Board Meeting - January 7, 2025

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Submitted by jalijewicz on Fri, 01/03/2025 - 4:50pm

Dates:

Friday, January 3, 2025 - 4:45pm

THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

METUCHEN, NEW JERSEY

THE ANNUAL REORGANIZATION MEETING

of the Metuchen Board of Education

Metuchen High School

400 Grove Avenue

Metuchen, NJ 08840

Tuesday, January 7, 2025

7:00pm

1. Call to Order by Pro-Tem Chair, Michael A. Harvier, Board Secretary

2. Sunshine Statement and Announcement of Purpose 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, and by filing a copy with the Borough Clerk as prescribed by this law.

3. Flag Salute

4. Administration of Required Oaths to the Board Members Elected on November 5, 2024.

5. Roll Call

Mr. Bhatt		Ms. Killean
Ms. Cheatham		Mr. Lifton
Mr. Derflinger		Ms. Shrestha
Mr. Glassberg		Dr. Spigner
Dr. Johnson-Marcus		Mr. Suss

6. Announcement of Election Results

Candidates in Ballot Order	Total Votes
Deborah Spigner	4,473
Nadiah Cheatham	4,405
Chris Derflinger	4,374

7. Pro-Tem Chair Will Conduct Election of the Board President

8. President Takes Chair

9. Board President Will Conduct Election of the Board Vice-President

10. Meeting Open to the Public on all Previous Items

11. Presentation/Discussions

12. Remarks by President

13. Report of Superintendent

14. Committee Reports

15. Old Business

16. New Business

17. Meeting Open to the Public

(for comments on the recommendations of the Superintendent of Schools)

18. Approval of the Minutes of the Board of Education Meetings

Move to approve the minutes of the following meetings:

December 10, 2024	Special Business Meeting (1)
December 10, 2024	Special Business Meeting (2)
December 10, 2024	Board Meeting

19. Recommendations of the Superintendent of Schools

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

Oftentimes 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.

PERSONNEL

Motion/Second/Comments/Roll Call

1. Leave of Absence - Certificated Staff

Move to approve the leave of absence of Melissa Gallo, 2nd Grade Teacher at Campbell School, effective approximately April 28, 2025 through approximately November 2, 2025.

2. Resignation - Lunch Aide

Move to accept the resignation of Deborah Knight, Lunch Aide at Edgar School, effective December 18, 2024.

3. Robotics - Chaperone

Move to approve Ed Ronk as the chaperone for the FLL Gifted & Talented robotics competition in Bridgewater on November 23, 2024 and in Bound Brook on November 24, 2024 at the teacher hourly rate of $50/hour.

4. Rescind and Approve Non-Instructional Stipend

Move to rescind and approve the following non-instructional stipend for the 2024-2025 school year effective January 1, 2025 (Agenda 08/13/2024, Section 13, A2):

Name

Position

Stipend

Rescind:

John Butler

AM Edgar Student Supervision Security (.67)

$4,699

Approve:

Nick Tay

AM Edgar Student Supervision Security (.67)

$4,699

5. Home Instruction

Move to approve Lisa Lombardi to work Home Instruction for the 2024-2025 school year, as needed, at a rate of $61/hour.

6. Appointment- Certificated Staff

Move to approve the appointment of Gina Kish, Special Education Teacher at Campbell School, for the 2024-2025 school year, at a salary of $57,675/year, Step 1A, effective January 8, 2025, pending receipt of NJ certification, through June 30, 2025.

7. Supplemental Instruction

Move to approve Michael Butler to provide supplemental instruction for the 2024-2025 school year at the teacher hourly rate of $50/hour not to exceed 25 hours.

8. Clubs and Co-Curricular Activities - Revisions

Move to rescind and approve the following co-curricular activities for the 2024-2025 school year as listed (Agenda 09/10/2024, Section 13, A7):

Metuchen High School
Name	Club	Stipend
Rescind: Richard Cundari	Math Honor Society (C) .5	$805.50
Campbell Elementary School
Name	Club	Stipend
Rescind: Christopher Peckhardt	Chorus-Grade (C) 3&4	$1,611
Approve: Stefeny Stofa-Krombholz	Chorus-Grade (A) 3&4	$1,192

9. Retirement - Lunch Aide

Move to accept, with regret, the retirement of Joan DiFino, Lunch Aide at Campbell School, effective December 31, 2024.

