September 23, 2009
Belvidere, NJ 07823
Regular Preside
The regular meeting of the Town of Belvidere Board of Education was called to order at 7:30 p.m. in the Board conference room.
Notice of Meeting
The President read the following statement:
The New Jersey Public Meetings Law was enacted to insure the right of the public to have advance notice of, and to attend the meetings of, public bodies at which any business affecting their interests is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the provisions of this Act, the Belvidere Board of Education has caused notice of this meeting to be published by having the date, time and place thereof posted with The Star Ledger and Express-Times, and submitted to the Town Clerk of the Town of Belvidere on April 30, 2009.
Flag
Salute
Roll Call
Present: Brian Smith (President); Peter Grogan; John Lucas; Shawn McInerney; Barbara Margolese; Kathy Miers; Donald Mitchell; David Rader and Maryann Stephen.
Absent: Kelly
Bray; David Cheatham and Laura Murphy
Other: Dirk Swaneveld, Rachelle Tjalma, Chris Halloran, Karl Rice, Dr. Szabocsik, student representative – Aaron Gross, teachers and townspeople.
Public
Participation - None
Superintendent’s
Report
Mr. Swaneveld commented on class size and
distributed the Master Schedule to the Board, noted that the 2009-10 field trip
list would be distributed in the next meeting agenda packet, reported on the
statistics of the 2008-09 graduating class, reported on the Curriculum
Committee meeting regarding AP classes for 2010-11 - Mrs. Miers provided
further details on the meeting that included staff and administration, noted that an SAT prep course will be offered
after school or evenings this year possibly run in-house to reduce costs and
reported on the Personnel Committee meeting where most of the items on
tonight’s agenda were discussed.
Mr. Smith distributed a brochure from the BEA from
Back to School night to the Board.
Mr. McInerney asked when the standardized test scores
would be discussed and asked that sufficient time be left on the agenda for
that meeting. Mr. Rice replied that the
scores would be discussed at the 2nd meeting in October.
A motion was made by Mr. McInerney seconded by Mrs. Miers
to approve the following agenda items
numbered 1 through 2.
Motion carried unanimously.
to approve the revision to Policy 9250 Travel Expenses, on a second reading, as recommended by the Superintendent and Policy Committee.
to approve the revision to Policy 6171.4 Special Education, on a second reading, as recommended by the Superintendent and Policy Committee.
A motion was made by Mr. Grogan seconded by Ms. Stephen
to approve the following agenda items numbered 3 through 5.
On roll call, motion carried with one ABSTAIN (Mr. McInerney on Item #4 – Mrs. McInerney)
3. Approve Maternity Leave of Absence
to
approve a Maternity Leave of Absence for Jessica McKinney, HS Guidance
Counselor, from November 9, 2009 to January 1, 2010 with approximately 4 days
unpaid leave.
4. Appoint Co-curricular Personnel – 2009-10
to
appoint the following Co-curricular personnel for 2009-10, as recommended by
the Superintendent and Personnel Committee:
Name
Position
Step Stipend
Brad
Kohler
Chess Club Advisor – Elementary
$500.00
Kristi
Weber
Homework Club
Advisor
$500.00
Debra
Mackay
Yearbook Club
Advisor
$500.00
Nicole Ehasz
Builder’s
Club
Advisor $500.00
Sylvia
McInerney Stand Club
Advisor $500.00
Jessica McKinney Diversity
Club Advisor $500.00
Timm
Gast Rebel Club $500.00
Linda Ronan Extended Learners – Elementary 2 $2,122.00
Buddy Freund Weight Room Supervisor –
Fall Season tbd
5. Approve Substitutes
to approve Michele Ike and Susan Noll as substitute teachers for 2009-10, as recommended by the Superintendent.
Consent Agenda Motion –
Education
A motion was made by Mr. McInerney seconded by Mrs. Miers
to approve the following agenda items numbered 6 through 10.
Motion carried unanimously.
6. Approve
Special Education Placement 2009-10
to approve the placement of student # TBD in the WCSSSD Primary Autistic Class, Franklin Twp Elementary School, with a tuition of $40,200.00 plus personal aide at a cost of $33,000.00.
