PAULSBORO PUBLIC SCHOOLS Board of Education Meeting PAULSBORO, NEW JERSEY
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
PAULSBORO PUBLIC SCHOOLS Board of Education Meeting PAULSBORO, NEW JERSEY AGENDA MONDAY, JUNE 29, 2020 This Meeting is Being Conducted Remotely (Online) 7:00 p.m. Board of Education Meeting The Board will take official action at this meeting. The meeting is open to the public and comments will be solicited from citizens in attendance. Meeting ID: 766 0281 9779 Meeting Password: 8A51U2 Invite Link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/76602819779?pwd=L3Vwd2h5RmFJazdqaCs5aWgzWHhOdz09 EXECUTIVE SESSION If an Executive Session is needed it will take place near the end of the Open Public Meeting. Prior to entering into Executive Session, the President will inform the public if it plans to conduct any additional business upon the completion of Executive Session. CALL TO ORDER As required by the Open Public Meetings Act as presiding officer, I announce that adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by mailing on Monday, June 22, 2020 to the Paulsboro Clerk, Greenwich Township Clerk, Courier Post, South Jersey Times, Secretary of Greenwich Township Board of Education and by posting the schedule of meetings in a public place reserved for such announcements by the Board of Education. The 2019-2020 Board of Education schedule of meetings was adopted by the Board of Education at the Reorganization Meeting on January 2, 2020. In addition, an announcement that this meeting would be conducted online was placed on the district website, Facebook and Twitter. A phone blast announcement was sent to alert citizens that the information about the online meeting is available on the district website, Facebook and Twitter. As usual, notice of the online meeting was posted in Paulsboro Borough Hall and sent to the newspapers. ROLL CALL Theresa Cooper, Robert Davis, Marvin Hamilton, Crystal L. Henderson, Joseph L. Lisa, William S. MacKenzie, Elizabeth Reilly, Danielle Scott, Irma R. Stevenson, Greenwich Township Representative Gerald Michael, and Student Member Jynise Williams PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE PUBLIC COMMENTS – ITEMS UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION At this time, the public may address the Board of Education. Public Comments will be entered using the Chat icon on Zoom.us Please enter your name, address, and contact information then enter your question or comment. Throughout the meeting, citizens participating online will be “muted” so that they can hear/see the meeting but cannot be heard. CORRESPONDENCE A. Letter from Mario Olsen, candidate for the position of Superintendent of Schools. The letter expresses his thanks for being selected to participate in the interview process. (Attachment) 1 June 29, 2020 B. Letter from Kevin MacKenzie requesting that the Board of Education re-examine the use of a Native American as a symbol of the school’s athletic teams. (Attachment) OLD BUSINESS A. JOY – AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM At the May 26, 2020 meeting of the Board of Education, a member questioned how much homework help was taking place at the JOY After School Program. Please find attached a follow-up email from the leadership of the JOY program. They indicate that the homework portion of the after school program is a struggle because it is difficult for the JOY staff and the classroom teachers to communicate on a daily basis. As a result, the after school teachers must rely on the students to tell them what, if any, has been assigned. (Attachment) The JOY staff suggests that using the Google for Education platform could be helpful with communication between the school day and after school teachers. The Interim Superintendent also feels that there are ways to enhance this communication. He will discuss this matter with the incoming Superintendent prior to the new school year. B. QSAC DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT PLAN As reported previously, the Quality Single Audit Continuum review of the Paulsboro Public Schools for the 2018-2019 school year yielded scores that were below the standards established by the New Jersey Department of Education. As a result, District Improvement Plans must be created in four of the five QSAC areas. This will take a considerable amount of the Interim Superintendent’s, Interim Business Administrator’s, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment’s and Interim Supervision of Special Service’s time. Hopefully the improvement plans will be ready for review by the Board of Education during July 2020. C. NOVEMBER 2020 ELECTION - OFFICES OPEN FOR GENERAL ELECTION Term of Office Incumbents Three (3) three year terms Joseph L. Lisa Crystal L. Henderson William Scott MacKenzie Election petitions are available through the Gloucester County Board of Elections office located at 550 Grove Road, West Deptford, New Jersey. Petition submission deadline to the County Board of Elections Office is Monday, July 27, 2020. D. HIRING OF THE NEW SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS A committee composed of members of the community interviewed and provided feedback to the Board of Education for the two finalists for the position