10. Leave of Absence - Paraprofessional

Move to approve the leave of absence of Rose Di Leonardo, Paraprofessional at Campbell School, effective December 4, 2024 through approximately April 3, 2025.

11. Leave of Absence - Paraprofessional

Move to approve the leave of absence of Gayathri Karthik, Paraprofessional at Moss School, effective December 18, 2024 through approximately January 15, 2025.

12. Intermittent Leave of Absence - Certificated Staff

Move to approve the intermittent leave of absence of Eric Stein, Speech-Language Pathologist at Campbell School, effective February 4, 2025 through February 12, 2025 (Agenda 10/15/24, Section 13 A6).

13. Appointment - Intermittent Leave Replacement

Move to approve the appointment of Isabelle Filiciello, Intermittent Leave Replacement for Eric Stein, Speech-Language Pathologist at Campbell School, effective February 3, 2025 through February 12, 2025, and per diem work as needed throughout Mr. Stein’s Intermittent Leave, at a rate of $311.76/day.

14. Appointment of Substitutes

Move to approve the appointment of substitutes for the 2024-2025 school year as listed on the chart below, effective January 2, 2025, pending completion of substitute training and criminal history clearance:

2024-2025 Substitutes for Board Approval 1/7/25
Pay Rates - $105/day - Substitute with 30+ college credits
$110/day - Substitute with bachelor's degree (no teacher cert)
$115/day - NJ Teacher Certification
$16/hour - Paraprofessional Substitute
$16/hour - Secretary Substitute
$200/day - Nurse Substitute
Sub Name	Certification/Sub Category
Dilfuza Latipova	Substitute with college degree
Gianna Vega	Substitute paraprofessional
Reese Herzog	Substitute with college credits
Gina Kish	Substitute with college degree

15. Formal Mentor

Move to approve the following formal mentor teacher to work with the following mentee teacher for the 2024-2025 school year:

New Teacher/Leave Replacement

School

Mentor

Payment Traditional Route $550

Alternate Route

$1,000

Gina Kish

CES

Alyssa Polesky

$550 (pro-rated)

16. Formal Mentor Training

Move to approve the following mentor to attend mentor training, for 1 hour at the rate of $50/hour:

Alyssa Zimmerman

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

FINANCE

Motion/Second/Comments/Roll Call

1. Renewal - NJSBA Coop Agreement

Move to approve NJSBA K12 Classroom Products and Services - Contract #E-8801-NJSBA-ACES-CPS.

