Board of Education takes action with very little comment and in many cases a unanimous vote. Before a matter is placed on the agenda at a public meeting, the administration has thoroughly reviewed the matter with the Superintendent of Schools. If the Superintendent is satisfied that the matter is ready to be presented to the Board of Education, it is then referred to the appropriate board committee. The members of the board committee work with administration and the Superintendent to assure that the members fully understand the matter. When the committee is satisfied with the matter, it is presented to the Board of Education for discussion before any final action is taken. Only then, is it placed on the agenda for action at a public meeting.

1. PERSONNEL

Motion/Second/Comments/Roll Call

1. Resignation - Gail Zelley

Move to accept the resignation of Gail Zelley, Paraprofessional at Campbell School, effective June 30, 2023.

2.    Appointment - Paraprofessional

    Move to approve the appointment of Andrea Romano, Paraprofessional at Campbell School, for the 2022-2023 school year, at a salary of $22,626/year, prorated, effective February 8, 2023, pending criminal history clearance, through June 30, 2023.

3.    Clubs and Co-Curricular Activities – Revision

    Move to approve the following co-curricular stipend revision for the co-curricular activity for the 2022-2023 school year as listed (Agenda 1/3/23, Section 13 A19):

4.    Medical Leave of Absence - Extension

    Move to approve the extension of the medical leave of absence of Mark Cooper, Custodian at Campbell School, through approximately March 1, 2023 (Agenda 11/15/23, Section 13 A8).

5.    Maternity/Child Care Leave of Absence Revision - Certificated Staff

    Move to approve the extension of the maternity leave of absence of Amanda Marciante, School Nurse at Campbell School, effective approximately February 24, 2023 through June 30, 2023 (Agenda 09/27/2022, Section 13, A14).

6.    Child Care Leave of Absence - Certificated Staff

    Move to approve the child care leave of absence of Amanda Marciante, School Nurse at Campbell School, effective August 30, 2023 through approximately June 1, 2024.

7.    Coaches - Revisions

Move to approve the following 2022-2023 Metuchen High School Coach Appointments and Revisions, pending criminal history clearance, and substitute certification (Agenda 6/28/2022, Section 13 A27):

    Spring Coaches

*represents adjunct coach

8.    Volunteer Clubs 

    Move to approve the following additional Volunteer Club for the 2022-2023 school year as listed (Agenda 8/23/22, Section 13 A15):

9.    Medical Leave of Absence - School Secretary

    Move to approve a medical leave of absence of JoAnn Rice, School Secretary at Edgar School, through approximately February 28, 2023.

10.    Appointment of Substitute Paraprofessionals

    Move to approve the appointment of the following additional substitute paraprofessionals for the 2022-2023 school year (Agenda 8/23/2022 Section 13 A16):  

11.    Appointment of Substitute Teachers

    Move to approve the appointment of the following additional substitute teachers for the 2022-2023 school year, pending criminal history clearance and substitute certification (Agenda 8/23/2022 Section 13 A16):  

12.    Appointment - Leave Replacement

    Move to approve the appointment of Stephanie Sandbeck, Leave Replacement for Megan Shapiro, first grade Campbell School Teacher, effective February 8, 2023 through June 30, 2023, at a rate of $291.89/day, pending criminal history clearance (Agenda 7/12/22, Section 13 A8).

13.    Appointment - Lunch Aide

    Move to approve Sheri Kady as a school lunch aide for the 2022-2023 school year, at a rate of $15/hour, effective February 8, 2023.

14.    Retirement - Certificated Staff

    Move to accept, with regret, the retirement of Barbara Derer, Library Media Specialist at Campbell School, effective June 30, 2023.

15.    Retirement - Certificated Staff

    Move to accept, with regret, the retirement of Eileen Kuchar, Special Education Teacher at Edgar School, effective June 30, 2023. 

16.    Appointment - Child Study Team Substitute

    Move to approve Susan Whitlock to provide substitute Child Study Team School Social Work services, at the professional rate of $48/hr.

17.    Resignation – Paraprofessional

    Move to accept the resignation of Gina Stio, Paraprofessional at Edgar School, effective February 7, 2023. 

