THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

METUCHEN, NEW JERSEY

TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2026

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, and by filing a copy with the Borough Clerk as prescribed by this law.

4. Roll Call

5. Showcase of Success

❖ New Hires

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

7. Presentations 

8. Reports

• President’s Report

• Superintendent's Report

• Committee Reports

• Student Board Members Reports

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)

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.

1. PERSONNEL

Motion/Second/Comments/Roll Call

1.    Home Instruction

    Move to approve Leah Horesh to provide Home Instruction for the 2026-2027 school year at the rate of $63/hour as needed.

2.  Instructional and Non-Instructional Stipends

Move to approve the following Stipends for the 2026-2027 school year as listed on attachment 1, and 2. 

3.    Appointment Correction - Event Staff 

Move to rescind the following Event Staff for the 2026-2027 school year, at the rate of $55 per event and move to approve the following Event Staff for the 2026-2027 school year, at the rate of $56 per event (Agenda 07/21/2026, Section 13, A15):

4.    Appointment - Cash Box

    Move to approve Maureen Azzara and Donna Corrigan for the 2026-2027 school year to handle the Cash Box at athletic events, at the following rates:

5.    Unified Club Advisor

    Move to approve Beth Abbott for a stipend as Unified Club Advisor for the 2026-2027 school year at the amount of $1,239 (IDEA grant funded). 

6.    Safety Care Correction - Trainer Training

Move to approve Emily Almeida to attend Safety Care “Train the Trainer” initial training at the rate of $52/hour, not to exceed 16 hours (Agenda 06/23/2026, Section 13, A35). 

7.    IDEA Grant Funded Salary

Move to approve Sandra Spinelli’s salary of $27,152 to be partially IDEA grant funded up to $18,516 for the 2026-2027 school year.

8.    Safety Care Training - Non-Certificated Staff

Move to approve the following non-certified staff to attend Safety Care Training at the their hourly rate, not to exceed 12 hours each: 

9.    Safety Care Training - Certificated Staff 

Move to approve the following certified staff to participate in Safety Care Training at the the rate of $52/hour, not to exceed 12 hours each:

10.    Summer Work - GoIT Middle School STEM Program Summer 2026

Move to approve the following teacher for the GoIT middle school summer STEM program, pending MOU and funding from Tata Consultancy Services Corporate Social Responsibility Program (Agenda 6/23/26, Section 13, A75):

11.    Clubs and Co-Curricular Activities

Move to approve the following co-curricular stipends for the co-curricular activities for the 2026-2027 school year as listed on attachment 3 (Agenda 7/21/2026, Section 13, A16).

12.    Transfer – Certificated Staff 

Move to approve the following transfer for the 2026-2027 school year:

13.    STAR Academy 2026 Summer Correction

Move to approve the following staff members for the STAR Academy for the Summer 2026 (Agenda 6/23/26, Section 13, A41):

14.    CPR/AED Training

Move to approve the following to provide CPR/AED and First Aid training during the 2026-2027 school year at a rate of $52/hour, not to exceed 9 hours each:

15.    Informal Mentor Teachers

Move to approve the following staff to serve as an informal mentor for the 2026-2027 school year, to be paid at a rate of $52/hour, not to exceed six hours: 

16.    Formal Mentor Teachers 

Move to approve the following formal mentor teachers to work with the following mentee teachers for the 2026-2027 school year: 

17.    2026 New Teacher Orientation

Move to approve the following mentors to work with new teachers at the New Teacher

Orientation on August 27, 2026, for up to 6 hours at the hourly rate of $52/hour:

18.    Summer Work

Move to approve Maureen Azzarra for up to an additional 5 days of Summer work at her hourly rate. 

19.    Appointment- Certificated Staff

    Move to approve the appointment of Claire Riggs, Teacher at Metuchen High School for the 2026-2027 school year, at a salary of $67,650/year, Step 5A, effective August 26, 2026 through June 30, 2027. 

20.    Resignation - Paraprofessional 

    Move to accept the resignation of Cal Harkness, Library Paraprofessional at Edgar Middle School, effective August 7, 2026. 

21.    Salary Adjustment - Maintenance Stipend

    Move to approve the addition of a $1,000 maintenance stipend to the salaries of Jean Jean-Gilles and Paxton Jersheid, in accordance with the Metuchen Custodial and Maintenance Contract, Schedule B, effective July 1, 2026.

22.    Leave of Absence - Paraprofessional

    Move to approve the leave of absence of Joyee Mondal, Paraprofessional at Campbell School, effective August 26, 2026 through approximately September 11, 2026.

23.    Appointment - Leave Replacement 

    Move to approve the appointment of Sue Fackler, Leave Replacement for Nga Fizur, School Nurse at Moss School, effective August 26, 2026 through approximately December 1, 2026, at a rate of $332.43/day.

24.    Appointment - Custodian 

Move to approve the appointment of Elimat Lozamat, Custodian, for the 2026-2027 school year, at a salary of $44,226/year, Step 1, effective August 12, 2026 through June 30, 2027, pending criminal history clearance.

25.    Appointment - Paraprofessional

    Move to approve the appointment of Emmanuel Gray, Library Paraprofessional at Edgar School, for the 2026-2027 school year, at a salary of $24,787/year, effective August 26, 2026 through June 30, 2027.

26.    Appointment - Custodian

    Move to approve the appointment of Jeymi Escobar, Custodian, for the 2026-2027 school year, at a salary of $44,226/year, Step 1, effective August 12, 2026 through June 30, 2027, pending criminal history clearance.

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

2. FINANCE

Motion/Second/Comments/Roll Call

1.    Professional Development

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

2.    Change Order M&M Construction

Move to approve the change orders as listed below:

3.    Appointment – Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA )Services

Move to approve the appointment of the following for the 2026-2027 school year: 

•    The Special Education Teacher a franchisee of Hi5ABA as a provider of independent 

BCBA services at a rate of $115/hour for the 2026-2027 school year not to exceed 

$121,992.00 (Agenda 6/23/2026, Section 13, B22). 

4.    IDEA Grant for 2026-2027

Move to approve the IDEA grant allocation for the 2026-2027 school year and the use of IDEA grant allocations towards special education needs:

5.    Appointment Financial Advisor for Continuing Disclosure Agent

    Appoint Phoenix Advisors LLC, as Financial Advisors Continuing Disclosure Agent. 

6.    Nonpublic Technology Aid

    Move to approve the following nonpublic technology aid for the 2026-2027 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:

7.    Purchase of Furniture 

    Move to approve the purchase of furniture for Moss School as seen on attachment 4.

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

3. POLICY

Motion/Second/Comments/Roll Call

Nothing at this time

----------------------------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.    Student Intern

Move to approve the placement of the following student intern from Kutztown University in the Metuchen Public School District during the 2026-2027 school year:

3.    Open SciEd

Move to approve Rutgers Center for Math, Science and Computer Education (CMSCE) to provide professional development on OpenSciEd during 2026-2027 school year, not to exceed $13,875, partially funded by Title IV($2,865) and FFPI ($3,835).

4.    Professional Development

Move to approve CDW-G to provide a full-day Professional Development SMART board training sessions to support Metuchen Public Schools staff during the August 27, 2026, District Inservice day, not to exceed $2,000. 

5.    Professional Development

Move to approve Don’t Diet Dietitian LLC to provide professional development during the 2026-2027 school year, not to exceed $825.

6.    Book Disposal

Move to approve disposal of the following books from the Moss Library due to damaged and poor condition on attachment 5.

----------------------------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