of Superintendent of Schools. These interviews were conducted on Tuesday, June 16, 2020. The Board of Education met in Executive Session on Thursday, June 18, 2020 in order to discuss the two candidates. The Board of Education is expected to meet in Executive Session on Monday, June 29, 2020 to continue this dialog. PENDING ITEMS A. POLICY MANUAL – UPDATE NEEDED The District Policy Manual is out of date and should be updated. This is an appropriate project for the new Superintendent of Schools and the Board of Education. New Jersey School Boards Association or another agency will provide leadership in this area. Currently, the hard copy policy manual does not match what is posted online. The online policies, in some cases, appear to be drafts. Some recently adopted policies do not appear in the hard copy manual or online. B. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING – PAULSBORO EDUCATION ASSOCIATION AND PAULSBORO ADMINISTRATORS ASSOCIATION (THIS IS URGENT) 2 June 29, 2020 At the January 27, 2020 meeting, the Interim Superintendent suggested that the Board of Education might want to select the members who will serve on the Negotiations Committees for the contracts with the Paulsboro Education Association and Paulsboro Administrators Association. These agreements expire on June 30, 2021. Selection of committees now will allow them to review the existing contracts as well as attend training provided by New Jersey School Boards Association. The Interim Superintendent sent the two collective bargaining agreements to New Jersey School Board Association (NJSBA). NJSBA will review the agreements and make suggestions. C. STUDENT-ATHLETE PHYSICALS At the January 27, 2020 meeting, the Board of Education agreed to change the procedure for the approval of student physical examinations for athletic participation. The Paulsboro High School Nurse and Interim Superintendent are working on this project. More information will be forthcoming as soon as it is available. NEW BUSINESS A. RESOLUTION HONORING CHRISTIN GOSS AND KAREN DEWALT Recommend adoption of a resolution honoring Christin Goss and Karen Dewalt for founding and maintaining the Paulsboro Schools Remote Learning Help and Hints Facebook page. Ms. Goss and Ms. DeWalt created the webpage and maintained it throughout the mandated school closing. The webpage included resources for students learning remotely, provided a forum for parents seeking information and served as an outlet for information being distributed by the school administration. This Facebook page made a very positive difference for students, parents and teachers as they faced the challenges of remote learning during a pandemic and a time of social unrest. The Board of Education can present that resolution and other recommended in this agenda in- person when school reopen. B. PROPOSED REDUCTION TO 2020-2021 STATE AID It appears more and more likely that the State of New Jersey will need to reduce the amount of aid provided to schools for the 2020-2021 school year. These changes are the result of revenue shortfalls caused by actions needed to deal with COVID-19. Preliminarily, it looks like the Paulsboro Public Schools will lose approximately $714,000. The Interim Superintendent and Interim Business Administrator are working through various approaches to adjust the budget to accommodate for the lower state school aid amount. BUSINESS REORGANIZATION OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION (ATTACHMENT) REPORT OF THE BOARD SECRETARY/BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT EXECUTIVE SESSION – IF NEEDED WHEREAS the “Open Public Meetings Act:” (Chapter 231 Laws of 1975) authorizes a public body to exclude the public from that portion of a meeting at which specified topics are to be discussed, the Paulsboro Board of Education will meet in Executive Session for the purpose of discussing the following: Personnel, Student Matters, Contracts, Negotiations and Litigation. The matters discussed will remain confidential until the need for confidentiality no longer exists. BE IT RESOLVED: The Paulsboro Board of Education will adjourn to Executive Session to discuss personnel and legal matters the results of which may be made known upon return to regular session or when conditions warrant. 3 June 29, 2020 Note: The Board of Education may return to Open Public Session and may conduct business following the Executive Session. NEXT MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION Regular Meeting Tuesday, July 14, 2020 at 7:00 PM in the Paulsboro High School Library (or via Zoom.us if the school have not reopened) The Board will take official action at this meeting. The meeting is open to the public and comments will be solicited from citizens in attendance via the chat feature of Zoom.us if necessary. MOTION TO ADJOURN 4 June 29, 2020 REPORT OF THE BOARD SECRETARY/BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF A – G: The Greenwich Township Representative may vote on items in this section of the agenda. Informational: The Report of Secretary to the Board of Education as well as associated reports of accounts will be available for review at the meeting or in advance in the Office of the Interim Business Administrator/Secretary to the Board of Education.