Motion by Mr. Taggart, second by Mr. Edinger, that be it

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve the 2007-2010 Lopatcong Affirmative Action Team consisting of Dr. Michael Rossi, Mrs. Rosemary Kowalchuk, Mrs. Teresa Barna, Ms. JoAnn Murray, Mrs. Ann Bercaw, Mr. Dennis Drake, Mrs. Stacey Conner, Mrs. Betsy Fania and Mrs. Tara Hill.

Vote:  9 – Yes.  Motion carried.

Motion by Mr. Edinger, second by Mr. Rozycki, that be it

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, authorizes the Affirmative Action Team to conduct a needs assessment.

Vote:  9 – Yes.  Motion carried.

Motion by Dr. McGann, second by Mr. Drake, that be it

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve the K-4 Art Curriculum as presented.

Roll call vote:  9 – Yes.  Motion carried.

Motion by Mr. Glennon, second by Mr. Taggart, that be it

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve the 5-8 Art Curriculum as presented.

Roll call vote:  9 – Yes.  Motion carried.

Motion by Mr. Kessler, second by Mr. Drake, that be it

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve the 2007-2008 Professional Development Plan as approved by the County Professional Development Committee.

Roll call vote:  9 – Yes.  Motion carried.

Motion by Mr. Drake, second by Mr. Taggart, that be it

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve the placement of one Lopatcong student at the Buxmont Academy in Pennsylvania effective January 12, 2007 and to approve a tuition contract with Buxmont Academy for such placement in the amount of $107.82 per day.

Roll call vote:  9 – Yes.  Motion carried.

Note: This is a change in placement for a current Lopatcong student. The cost of this placement is comparable to the previous placement.

Motion by Mr. Rozycki, second by Mr. Taggart, that be it

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, set the polling hours for the Annual School Election April 17, 2007 from 2:00 to 9:00pm.

Vote:  9 – Yes.  Motion carried.

Motion by Mr. Taggart, second by Mr. Edinger, that be it

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, adopt policy file code #9110 entitled “Number of Members and Terms of Office” as read, attached to these minutes and filed in the district policy manual.

Roll call vote:  9 – Yes.  Motion carried.

Motion by Mr. Kish, second by Mr. Taggart, that be it

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve transfers of uncommitted funds within the 2006-2007 school year in the amount of $362,166 as presented.

Roll call vote:  9 – Yes.  Motion carried.

Motion by Mr. Edinger, second by Mr. Kish, that be it

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve the following field trips:

Vote:  9 – Yes.  Motion carried.

Motion by Dr. McGann, second by Mr. Edinger, that be it

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, approve the following requests for use of facilities:

Vote:  9 – Yes.  Motion carried.

Motion by Mr. Glennon, second by Mr. Drake, that be it

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, hire Margaret Normile as a part-time speech therapist effective March 1, 2007 and to be paid at 40% of Locator F/MA.

Roll call vote:  9 – Yes.  Motion carried.

Motion by Mr. Kessler, second by Mr. Taggart, that be it

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education, upon recommendation by the Superintendent, accepts renewal rates for health insurance at a 6% increase and rates for prescription drug at 9% for the 2007-2008 school year.

Roll call vote:  9 – Yes.  Motion carried.

ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

Dr. Rossi reported that there will be an Artist-In-Residence Program at the Middle School during the month of April.  The theme of the program will be diversity, and students will be involved with researching the different cultures found throughout America.

Dr. Rossi discussed the Comprehensive Equity Plan (CEP), which is mandated by the State.  An Affirmative Action team will be established to create and administer a needs assessment.

The K-4 & 5-8 Art Curriculums for both schools have been reviewed and revised.  Once approved by the Board, they will be placed on the district website.

In April, Lopatcong will be hosting an in-service with Dr. Carol Ann Tomlinson, a national speaker and leading researcher on Differentiated Instruction.

The next and final phase of the Diversity Project will be taking place on Thursday, February 22 at the Inn at Panther Valley.  Dr. Rossi will then prepare a report summarizing the entire project which will be submitted in the future.

Dr. Rossi reported that a survey has been distributed as part of the process for discussion of a before and after care program.

The guided reading initiative is continuing.  Dr. Mary Beth Allen spent the day at the Elementary School on January 18th and the Middle School teams continue to meet.

