Cation Tuesday Evening, August 30, 2016 Held at the Hegelein Building, 500 Tenafly Rd., Tenafly, Nj
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MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE TENAFLY BOARD OF EDUCATION TUESDAY EVENING, AUGUST 30, 2016 HELD AT THE HEGELEIN BUILDING, 500 TENAFLY RD., TENAFLY, NJ DATE _ __c;_,____/;'---'-/...:;__'_l__:__~ _r;_ _ APPROVED --~'4'1-111f/'--f-.~7"1lkH+14f--JVlL.L-/ ___ MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE TENAFLY BOARD OF EDUCATION TUESDAY EVENING, AUGUST 30, 2016 HELD AT THE HEGELEIN BUILDING, 500 TENAFLY RD., TENAFLY, NJ The meeting was called to order at 7:20p.m. by Board President Lynne W. Stewart who read the following statement: "The New Jersey Open Public Meetings Law was enacted to insure the right to the public to have advance notice of and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon." In accordance with provisions of this act, the Tenafly Board of Education has caused notice of this meeting to be publicized by having the date, time and place thereof posted at the Borough office, Tenafly Public Library, administrative building, in the local press and on the district's web site. On roll call, the following Board members answered present: Sam A. Bruno* April Uram Janet I. Horan Eileen D. Pleva Sherri Rothstein Lynne W. Stewart Edward J. Salaski * Arrived at 8:00 p.m. The following Board member was absent: Mr. Mark Aronson The following staff members were absent for the Closed Session: Ms. Lynn Trager, Superintendent Ms. Barbara Laudicina, Assistant Superintendent Mr. Yas Usami, Business Administrator/Board Secretary A motion was made by Mr. Edward J. Salaski and seconded by Ms. Sherri Rothstein that the Board convenes in Closed Session according to the following: WHEREAS, the Tenafly Board of Education has been formed pursuant to applicable New Jersey Statutes; and WHEREAS, the Board is charged with the responsibility of performing all acts and doing all things, consistent with law and the rules of the State Board of Education, necessary for the lawful and proper conduct, equipment and maintenance of the public schools and public school property of the Tenafly Public School District; and WHEREAS, Section 7 of the Open Public Meetings Act (N.J.S.A. 10-4-12) permits the exclusion of the public ("Closed Session") from a meeting of the Board in certain circumstances; and WHEREAS, the Board has determined that circumstances exist for such a Closed Session; WHEREAS, the Board has found the action described below to be necessary and proper; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board on the date indicated above that: 1.) The public shall be excluded from discussion of and action on the Closed Session herein set forth. 2.) The subject matter to be discussed is as follows: - Personnel 3.) The Board will return to Open Session at approximately 8:00 p.m. No formal action will be taken. The motion was approved by those present. Mr. Mark Aronson was absent for the meeting, and Mr. Sam A. Bruno was absent for the Closed Session. The meeting recessed to Closed Session at 7:20 p.m. The meeting reconvened from Closed Session at 7:50 p.m. The meeting was called to order at 8:00 p.m. by Board President Stewart who read the following statement: "The New Jersey Open Public Meetings Law was enacted to insure the right to the public to have advance notice of and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon." In accordance with provisions of this act, the Tenafly Board of Education has caused notice of this meeting to be publicized by having the date, time and place thereof posted at the Borough office, Tenafly Public Library, administrative building, in the local press and on the district's web site. On roll call, the following Board members answered present: Sam A. Bruno April Uram Janet I. Horan Eileen D. Pleva Sherri Rothstein Lynne W. Stewart Edward J. Salaski The following Board member was absent: Mark Aronson Minutes of the Regular Public Meeting of August 30, 2016 Page 2 The following staff members were present: Ms. Lynn Trager, Superintendent Ms. Barbara Laudicina, Assistant Superintendent Mr. Yas Usami, Business Administrator/Board Secretary Also present: Ms. Suzanne Bassett, Assistant to the Superintendent for Special Services Ms. Terry Collins, Assistant to the Superintendent for Human Resources Mr. Brian Cory, Vice Principal of High School Ms. Stewart opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by Ms. Sherri Rothstein and seconded by Ms. Eileen D. Pleva to approve the Minutes of the Regular Public and Closed Executive Meeting of July 19, 2016. The Minutes of the Regular Public and Closed Executive Meeting of July 19 were approved as follows: Yes- 4 Janet I. Horan Abstain - 3 Sam A. Bruno Sherri Rothstein April Uram Edward J. Salaski Eileen D. Pleva