----------------------------end of personnel section--------------------------

2. FINANCE

Motion/Second/Comments/Roll Call

1.    Tuition Aid

Move to approve extraordinary aid tuition related expenses to Y.A.L.E school for an additional $32,106 for the 2022-2023 school year for student #2020610.

2.    First Reading of Policies and Regulations

    Move to approve the first readings of the following policies and regulations:

❖ P 1648.11    The Road Forward COVID-19 – Health and Safety (M) (Abolish)

❖ P 1648.13     School Employee Vaccination Requirements (M) (Abolish)

❖ P 0161     Call, Adjournment, and Cancellation 

❖ P 0162     Notice of Board Meetings 

❖ P & R 2423     Bilingual and ESL Education (M) 

❖ P 2425     Emergency Virtual or Remote Instruction Program (M)

❖ R 2425     Emergency Virtual or Remote Instruction Program (M) (New)

❖ P 5512     Harassment, Intimidation, or Bullying (M) 

❖ P 6630     Athletic Fund

❖ P 8140     Student Enrollments (M) 

❖ R 8140     Enrollment Accounting (M) 

❖ P & R 8330     Student Records (M) 

❖ R 8420.2     Bomb Threats (M) 

❖ R 8420.7     Lockdown Procedures (M) 

❖ R 8420.10     Active Shooter (M) 

3.    Rate Change - Provider of Psychiatric Assessments/ Evaluations 

    Move to approve the rate change for Dr. Steven Dyckman for Psychiatric evaluations from a rate of $1,000 per evaluation to $1,200 per evaluation, effective February 1, 2023 (Agenda 06/28/2022, Section 13 B28).  

4.    Clinical Student Observation

Move to approve Michael Small to complete clinical student observation hours at Campbell School with corresponding leave of approximately 12 days without pay between February and June 2023. 

5.    OOD Transportation Agreement

    Move to approve agreement for student #20281109.

6.    Tuition

Move to approve student #20281109 to attend Collier School, effective February 8, 2023, at the daily rate of $346, with a pro-rated annual tuition of $62,280.

7.   Payment of Bills

a)  Board Secretary’s Certification

Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6:20-2A.10(d), the Board Secretary has certified that as of February 7, 2024 no budgetary line item accounts have obligations and payments which exceed the amount appropriated by the Board of Education.

         ________________________________________                  _______________

Michael A. Harvier, Board Secretary                         Date

b)  Approve the Following Items Submitted by the Board Secretary

Payment of bills and claims, as shown on the attached list(s) that have been certified by the Board of Education and filed in the Business Office.

8.    Professional Development

Move to approve the following professional development activities as shown on the following chart: 

----------------------------end of finance section--------------------------

3. POLICY

Motion/Second/Comments/Roll Call

1.    Suspensions

The Board hereby acknowledges receipt of the suspension report summary for January 16, 2023 - February 3, 2023. 

2.    District Calendar

    Move to approve the district calendar for the 2023-2024 school year.

----------------------------end of policy section--------------------------

4. CURRICULUM

Motion/Second/Comments/Roll Call

1.     Field Trips

Move to approve the following field trips for students in the Metuchen School District as shown: 

2.    Curriculum Documents

    Move to approve the following curriculum documents for the following subjects:

3.    ESL Practicum

    Move to approve Dana Galassa to complete a ESL Practicum experience at Moss and MHS, January 2023 through June 2023, pending criminal history clearance and sub cert:

4.    Appointment - Spring 2023 and Fall 2023 Student Teacher 

    Move to approve the following student teacher for Spring 2023 and Fall 2023 in our schools:

----------------------------end of curriculum section--------------------------

14. Meeting Open to Public (for any topic)

15. Announcements

16. Motion to Go Into Executive Session (when applicable)

Resolution to Close Meeting

BE IT RESOLVED, pursuant to the Sunshine Act, N.J.S. 10:4-12 and 13, that the Board of Education will now meet in executive session to discuss _____________________________________ and that matters discussed will be disclosed to the public as soon as the reason for confidentiality no longer exist.

17. Adjournment