7. Approve
Independent Study
to approve an
independent study for Amy Carlson through Lafayette College Community Based
Teaching Program for a period of two days a week from 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
with an anticipated completion date of June 18, 2010.
to approve a field trip for the Oxford Street School 6, 7 & 8th grade students to walk to Country Gate Theatre on Friday, October 9th from 9:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. with teachers Kristen Kane and Judy Cheatham and for the HS English classes to walk to Country Gate Theatre on Friday, October 9th from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with teachers Debbie Perelli, John Owens and Sarah Stover.
9. Approve Workshops / Training
to approve the following workshops and training for 2009-10, plus related mileage expense and substitute teachers:
10.
Approve Classroom
Observation
to approve three BHS
graduates of the class of 2009, Sarah Sarson, Ryan Molion and April Becker, to
participate in a ten hour classroom observation for Warren County Community
College.
Consent Agenda Motion –
Business
A motion was made by Mrs. Miers seconded by Mr. Grogan
to approve the following agenda items numbered 11 through 15.
Motion carried unanimously.
to approve the use of the high school gym and cafeteria for the Evening Star Quilters from Friday, October 23, 2009 to Sunday, October 25, 2009.
to approve the following budget line-item transfers: Increase Decrease
11-000-221-102-100 Salaries – Supv. Instruct. $40,900.00
11-000-251-600-100 Business Office Supplies 600.00
11-000-261-610-200 High School Maint. Supplies 6,000.00
11-000-262-520-100 District Insurance 231.00
11-140-100-101-100 Salaries – Grade 9-12 $40,900.00
11-000-291-270-100 Health Benefits 6,831.00
Totals $47,731.00 $47,731.00
to approve the bills for payment as follows: Monthly bill list $803,554.56 as recommended by the Fiscal Committee.
Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:23-2.11(c)3, I certify that no budgetary line item account has been over expended in violation of N.J.A.C. 6A:23-2.11(a) as of August 31, 2009.
__________________________________ ______________________________
Board Secretary Date
to accept the monthly financial reports of the Board Secretary and Treasurer of School Monies for the month ended August 31, 2009 and in compliance with the N.J.A.C. 6A:23-2.11(c)4. The Board of Education, after review of the Secretary’s monthly financial report (appropriations section) and upon consultation with the appropriate district officials, certifies that no major 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 obligation for the remainder of the fiscal year.
to approve the Minutes of September 9, 2009.
CONTINUING BUSINESS
Track
Project
Mr.
Swaneveld reported that the next step is a final layer of millings and a seal
coat on the track which may require equipment rental or manpower from the
County. He also noted that it is a
priority to complete the baseball field area as soon as an equipment operator
is available. Mr. Swaneveld did not have
an estimate when the project would be complete at this time, but noted the
parking lot would be the last area finished.
Strategic
Planning
Mr. Smith
reported the Committee will kick-off one week from tonight at 7:00pm.
2009-10
District Goals
Mr. Smith
previously distributed a list of possible goals to the Board and asked the
Board how they would like this process to proceed. It was determined that the Board would rank
the goals and make any suggested changes and submit to Mr. Smith. The administrators would also review and rank
the goals and then Mr. Swaneveld would combine the results to be discussed at
the next meeting.
AP
Course Offerings
Mr.
Swaneveld and Mrs. Miers reported on the current status during the
Superintendent’s Report.
Mandated
Board Member Training
Mrs.
Tjalma distributed a list indicating which Board members have required training
for 2009-10 including the training registration forms.
NEW BUSINESS
Anti-violence
Week October 19-23
Mr.
Swaneveld noted that the Violence and Vandalism report would be given in
October.
Correspondence
- None
Public
Participation – None
Mr.
McInerney asked about the status of H1N1.
Mr. Swaneveld noted that the school nurses are alerted, the cleaning
schedule has been increased and the website is being updated.
Adjournment
A motion
was made by Ms. Stephen seconded by Mr. Grogan
to adjourn
the meeting at 8:06 p.m.
Motion
carried unanimously.
Respectfully
submitted,
Rachelle
Tjalma
Board
Secretary