Lynne W. Stewart Absent - 1 Mark Aronson No- 0 BOARD PRESIDENT'S REPORT Ms. Stewart explained the interview process for the interim Board vacancy position (for term August 30- January 5, 2017). Out of the seven applicants who submitted letters of interest, four were available for interviews on August 23. The Board was pleased with the caliber of the candidates. The Board reviewed and considered all submitted letters of interest and resumes, and decided to appoint Mr. Richard Press, former Board member and Board President, considering the position is only for four months and the challenging learning curve needed in such a short time. Ms. Stewart stated that normally the Board prefers to appoint a new member for an interim position to give them the experience and opportunity to join the Board in the future, as was the case with Ms. Horan and Ms. Rothstein. Ms. Stewart stated that the Board is very fortunate to have Mr. Press fill the vacancy as he is a highly qualified Board trustee and caring of the Tenafly community. Ms. Stewart asked the Board for motions for Resolution B-1. Minutes of the Regular Public Meeting of August 30,2016 Page 3 A motion was made by Mr. Edward J. Salaski and seconded by Ms. Janet I. Horan to approve Resolution B-1. Ms. Stewart asked the Board if they had any questions or comments on Resolution B-1. Mr. Bruno reminded Ms. Stewart that there was a third former Board member who was appointed to an interim term and then was elected to serve on the Board. In addition, Mr. Bruno stated he wished to express his opinion from a matter discussed in Executive Session. Ms. Stewart clarified the rules of Board law concerning Executive Session discussions and stated Board members cannot quote what was said in Executive Session. The Board discussed the semantics and theoretics of this issue, and Mr. Bruno decided not to express what he said in Executive Session. RESOLUTION B-1 APPOINTMENT OF TENAFLY BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBER BE IT RESOLVED that the Tenafly Board of Education appoints Mr. Richard H. Press to fill the unexpired term of Ms. Stephanie Addison-Fontaine (which was effective July 5, 2016), and terminating at the next Organization Meeting of the Board on January 5, 2017. Resolution B-1 was voted upon and approved as follows: Yes- 6 Janet I. Horan No 1 Sam A. Bruno Sherri Rothstein Edward J. Salaski Abstain- 0 April Uram Eileen D. Pleva Absent- 1 Mark Aronson Lynne W. Stewart Ms. Stewart welcomed Mr. Press and asked him to come forward to take the oath of office. ADMINISTERING OF OATH TO NEW BOARD MEMBER Mr. Vas Usami administered the Oath of Office to Mr. Press. Mr. Press officially took his seat as a member of the Tenafly Board of Education, and the Board and administration congratulated him. PRESENTATION PRIDE SURVEY RESULTS Before the presentation, Ms. Laudicina reminded the Board that back in December, our 81h, 1oth and 1ih graders participated, with parental consent, in the Pride Survey which measures attitudes and behaviors regarding substances and substance abuse. Minutes of the Regular Public Meeting of August 30, 2016 Page4 Dr. Katherine Roberts, Adjunct Associate Professor from Columbia University, and Ms. Susan Maher, Educational Health Consultant and Co-Director ofWellcore, presented the survey results. Ms. Maher explained that the Pride Survey, based on a national survey, is taken across the country and gives a snapshot of students' use of substances, their perception of harm of these substances, their parents opinions on the subject, and if their parents are discussing this subject with their children. The survey is a grade baseline data to receive funding from the federal government for school and community programs. Dr. Roberts described the results of the survey and overall trends of the Tenafly school district, and gave suggestions on what to focus on for further education on preventing substance abuse. Dr. Roberts stated the survey is a good way to see what prevention and intervention programs districts may need. The participation rate in our district was about 30% of our student population, which is considered a large portion surveyed. The survey is an active consent or "Opt In" survey requiring signatures. Dr. Roberts explained that the results of the Tenafly district survey are compared to the national survey results. Nationally, the three major substances of use, in order, are alcohol, marijuana, and e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes are more popular and have basically replaced tobacco product use among students. Following the chart results for alcohol use, Dr. Roberts stated the 1ih grade results for Tenafly are of concern, as they are significantly higher than the national level; and she suggested the message about binge drinking should be addressed in our school district.