The Mission Statement group met on February 1 to analyze and review all of the feedback that was received concerning the educational program offered here in Lopatcong.  The process will continue to develop an appropriate Mission Statement.

Dr. Rossi reported that the County has approved the Professional Development Plan (PDP) for Lopatcong, and that State testing (NJASK and GEPA) will be taking place in March.

Dr. Rossi provided an update on the new skill building and test prep program called “Study Island”.

REPRESENTATIVE INFORMATION FROM PHILLIPSBURG BOE

Mr. Kish reported that the Phillipsburg Board of Education has  completed their Mission & Belief Statement, and gave Dr. Rossi some of the backup material used in developing the statement.  The Board is also planning a new demographic study.  Mr. Kish also passed around some Policy changes for review.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Mr. Glennon gave an update on the status of the Property Tax Reduction legislation and reported that the new school funding formula will not be in place for the upcoming budget.  Mr. Glennon provided the Board with an analysis of the active bills and copies of the NJSBA Press Releases.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Gail Secalaris – Asked why a child would be placed out of State as an out of district placement.  Mr. Gallant explained that the CST places the child in the most appropriate placement for the child’s needs.  Mrs. Secalaris also asked if extra help for homework (Homework Club) was available to all students.

Lee Rozycki – Asked if there was a notice sent home for the “Study Island” parent meeting and if it would be possible to have a link to the Study Island website on the school’s site.  Mrs. Rozycki also asked which school was having the “Artist in Residence.”  Dr. Rossi indicated that it was only the Middle School at this time, but would investigate the possibility of expanding it to both schools in the future.  Mrs. Rozycki also thanked the Board for sending out the survey on the before and after care program.

Gail Secalaris – Asked how many days the new part-time Speech Therapist would be working. Dr. Rossi stated that she would be working 2 days per week.  Mrs. Secalaris also asked if there has been any date discussed for the Special Needs Advisory Board.  Dr. Rossi explained that there has been no date set as things are still in the planning stages for this group.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

Motion by Mr. Kish, seconded by Mr. Taggart,

WHEREAS, Section 7 of the Open Public Meetings Act, Chapter 231, P.L. 1975 (R.S. 10:4-13), permits the exclusion of the public from a meeting or portion of a meeting of this public body in certain circumstances; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Education must consider matters involving legal and personnel issues, the disclosure of which could constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy; now

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education adjourn to executive session at 8:03pm to discuss the above mentioned matters to the exclusion of all others.  Matters discussed may or may not be made public this evening.  Any resulting action will be taken after re-entry into regular session.

Vote:  9 – Yes.  Motion carried.

Dr. Rossi, Mr. Gallant, Mr. Taggart, and Mrs. Hatch left during the executive session for discussions on the Superintendent’s contract.

Motion by Mr. Taggart, second by Mr. Kish, that the Board of Education return to regular session at 9:48pm.  Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

Motion by Mr. Kessler, second by Mr. Drake,

(The full text of this resolution is available in the BOE office.)

Motion by Mr. Edinger, second by Mr. Kish,

WHEREAS, at the mutual desire and request of the Lopatcong Township School District (“District”) Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Michael A. Rossi, and the Lopatcong Township Board of Education (“Board”) to adopt a new employment contract for Dr. Rossi to continue to serve as Superintendent of Schools for the District for an additional five years, and Building Principal for another one year;

WHEREAS, the Board has determined that it is in the best interest of the District to rescind the current employment contract with Dr. Rossi, and establish and enter into a new employment contract;

IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED that pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:17-20.1, the current employment agreement between the Board and Dr. Rossi is hereby rescinded effective June 30, 2007; and

IT IS HEREBY FURTHER RESOLVED that the employment agreement between the Board and Dr. Rossi dated February 13, 2007, is adopted and approved by the Board effective July 1, 2007.

Roll call vote:  7 – Yes, 2 – Abstain (Mr. Taggart, Mr. Gallant)  Motion carried.

 

Hearing no further business, the Board adjourned at 9:56pm on a motion by Mr. Edinger, second by Mr. Kessler.  Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

Respectfully submitted,

Paula Hatch

Substitute Board Secretary

 

These minutes are provided as a convenience to the residents of Lopatcong Township and do not constitute the official minutes of the Lopatcong Township Board of Education which are maintained in the BOE Office in the Middle School.