1 May 11, 2011 a Regular Public Meeting of the Board of Education
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
May 11, 2011 A Regular Public Meeting of the Board of Education of the Township of Teaneck, County of Bergen, New Jersey, was held in the 3rd Floor Student Center at the High School, 100 Elizabeth Avenue, Teaneck, New Jersey, on Wednesday, May 11, 2011, at 8:02 p.m. Dr. Ardie Walser, President of the Board, presided. FLAG SALUTE PRESIDING OFFICER’S MEETING NOTICE STATEMENT “I hereby call to order the Regular Public Meeting of the Teaneck Board of Education, held on Wednesday, May 11, 2011, in the 3rd Floor Student Center at the High School, 100 Elizabeth Street, Teaneck, New Jersey. Adequate notice of this meeting has been sent to The Record, The Suburbanite, filed with the Municipal Clerk of the Township of Teaneck and posted inside the Teaneck Board of Education, One Merrison Street, on Friday, May 6, 2011.” ROLL CALL Board Members Present: Dr. David Diuguid Mrs. Margot Embree Fisher Mr. Sebastian Rodriguez Mr. Howard Rose Mrs. Clara Williams Mrs. Gervonn Rice Dr. Ardie Walser Absent: Mr. Herbert Burack Dr. Henry Pruitt Others Present: Ms. Barbara Pinsak, Interim Superintendent of Schools Mr. Robert Finger, Business Administrator/Board Secretary Please Note: It may be necessary, from time to time, to remove or make changes in a motion(s) between the time this agenda is prepared and when the Board takes action. This will be accomplished by an actual removal or change in the motion and noted on the Errata and Change Sheet, or will be announced by the Board President at the start of the meeting. 1 Superintendent’s Report May 11, 2011 Congratulations to the talented Teaneck High School students who entertained us so well at PTSO/SAC sponsored Talent Show on Thursday, May 5th! The performances were outstanding as was the appreciation of the student and adult audience. Teaneck High School is definitely in the news this week as it was announced that Teaneck High School principal, Angela Davis, has been named to the governor’s Education Transformation Task Force, which will be chaired by former New Jersey Commissioner of Education David C. Hespe. Kudos to Ms. Davis, who states that she will represent Teaneck well! NJASK testing was completed for students in grades 6-8 last week, with students in grades 3-5 in the middle of their assessments. Schools report that the testing is going well. We wish to thank the parents and guardians for providing that “little extra” support during this stressful time for our students. We expect to receive results early in the summer. Almost 40 members of the Teaneck Crew Team will head to Philadelphia next week to compete in the Stotesbury Cup Regatta, the largest high school regatta in the nation. We wish the team fair weather and smooth rowing as they participate in this exciting opportunity. Please join me on Sunday, May 15th, for the monthly Sunday with the Superintendent meeting, held at Eugene Field School from 2-4 in the afternoon. These meetings have no formal agenda. Instead, they are an opportunity for me to hear ideas and concerns from our parents and community members and to answer questions about policies and programs. Please mark May 25th on your calendar. The Teaneck Public Schools will honor teacher, mentor and coach Cheryl Miller-Porter at 7 PM in the high school auditorium. Mrs. Miller-Porter is being honored through the renaming of the high school student center to The Cheryl Miller- Porter Student Center. Speakers and performances in the auditorium will be followed by a reception in the student center itself. The event is free of charge but tickets obtained in advance will be required for admittance. The District website has ticket information or you may call 201-833-5533 to reserve them. MAY 11, 2011 PRESENTATION – ACE PROGRAM Students - Teaneck High School PUBLIC HEARING ON MEETING AGENDA The public hearing on matters appearing on this meeting’s business agenda commenced at 8:37 p.m. and closed at 8:44 p.m. The following persons were recognized and addressed the Board on the indicated agenda matter. Alan Sohn, resident – received an excited phone call by a school member concerning the rowing machine he was donating happy to see that it will be put to good use. Wants to make sure that the public school parents are aware that there will no longer be any courtesy busing in the district and how is the district taking care of this. Regina Melnick, teacher – wanted to thank the SAC program and everyone involved in the talent show at the High School for all there time and effort. FORMAL BUSINESS AGENDA The Board of Education took the following actions on the business agenda items for this meeting. 