2. Professional Development

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

Start Date	End Date	Activity Title	Name	Building	Approved	Payment	FFPI Proposal #
10/18/ 2024	10/19/ 2024	NJIDA Thirty Ninth Annual Conference	Galassa, Francine	Campbell	$325	FFPI	25-091
12/6/ 2024	12/6/ 2024	Rutgers Collaboration	Azevedo, Suzy	Edgar	$0	No cost
12/11/ 2024	12/11/ 2024	National Forum on Character	Levin, Lisa	Campbell	$0	No cost
12/11/ 2024	12/11/ 2024	Scoring for State School of Character Application	Kirschner, Brooke	Campbell	$0	No cost
12/12/ 2024	12/12/ 2024	Hoover Truck's Propane Bus Demonstration	Plancher, Marissa	Central Office	not to exceed $39 (mileage)	Other
1/10/ 2025	1/10/ 2025	AP STEM Roundtable	Green, Samantha	MHS	$0	No cost
1/10/ 2025	1/10/ 2025	AP stem roundtable	Wang, Jingjing	MHS	$12.09	FFPI	25-088
1/14/ 2025	1/15/ 2025	Rutgers Public School Collaborative: New Facilitator Training	Upshaw, Katherine	Moss	$0	No cost
1/14/ 2025	1/15/ 2025	Rutgers Public School Collaborative: New Facilitator Training	Schlavis, William	MHS	$0	No cost
1/15/ 2025	1/15/ 2025	Mandatory Training for Spring 2025 New Jersey Student Learning Assessments (NJSLA) and New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment (NJGPA)	Mills, Heather	Central Office	$0	No cost
1/21/ 2025	1/21/ 2025	Harassment, Intimidation, or Bullying (HIB) Training Program	Evans, Neyda	Edgar	$198.92	Other
1/22/ 2025	1/22/ 2025	Maximize the Power of Your Small Group Reading Instruction	Masters, Sarah, Sporer, Emily	Moss	$295 each	FFPI	25-084, 25-081
1/24/ 2025	1/24/ 2025	Investigating Climate Change through Dance: How to leverage climate change standards in your content's curriculum	Wang, Jingjing	MHS	$5	FFPI	25-089
1/24/ 2025	1/24/ 2025	Stage Technology Upgrade Training	Flynn, John	Campbell	$0	No cost
1/24/ 2025	1/24/ 2025	Stage Technology Upgrade Training	Porowski, Ed, Jacobi, Jacquelyn, Stike, Brian, Krombholz, Stefeny, McEwan, Christopher, Messenger, John	MHS	$0	No cost
1/24/ 2025	1/24/ 2025	Stage Technology upgrade training	Jaye, Ashley	Central Office	$0	No cost
1/24/ 2025	1/24/ 2025	Stage Technology upgrade training	Keyes, Robyn, Peckhardt, Christopher	Edgar	$0	No cost
1/24/ 2025	1/24/ 2025	NJ Math Supervisors' Roundtable	Lemerich, Kathryn	Central Office	$29.33	Other
2/1/ 2025	2/1/ 2025	NJIDA Presents WIFFT: Winter Institute Food for Thought	Cadel, Ellissa	Campbell	$90	FFPI	25-093
2/4/ 2025	2/4/ 2025	Responsive Classroom - Responding to Misbehavior	Upshaw, Katherine	Moss	$299	FFPI	25-094
2/6/ 2025	2/6/ 2025	AI in Education, Grades 4-12 ELA: Problems, Potentials, and Possible Futures	Mertz, Emily	Edgar	$180	FFPI	25-095
2/6/ 2025	2/6/ 2025	AI in Education, Grades 4-12 ELA: Problems, Potentials, and Possible Futures	Presuto, Emily	Edgar	$180	FFPI	25-096
3/7/ 2025	3/7/ 2025	EMPOWERing Educators with Engagement, Motivation, Practice, Opportunity, Well-being, Equity, and Resilience	Omark, Lindsey	Campbell	$0	No cost
3/10/ 2025	3/12/ 2025	The School Bus Summit, Scottsdale, AZ	Plancher, Marissa	Central Office	$0	no cost to district
3/14/ 2025	3/15/ 2025	AR: Key to a Strong Organization	Santasieri, Erin	Campbell	$0	No cost
3/26/ 2025	3/28/ 2025	School Transportation Supervisors Conference in Atlantic City	Plancher, Marissa	Central Office	not to exceed $850 (registration fee, hotel, mileage, parking meals)
3/28/ 2025	3/28/ 2025	Unsettling Autism	Robbins, Melissa	Edgar	$314	FFPI	25-090
5/2/ 2025	5/2/ 2025	PCG and NJPSA/FEA 7th Annual Special Education Summit PSEL Standards: 4,5 and 6	Lewis, Patricia	Edgar	$150	Other

3. Duties of Business Administrator/Board Secretary

Move to approve the following duties/position of Michael A. Harvier, Business

Administrator/Board Secretary through December 31, 2025:

a ) PACO-Public Agency Compliance Officer for Affirmative Action.

