THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

METUCHEN, NEW JERSEY

TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2022

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 Criterion Sentinel, The Star Ledger, and by filing a copy with the Borough Clerk as prescribed by this law.

4. Roll Call

5. Showcase of Success

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

7. Presentations 

❖    Metuchen School District NJQSAC Placement 

8. Reports

• President’s Report

• Superintendent's Report

• Committee 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)

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. Transfer - Certificated Staff

Move to approve the transfer of Stacy Winters, Math Teacher at Edgar School, to Math Teacher at Metuchen High School, effective August 31, 2022.

2.    Maternity Leave of Absence -Certificated Staff

    Move to approve the maternity leave of absence of Suzy Palmer, English Language Arts Teacher at Edgar School, from approximately October 14, 2022 through approximately May 1, 2023.

3.    Retirement - Certificated Staff

    Move to accept with regret the retirement of Sherry Lifson, Math Teacher at Metuchen High School, effective October 1, 2022.

4.    Family Medical Leave of Absence - Paraprofessional

    Move to approve the family medical leave of absence of Jennifer Lesniak, Paraprofessional at Edgar School, effective August 31, 2022 through approximately November 2, 2022.

5.    Family Medical Leave of Absence Extension - Custodian

    Move to extend the family medical leave of absence of Chad Lesniak, Custodian at Campbell School, through August 31, 2022 (Agenda 6/14/22, Section 13 A10).

6.    Appointment - Paraprofessional

    Move to approve the appointment of Olivia Williams, Paraprofessional at Campbell School, for the 2022-2023 school year, effective August 31, 2022 through June 30, 2023, at a salary of $22,626/year.

7.    Resignation - Secretary

    Move to accept the resignation of Rebecca Colegrove, Secretary to the Assistant Superintendent, effective August 12, 2022.

8.    Appointment - Paraprofessional 

    Move to approve the appointment of Mili O'Brien, Paraprofessional at Moss School, for the 2022-2023 school year, effective August 31, 2022 through June 30, 2023, at a salary of $23,731/year.

9.    Appointment - Lunch Aides

    Move to approve the following lunch aides in the Metuchen Public Schools for the 2022-2023 school year, effective September 6, 2022, pending criminal history clearance*:

10.    Resignation - Paraprofessional

    Move to accept the resignation of Sandy Iacona, Paraprofessional at Moss School, effective August 3, 2022.

11.    Resignation - Certificated Staff

    Move to accept the resignation of Jamie Hembree, Science Teacher at Edgar School, effective October 3, 2022, or earlier if a replacement is found. 

12.    Instructional and Non-Instructional Stipends

Move to approve the following Instructional and Non-Instructional Stipends for the 2022-2023 school year as listed on the attached chart.

13.    Appointment - Event Staff

    Move to approve the following Event Staff for the 2022-2023 school year, at the rates listed below:

14.    Beyond School Day Intervention Services

    Move to approve the following certified staff to provide beyond the school day intervention services for the 2022-2023 school year, at the rate of $48/hour (ESSER III funded): 

15.    Appointment - Additional ESY Substitute Teachers

Move to approve the following additional Substitute Teachers as needed for 2022 ESY:

16.    Metuchen High School Coach Appointments and 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):

Fall Coaches

*Represents Adjunct Coach

Winter Coaches

*Represents Adjunct Coach

Spring Coaches

*Represents Adjunct Coach

17.    Appointment - Paraprofessional Leave Replacement

    Move to approve the appointment of Renee Flynn, Paraprofessional Leave Replacement for Jennifer Lesniak, Paraprofessional at Edgar School, effective August 31, 2022 through approximately November 2, 2022, at a rate of $15/hour.