3 BOARD POLICY MAY 11, 2011 Motion made by Dr. Diuguid seconded by Mr. Rodriguez: 4. the Board approved SECOND READING of the following Board Policies: [1140] Affirmative Action Program NEW [1523] Comprehensive Equity Plan REVISED [1530] Equal Employment Opportunities REVISED [1550] Affirmative Action Program to Employment and REVISED Contract Practices [2260] Affirmative Action Program for School and REVISED Classroom Practices [6360] Political Contributions NEW [8611] Subscription Busing NEW Roll call on Board Policy Motion #4; Motions approved 7-0. 4 BOARD OPERATIONS MAY 11, 2011 Motion made by Dr. Diuguid seconded by Mr. Rodriguez; 32. the Board approved and adopted the following meeting schedule for the period June 1, through June 22, 2011. The Board resolves, herewith, to meet in executive (Non-Public) session on the dates and for the purposes indicated in the schedule. The Minutes of such discussion shall be available promptly when the need for confidentiality no longer exists. The Board reserves the right to call executive sessions not included in the schedule. An appropriate resolution calling an executive session shall be made in a prior public meeting in accordance with C.231, L. ’75. Day Date Time Location Type Agenda___ Wed. 06/01/11 6:30 P.M. E.F.S.D.R. E.S. HOLD Wed. 06/01/11 8:00 P.M. E.F.S.D.R. W.S. Review of 06/08/11 Agenda Wed. 06/08/11 6:30 P.M. T.H.S.2nd Floor E.S. HOLD Media Center Wed. 06/08/11 8:00 P.M. T.H.S. 3rd Floor R.P.M. Regular Student Center Business Agenda Wed. 06/22/11 8:00 P.M. E.F.S.D.R. S.P.M. Business Agenda 33. the Board approved the following Minutes for the April 6, 2011 Workshop Meeting and the April 13, 2011 Regular Public Meeting. 5 BOARD OPERATIONS MAY 11, 2011 34. the Board approved the following resolution: WHEREAS more charter schools have been created by the New Jersey Department of Education in the past year, and WHEREAS, the state intends to continue to increase the number of charter schools, and WHEREAS, there is no criteria for charter school formation and monitoring that is based on student academic performance in the home district or charter school, and WHEREAS, local voters have no say over the creation and tax-based financing of charter schools in their districts, and WHEREAS, a charter school is a financial burden on a home district that may cause a loss of programs and instruction, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT, the Teaneck Board of Education supports local referendums on charter schools, and seeks guidelines on the creation and extension of charters based on student academic performance and further, that this resolution be sent to the New Jersey School Boards Association and all state legislators representing the Teaneck Public Schools for their consideration. Roll call on Board Operations Motion #32 and 34; Motions approved 7-0. Roll call on Board Operations Motion #33; 5-0, Mr. Rose and Mrs. Williams abstained on Motion #33. 6 SCHOOL OPERATIONS & CURRICULUM MAY 11, 2011 Motion made by Dr. Diuguid seconded by Mr. Rodriguez; 63. the Board authorized submission of a grant proposal to the New Jersey Agricultural Society for a Learning Through Gardening Grant for Whittier and Hawthorne Schools for the period September 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012. 64. the Board authorized submission of a two-year grant proposal to the Bank of America Neighborhood Builders Program for Teaneck Women Train and Work (TW2) in the amount of $100,000 each year for the period September 1, 2011 through August 31, 2013. 65. the Board approved compensation to Plethora Media Group to present the “Picture of Success” program to students enrolled in the PASS (Police/Parents And School Student) program (juvenile delinquency prevention), in an amount not to exceed $700. The Juvenile Justice Grant funds this program. Account # 20-009-100-300-73-50-G-H 66. the Board authorized submission of a grant proposal to the Bergen County Utilities Authority for an Environmental Awareness Challenge Grant for Whittier School for the period of September 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012, in an amount not to exceed $1000. 67. the Board recognized and sanctioned the Teaneck High School Project Graduation event following graduation on the evening of June 23, 2011 and the morning of June 24, 2011. The event will be funded by the Teaneck High School PTO. Furthermore, the Board authorizes the School Business Administrator to sign all related documents and contracts. Roll call on School Operations & Curriculum Motion #63-67; Motions approved 7-0. 7 FINANCE & BUDGET MAY 11, 2010 On a Motion made by Dr. Diuguid seconded by Mr. Rodriguez except motion #218; 200. the Board approved payment of the following 2010-11 bills and payroll, as detailed in lists attached to the Minutes of this meeting, including adjustments to previously approved bill payments, and that the Business Administrator/Board Secretary be hereby authorized to release the warrants in payments of these bills: MARCH 1, 2011 through MARCH 31, 2011 Fund 10 $8,070,363.64 Fund 20 278,966.96 Fund 30 9,959.25 Fund 60 74,608.38 Fund 61 252,317.49 Total of Approved Payments $8,686,215.72 201.