THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

METUCHEN, NEW JERSEY

TUESDAY, JULY 21, 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

❖    Welcoming of the New Student Board Members

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

7. Presentations 

❖    HIB and SSDS Report Period 2 (January 1, 2026 – June 30, 2026) – Dr. Caputo

❖    Guidance: Virtual or Remote Instruction Programs

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.    Resignation - Paraprofessional

    Move to accept the resignation of Karen Brock, Paraprofessional at Moss School, effective June 30, 2026.

2.    Appointment - Rescind

    Move to rescind the appointment of Erin Ryan, Teacher at Edgar School, for the 2026-2027 school year, at a salary of $61,500/year, Step 1A, effective August 26, 2026 through June 30, 2027 (Agenda 6/23/26, Section 13 A76).

3.    Leave of Absence - Supervisor

    Move to approve the leave of absence of Lou Manziano, Supervisor, effective approximately July 16, 2026 through approximately August 16, 2026.

4.    Appointment - Certificated Staff

    Move to approve the appointment of Alicia Spencer, Teacher at Edgar School, for the 2026-2027 school year, at a salary of $62,500/year, Step 1B, effective August 26, 2026 through June 30, 2027.

5.    Appointment - Certificated Staff

    Move to approve the appointment of Gabriella Pinho, Teacher at Campbell School, for the 2026-2027 school year, at a salary of $67,463/year, Step 3D, effective August 26, 2026 through June 30, 2027.

6.    Appointment - Certificated Staff

    Move to approve the appointment of Casady Hand, Teacher at Moss School, for the 2026-2027 school year, at a salary of $61,500/year, Step 1A, effective August 26, 2026 through June 30, 2027.

7.    Salary Adjustment – Certificated Staff

    Move to approve a change in base salary for Ashley Pietrowski, Teacher at Campbell School, from Step 1C, $63,500/year, to Step 3C, $66,675/year, as a result of her earning her Master's Degree, effective August 1, 2026.

8.    Salary Adjustment – Certificated Staff

    Move to approve a change in base salary for Trey Jaworski, Teacher at Metuchen High School, from Step 1K, $78,250/year, to Step 3K, $82,163/year, as a result of him earning his Master's Degree, effective August 1, 2026.

9.    Salary Adjustment – Custodial Longevity

    Move to approve a change in total salary for Paxton Jerscheid, Maintenance Department, from $60,182/year to $60,471/year as a result of completing 20 years of service, effective August 1, 2026.

10.    Salary Adjustment – Custodial Longevity

    Move to approve a change in total salary for Chad Lesniak, Custodial Department, from $64,446/year to $64,735/year as a result of completing 20 years of service, effective August 1, 2026.

11.    Rescind and Approve Reappointment – Custodial Staff & Substitute Bus Driver

    Move to Rescind and Approve the following appointments for Jose Almeida, Custodial Department and Substitute Bus Driver, for the 2026-2027 school year (Agenda 06/23/2026, Section 13, A17):

12.    Rescind and Approve Extended School Year - Nursing Staff

    Move to Rescind and Approve the following appointment for the 2026 Extended School Year (Agenda 06/23/2026, Section 13, A29):

13.    Rescind And Approve – MHS Fall Coaches

    Move to rescind and approve the appointment of the following coaches for the 2026-2027 school year at Metuchen High School (Agenda 06/23/2026, Section 13, A4):

*represents adjunct coach

14.    Reappointment Revision – Tenured Administrators 

Move to approve the reappointment of the following tenured Central Office  Administrators for the 2026-2027 school year effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 at the annual salary as follows (Agenda 06/23/2026, Section 13, A7):  

15.    Appointment - Event Staff

Move to approve the following Event Staff for the 2026-2027 school year, at the rate of $55 per event:

16.    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 the attached chart.

17.    Volunteer Clubs

Move to approve the following volunteer clubs for the 2026-2027 school year as listed on the attached chart.

18.    Appointment – Re-Registration Support Staff    

Move to approve the following support staff to work the Re-Registration sessions for incoming 9th grade families, effective July 22, 2026 through August 31, 2026, at their hourly rates, not to exceed 22 hours per support staff member.

19.    Appointment - Leave Replacement

    Move to approve the appointment of Julianne Ulmer, Leave Replacement for Courtney Crawford, School Psychologist for Campbell and Edgar Schools, effective August 24, 2026 through approximately December 2, 2026, at a rate of $332.43/day.

20.    Appointment - Leave Replacement

    Move to approve the appointment of Cindy Fedun, Leave Replacement for Jessica DiMaggio, Teacher at Moss School, effective August 24, 2026 through approximately June 16, 2027, at a rate of $332.43/day.

21.    2026 New Teacher Orientation Workshop

    Move to approve William Schlavis as a presenter for New Teacher Orientation Workshop, at a rate of $52/hour, not to exceed 2 hours.

22.   Curriculum Writers - Rescind

    Move to rescind the following curriculum writers and amounts for the 2026-2027 school year (Agenda 5/28/2024, Section 13, D8).