18.    Informal Mentor Teachers

    Move to approve the following staff to serve as an informal mentor for the 2022-2023 school year, effective August 30, 2022, to be paid at a rate of $48/hour, not to exceed six hours: 

19.    Appointment - Leave Replacement

    Move to approve the appointment of Nicole Kogan, Leave Replacement for Julie Anderson, Campbell School Teacher, effective August 29, 2002 through approximately November 4, 2022.

20.    Formal Mentor Teachers

    Move to approve the following formal mentor teachers to work with the following mentee teachers for the 2022 – 2023 school year: 

21.    Appointment - Certificated Staff

    Move to approve the appointment of Emily Rebelo, Speech Therapist for Metuchen Public Schools, for the 2022-2023 school year, at a salary of $57,913/year, Step 2E, effective August 31, 2022 through June 30, 2023.

22.    Maternity Leave - Certificated Staff

Move to approve the maternity leave of absence of Michele Herold (Reed), Preschool Teacher at Moss School, effective approximately December 5, 2022 through April 21, 2022.

23.    Safety Care - Trainer

    Move to approve Christina Dybas to provide Safety Care training to district staff at the rate of $48/hour.

24.    Safety Care Training - Certificated Staff

    Move to approve the following certified staff to participate in Safety Care training for up to twelve hours at the rate of $48/hour: 

25.    Safety Care Training - Non-Certificated Staff

    Move to approve the following non-certificated staff to participate in Safety Care training for up to twelve hours at their hourly rate as follows:

26.    Appointment – Additional Substitute Secretaries

    Move to approve the appointment of the following additional substitute secretaries for

the 2022-2023 school year at a rate of $15/hour, effective August 10, 2022 (Agenda

6/28/2022, Section 13 A21):

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

2. FINANCE

Motion/Second/Comments/Roll Call

1.    Out of District Student Placements - 2022-2023 School Year

    Move to approve the following 2022-2023 school year out of district student placements:

2.    IDEA Grant for 2022-2023

    Move to approve the IDEA grant allocation for the 2022-2023 school year and the continued use of IDEA ARP grant allocation (initially allocated in 2021-2022) for the 2022-2023 school year.

IDEA and IDEA ARP Grant Allocation

3.    IDEA Grant Allocation for Salary

    Move to approve Moss Paraprofessional Annie Kim's salary of $23,731 to be partially funded by the IDEA grant, up to the amount of $20,622.

4.    FDU Orton Gillingham

    Move to approve Lindsey Omark and Jennifer Pasquale to coordinate the FDU Orton Gillingham student practicum, funded by the IDEA grant, at a rate of $49/hour, not to exceed $4,800.

5.    Stipend - Unified Club Advisor

    Move to approve Beth Abbott for Unified Club Advisor, for a stipend of $1,145, funded by the IDEA grant.

6.     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.    Appointment - Student Board of Education Representative

    Move to approve Ben Solasky as the Metuchen High School Student Board of Education Representative for the 2022-2023 school year.

2.    First Reading of Policies and Regulations

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

P 0143.2    High School Student Representative to the 

Board of Education  

P 0163    Quorum  

P 1511    Board of Education Website Accessibility 

P 2415    Every Student Succeeds Act

P & R 2432    School Sponsored Publications  (Abolished)

P 3270    Professional Responsibilities  

R 3270    Lesson Plans and Plan Books  

P & R 5513    Care of School Property 

P 5517    School District Issued Student Identification Cards

P 5722    Student Journalism 

3.    NJQSAC - Placement Scores

    Move to accept the NJQSAC report and the following scores:

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

4. CURRICULUM

Motion/Second/Comments/Roll Call

1.     Field Trips - Amendment

Move to approve the following field trip amendment for students in the Metuchen School District as shown (Agenda 6/28/22, Section 13 D1) :

2.    New Textbook

    Move to approve the textbook Big Ideas Math: Geometry for the class course, Plane Geometry.

3.     Field Trips

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

4.    2022 Curriculum Summer Writing

    Move to approve the following curriculum writing documents, writers and amounts for Summer 2022: 

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