Special Public Meeting – Monday, July 9, 2007 MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION Ridgewood Public Schools Bergen County, New Jersey July 9, 2007 Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Board of Education held on Monday, July 9, 2007, at 7:30 p.m. at the Education Center. The meeting was called to order by Mark Bombace, President. I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Present: Mr. Mark Bombace, President; Mr. Joseph Vallerini, Vice-President; Ms. Sheila M. Brogan; Mr. Robert A. Hutton; Ms. Michele Lenhard Also Present: Mrs. Regina Lemerich Botsford, Interim Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment; Mr. Angelo DeSimone, Assistant Superintendent for Business/ Board Secretary; Dr. Brian Bulger, Director of Human Resources Visitors: There were 3 visitors. II. FLAG SALUTE AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mr. Bombace led those present in a salute to the flag. III. OPENING STATEMENT BY PRESIDING OFFICER Mr. Bombace announced that pursuant to the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act, advance notice of this meeting had been given to The Ridgewood News, The Record, and the Clerk of the Village of Ridgewood. In addition, notices were posted in the office of the Board Secretary and in all school buildings. 1 Special Public Meeting – Monday, July 9, 2007 IV. COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC There were no comments from the public at this time. V. BOARD MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS Ms. Brogan mentioned the information about donations accepted by the Board during the 2006-2007 school year, which the Board had received in the recent packet. The total of donations, from Home and School Associations, parents, sports groups, Dads Night, businesses, students, Cub Scouts, staff members, Project Graduation, Ridgewood High School Band Association, Ridgewood High School Theater Alumni and Parents, and Children’s Aid and Family Services, was $242,669. Follow-up information will be provided about donations from the Ridgewood Ice Hockey Foundation and Dads Night. Ms. Brogan mentioned the monitoring update Mrs. Botsford had provided in the recent packet. The district was subject to monitoring as part of the NJQSAC pilot. We will be required to do the Quality Assurance Annual Report (QAAR) in non-QSAC years. Ms. Brogan said she believes the district should seek relief from the QAAR process since we did exceptionally well in the NJQSAC process. Mrs. Botsford said she would begin the process by contacting the County Superintendent’s Office. Mrs. Botsford made a brief presentation on mathematics and mathematics instruction for first graders, highlighting how the use of correct language supports rigorous mathematics. VI. CONSENT ITEMS Mrs. Botsford recommended that the Board approve consent items A and B: A. ADMINISTRATION i. Attendance at Conferences Approval of attendance at conferences as listed on page 6. 2 Special Public Meeting – Monday, July 9, 2007 B. HUMAN RESOURCES i. Appointment PECKIS, Jason – Database System Administrator, $86,000, effective on or about August 15, 2007, through June prorated 30, 2008. ii. Supplemental Work Beyond Contract - 2006- 2007 School Year • Neville Anderson, weekend security, 449.5 hours, at an hourly rate of $11.00, totaling $4,944.50 • Debra LeBlanc, .47 time secretary, mathematics department, Ridgewood High School uncompensated time, 77.25 hours, at an hourly rate of $20.18, for a total of $1,558.91 • Lorraine Zak, district school psychologist, IEP reports, 72 hours, at an hourly rate of $67.51, for a total of $4,860.72 Ms. Brogan moved approval of the recommendation. Mr. Vallerini seconded the motion, which carried by the following roll-call vote: AYES: Ms. Brogan, Mr. Hutton, Ms. Lenhard, Mr. Vallerini, Mr. Bombace NAYS: None VII. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ms. Brogan moved approval of the following minutes: Regular Meeting .........................................June 18, 2007 Special Meeting ..........................................June 28, 2007 Executive Session ......................................June 28, 2007 Ms. Lenhard seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved. 3 Special Public Meeting – Monday, July 9, 2007 VIII. OTHER BUSINESS Discussion: Communications Coordinator/ Public Information Officer Position The Board had received a revised job description for the Communications Coordinator/Public Information Officer position. The title is now Public Information Officer. During the discussion, Board members requested modifications to the job description. Ms. Brogan requested that the salary be reviewed. Update on Interviews with Attorneys Ms. Brogan, on behalf of the committee responsible for general counsel interviews (Ms. Brogan, Mr. Hutton, and Mr. DeSimone), reported on the status of these interviews. She said of the five firms that responded to the RFP, representatives from the following firms had been interviewed by the committee: Fogerty & Hara, Lindebury, Porzio, and Sills Cummis. The committee had completed reference checks on the firms and recommended that the full Board interview representatives from Porzio and Lindebury at the July 23 meeting. During the discussion that followed, Board