23.    Curriculum Writers

    Move to approve the following curriculum writers and amounts for the 2026-2027 school year:

24.    Resignation - Certificated Staff

    Move to approve the resignation of Martin Klee, Teacher at Metuchen High School, effective September 16, 2026, or earlier if a replacement is found.

25.    Transfer – District/School Secretaries

    Move to approve the following transfers, due to realignment, for the 2026-2027 school year, effective July 22, 2026: 

26.    Appointment – Additional ESY Substitute Nurse

    Move to approve the following additional substitute nurse for the 2026 Extended School Year Program: (Agenda 6/23/26, Section 13, A29):

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

2. FINANCE

Motion/Second/Comments/Roll Call

1.  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 July 21, 2026 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.

2.   Budget Transfers

Move to approve budget transfers effective May 31, 2026.

3.    Treasurer of School Monies and Board Secretary’s Reports

Move to approve the Treasurer of School Monies’ Report, and Board Secretary’s Report as of May 31, 2026.

4.    Resolution - Insurance Broker

    The Board of Education in the Borough of Metuchen in the County of Middlesex awarded a Property and Casualty brokerage service contract as an extraordinary unspecifiable service to Schenck agency for the 2026-2027 school year. The consultant is to be paid a commission by the insurance company.

5.    Expenditure

    Move to approve the expenditure of $77,455.88 with WhiteRock Security for technology and instructional subscriptions.

6.    Interlocal Services Agreement

Move to approve the interlocal services agreement between the Metuchen Public Library and the Metuchen Board of Education to share costs of certain library databases. 

7.    Lease Payments

    Move to approve four lease payments for Dell Chromebook computers in accordance with the District’s equipment lease agreements.

8.    Settlement Agreement

    Move to approve the settlement agreement for student #2029111.

9.    Bid For Roof Coating

WHEREAS, on July 16, 2026, the Metuchen Board of Education (“Board”) held a public bid opening for the ECM-12 Roofing Upgrades at Multiple Schools project (“Project”); and

WHEREAS, the Board received ten (10) bids at the public bid opening; and

WHEREAS, the lowest numerical bid was submitted by Pravco, Inc., Rahway, New Jersey, with a base bid of $1,672,660.00, which amount includes a $40,000.00 Allowance; and

WHEREAS, the Board has determined Pravco, Inc. to be the lowest responsible bidder.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 18A:18A-1, et seq., the Board hereby awards a contract for the Project to Pravco, Inc. in the amount of $1,672,220.00, which amount includes a $40,000.00 Allowance.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the contract award is subject to agreement between the Board and Pravco as to Pravco’s required response time to perform and complete warranty repairs.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Business Administrator is authorized to return the bid securities to all but the three (3) lowest bidders, if requested.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that upon agreement with Pravco as to the response time to perform and complete warranty repairs, the contract for the Project shall be sent to Pravco, Inc. for execution.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that up receipt by the Board from Pravco, Inc. of the partially executed contract, bonds, insurance certificate and other documents required by the contract, that the Business Administrator shall return the bid securities to the remaining bidders.

10.    Professional Development

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

11.    Grant Submission

    Move to approve the submission of the IDEA and the ESSA grants for the 2026-2027 school year.

12.    Rescind and Approve - Facilities Use Agreement with YMCA 

    Move to rescind the Facilities Use Agreement with the YMCA of Metuchen, Edison Woodbridge and South Amboy, effective September 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028 and approve the Facilities Use Agreement with the YMCA of Metuchen, Edison Woodbridge and South Amboy, effective August 31, 2026, through June 30, 2027, at the rate of $2,500/month (Agenda 06/09/2026, Section 13, B2).

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

3. POLICY

Motion/Second/Comments/Roll Call

1.    Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying

    Move to affirm the findings of the previously reported cases.

• CES060326001

• EMS060526001

• EMS060825001

2.    School Grades

    Move to approve the grades for the the following schools:

• Mildred B. Moss Elementary School, Grade PK through 2nd Grade

• Campbell Elementary School, Grade 3 through Grade 5

• Edgar Middle School, Grade 6 through Grade 8

• Metuchen High School, Grade 9 through Grade 12

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

4. CURRICULUM

Motion/Second/Comments/Roll Call

1.    Student Interns

    Move to approve the placement of the following student interns from Rutgers Music Mason Gross School of the Arts in the Metuchen Public School District during the 2026-2027 school year:

2.    Musical Instrument Disposal 

    Approve the disposal of the following instruments which were initially acquired through donations and are currently old, of poor quality and damaged beyond repair:

3.    Administrative Internship

    Move to Approve Lindsey Omark to complete an administrative internship through NJEXCEL under the supervision of Kate Lemerich and Jennifer Asprocolas for the 2026-2027 school year. 

4.    Work Based Learning

    Move to approve work based learning and community based experiences for the Metuchen Internship Learning Experience classes at MHS for the 2026-2027  school year.

5. Field Trips

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

6.    Community Based Instruction

    Move to approve Westfield Splash Park for community-based instruction experience for MHS ESY 2026.

7.    Rescind Out of District Student Placement - Extended School Year 2026

    Move to rescind the following 2026 extended school year out of district student placement (Agenda 06/23/2026, Section 13, A6):    

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