4. Out of District Placement 2024-2025 School Year

Move to approve the following 2024-2025 school year out of district student placement:

ID#	School	Total
20291077	Hackensack Middle School	$22,105

5. Nonpublic Security Aid

Move to approve the following nonpublic security aid for the 2024-2025 school year. These expenditures are required for the district to fulfill certain legal obligations under state legislation to administer federal or state funds provided to nonpublic schools within our jurisdiction:

School	Vendor	QTY	Item #	Description	Price	Total
St. Francis Cathedral School	Ocean Systems Integrators, Inc.	12	SaplingaQSAL 4BS-12R-0-#714	Analog; Wireless Slim Line, 900 MHz, 12" Round, Battery Operated, Surface Wall Mount, Black Case	$155.33	$ 1,863.96
St. Francis Cathedral School	Ocean Systems Integrators, Inc.	1	Sapling-OSAL 48S-16R-0-#716	Analog, WirelessSlimUnei900 MHz,16" Round, Battery Operated, SurfaceWallMount, BlackCase	$200.57	$ 200.57
St. Francis Cathedral School	Ocean Systems Integrators, Inc.	1	Sapling-SAG 1200-1-#743	Wire guard for analog clock	$91.23	$ 91.23
St. Francis Cathedral School	Ocean Systems Integrators, Inc.	13	E-BATT-#722	Duracell Procell Alkaline Battery (1)-	$3.09	$ 40.17
St. Francis Cathedral School	Ocean Systems Integrators, Inc.	8	Labor	Project Management Labor	$163.00	$ 1,304.00
St. Francis Cathedral School	Ocean Systems Integrators, Inc.	8	Labor	Electrician Foreman - Installation Labor	$163.95	$ 1311.60
St. Francis Cathedral School	Ocean Systems Integrators, Inc.	8	Labor	Electrician Journeyman - Installation Labor	$140.11	$ 1120.88

6. Technology Equipment Disposal

Move to approve the disposal of the obsolete equipment on the attachment.

7. Resolution - Centralpack Engineering Corp. Contract

WHEREAS, on December 19, 2024, the Metuchen Board of Education (“Board”) held a public bid opening for the HVAC Upgrades at Multiple Schools project (“Project”); and

WHEREAS, the Board received three (3) bids at the public bid opening; and

WHEREAS, the lowest numerical bid was submitted by Centralpack Engineering Corp., Hibernia, New Jersey, with a total bid, inclusive of a $30,000.00 General Allowance, of $835,500.00 broken out per school as follows: $133,000.00 for Campbell Elementary School, $308,000.00 for Edgar Middle School, and $394,500.00 for Metuchen High School; and

WHEREAS, the Board has determined Centralpack Engineering Corp. to be the lowest responsible bidder.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the above recitals are incorporated as if set forth here at length.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that pursuant to New Jersey’s Public School Contracts Law, the Board hereby awards a contract for the Project to Centralpack Engineering Corp. in the total amount of $835,500.00 as set forth above.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that upon receipt of the executed contract, bonds, insurance certificate and other contract documents from Centralpack Engineering Corp., the Business Administrator is authorized to return the bid securities to the bidders, if requested.

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

POLICY

Motion/Second/Comments/Roll Call

1. Suspensions

The board hereby acknowledges receipt of the suspension report for December 9, 2024 - January 3, 2025.

2. Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying

Move to affirm the findings of the previously reported cases:

EMS111324001
EMS111324002
EMS111824001

3. First Reading of Policy

Move to approve the first reading of the following policy:

P 2365 Acceptable Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)