members discussed hourly rate versus retainer. Following the discussion, it was decided that Mr. DeSimone would inform the other two law firms that they have been eliminated. Discussion: Board Goals Board Members had received a document about last year’s Board goals. They discussed the process of establishing new goals and reporting on the past year’s goals. A Special Public Meeting for this purpose will be scheduled on a Saturday morning in September. It was decided that a facilitator would not be used. New Jersey School Boards Association Policy Manual Review The Board discussed the NJSBA report on the district Policy Manual. Ms. Brogan and Ms. Lenhard agreed to work with Mrs. Dwan on updating the legal references in the policies. The Board will receive information in response to the policies listed as missing in the NJSBA report. Other Mr. DeSimone mentioned that the next day he planned to attend a New Jersey Department of Education meeting about the user friendly budget required by law. Later in the week he planned to 4 Special Public Meeting – Monday, July 9, 2007 attend a meeting sponsored by the Education Law Center, the group that proposes legislation for Abbott districts, about school funding. Ms. Brogan mentioned “Wiping Out Disadvantages: The Programs and Services Needed To Supplement Regular Education for Poor School Children,” a report prepared in 1996 by the Education Law Center, with contributions from former Superintendent Dr. Frederick J. Stokley and others. IX. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Ms. Brogan said two bills have been enacted that will change the New Jersey State Health Benefits Program for school districts to the School Employees Health Benefits Plan. A nine-member commission will oversee the plan. She reviewed some of the provisions of the plan. X. MOTION TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION At 9:00 p.m., Mr. Hutton moved that the Board go into Executive Session to discuss matters pertaining to personnel. Mr. Bombace said the minutes of the Executive Session would be released when the need for confidentiality no longer exists. Mr. Vallerini seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved. XI. RECONVENED PUBLIC MEETING The public meeting reconvened at 10:10 p.m. XII. ADJOURNMENT At 10:12 p.m., on a motion by Mr. Bombace, seconded by Mr. Vallerini, the meeting was adjourned. Angelo DeSimone, Board Secretary Catherine T. Dwan Assistant Board Secretary 5 Regular Public Meeting – Monday, July 23, 2007 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION Ridgewood Public Schools Bergen County, New Jersey July 23, 2007 Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Board of Education held on Monday, July 23, 2007, at 7:30 p.m. at the Education Center. The meeting was called to order by Mark Bombace, President. I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Present: Mr. Mark Bombace, President; Mr. Joseph Vallerini, Vice-President; Ms. Sheila M. Brogan; Mr. Robert A. Hutton; Ms. Michele Lenhard Also Present: Mrs. Regina Lemerich Botsford, Interim Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment; Mr. Angelo DeSimone, Assistant Superintendent for Business/ Board Secretary; Dr. Brian Bulger, Director of Human Resources; Mrs. Catherine T. Dwan, Assistant Secretary Visitors: There were approximately 8 visitors. II. FLAG SALUTE AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mr. Bombace led those present in a salute to the flag. III. OPENING STATEMENT BY PRESIDING OFFICER Mr. Bombace announced that pursuant to the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act, advance notice of this meeting had been given to The Ridgewood News, The Record, and the Clerk of the Village of Ridgewood. In addition, notices were posted in the office of the Board Secretary and in all school buildings. 7 Regular Public Meeting – Monday, July 23, 2007 IV. COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC There were no comments from the public at this time. V. BOARD MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS Ms. Brogan thanked Mrs. Botsford for serving as interim superintendent from July 1 through August 5, 2007, and for the good work she has done and continues to do for the district. At this time, Mrs. Botsford presented the results of the Travell Parent Survey about mathematics. Respondents were asked questions about whether their children like mathematics, whether their children are doing well in mathematics, whether their children are appropriately challenged in mathematics, whether the parents are satisfied with the current math program, the components of a math program they consider important, and whether they had noticed an increase in these components in the second edition of Investigations in Number, Data and Space. She said the survey was conducted in June 2007 and the response rate was 67.4%. The results of the survey appear on the district website in the section called “Math Information for Parents.” Mrs. Botsford said as part of ongoing program development, and considering the parent survey input, Travell and Orchard Schools would be using the new edition of Investigations in Number, Data and Space next year, together with some ScottForesman/Addison Wesley materials for class work and/or homework.