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

D. 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:

School	Destination	Class/Group/ Purpose	Teachers/ Advisors	Date(s)	No. Of Students	Board Cost- Transportation	Number of Subs Needed
MHS	Montgomery High School	Grades 9-12; The Robotics team will attend the Kick off event for FRC. Attendance is necessary to obtain parts for competition.	Kevin Smedley and Jerred Cook	1/4/ 2025	30	$220	no subs needed
MHS	Middlesex County Courthouse	Grades 9-12; Mock Trial Competition	Kevin Smedley	1/27/ 2025 1/28/ 2025 1/29/ 2025 bus leaves at 3pm after school	12 12 12	$140 $140 $140	no subs needed
MHS	Campbell Elementary School	Grades 11 & 12; The Science National Honor Society members travels to Campbell every year and teaches science lessons to students in Jonathan Nolde's classes.	Ryan Clapp	2/4/ 2025	21	$80	1 sub needed
EMS	MoMath, the National Math Museum(previously approved on the 8/27/24 agenda)	Grades 7 & 8; Students will attend trip to MoMath to see and explore math careers and how math is used to solve real-world problems. Also to learn about how math theories are proven by observation and experimentation.	Chrissy Kremer, Ed Albanese, Kate Lemerich, Amy Dees and Laura Vergara	2/11/ 2025	73	$0	3 sub needed
MHS	Campbell Elementary School	Grade 12; Safety Ambassador's Trip to Campbell	Sarah Karger	2/13/ 2025	9	$50	1 sub needed
MHS	Campbell Elementary School	Grade 12; Safety Ambassador's Trip to Campbell	Danielle Cermak	3/5/ 2025	9	$50	1 sub needed
MHS	Campbell Elementary School	Grade 12; Safety Ambassador's Trip to Campbell	Karin Flores	3/27/ 2025	8	$50	1 sub needed
MHS	Campbell Elementary School	Grade 12; Safety Ambassador's Trip to Campbell	Danielle Cermak	4/10/ 2025	8	$50	1 sub needed
EMS	Camp Mason	Grade 5; Outdoor Education/SEL Trip	Jennifer Cecchine, all 5th grade teachers and additional teachers from EMS, CES and MHS TBD	4/23/ 2025 - 4/25/ 2025 (3 days)	180	$0	TBD
MHS	NJ Envirothon	Grades 9-12; Students will be competing in the NJ Envirothon Competition	Yoko Kato	5/17/ 2025	10	$330	no subs needed
MHS	Peru: Cuzco, Machu Picchu, & Lake Titicaca	Grades 11-12; This trip would be a Social Studies/History tour of Lima, Cuzco, Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca. This tour would provide the unique opportunity to learn about the history of Peru (as a whole) and the Incas (more specifically). The dates are tentative depending on the District’s 2026 spring break dates.	Chris Giddes, Karin Flores	3/28/ 2026 (9-day tour)	46	$0	TBD
MHS	Cuba	Grades 10-12; Cuba offers a glimpse of colonial history with the Spanish. It also has a shared history with the US from the Cold War onward. Furthermore, English students study Latin American poetry which includes many great Cuban poets. We also study post-colonial literature and Cuba offers a perfect example of post-colonial discourse. Finally, Spanish students can explore a culture that has been frozen in time and practice their Spanish skills in a real-world setting.	Adam Levy, Chris Giddes, Nick Vosinas, Additional teachers as chaperones	7/11/ 2026 - 7/19/ 2026 (9 days)	33	$0	no subs needed

2. Internship

Move to approve Katie Upshaw to complete internship requirements for the William Paterson University National Educational Leadership Prep Program at Moss School, under the supervision of Jennifer Asprocolas, for the 2024-2025 school year.

3. Book Disposal and Approval

Move to approve the disposal and approval of the following texts:

Title	Author	Course	Publisher	Copyright	Qty	Location	Replaced by
AMSCO AP Psychology, 2nd Edition	Brandt & Hamilton	AP PSYCHOLOGY	Perfection Learning	2020	44	202	AMSCO AP Psychology, 3rd Edition

4. Curriculum Guides

Move to approve the implementation of the following revised curriculum guides:

Curriculum Guide
Subject/Course	Grade
English Language Arts	Kindergarten
AP Chemistry	11-12

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

20. Reorganization

a. Set Regular Meetings of the Board of Education

Move to approve the Board of Education Meeting Schedule for 2025.

b. NJSBA Code of Ethics

Move to approve the adoption of the NJSBA Code of Ethics for 2025.

21. Meeting Open to the Public (for anything you wish to discuss)

22. Announcements

23. 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.

24. Adjournment

Public Attachments: