Regular Meeting
South Orange-Maplewood
Board of Education
April 20, 2009
A Regular Meeting of the Board of Education of South Orange-Maplewood was held in the District Meeting Room at the Administration Building, 525 Academy Street, Maplewood, New Jersey, on April 20, 2009.
Board President Mark Gleason called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m.
Adequate written notice of this meeting of the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education was sent to the Township and Village Clerks, the Libraries, The Star Ledger, the News Record and all schools.
ROLL CALL: Present: Mr. Bennett, Ms. Crawford, Mrs. Daugherty, Mr. Eastman, Mr. Gleason, Mr. Huemer, Mrs. Karriem, Dr. Payne-Parrish, Mrs. Wren-Hardin
Absent: Mr. Laine
8 REGULAR MEMBERS AND ONE STUDENT MEMBER PRESENT
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
BOARD RECOGNITION – Read by Ms. Crawford and Mr. Bennett
1. Four Columbia High School students have been selected as members of
The 2009 All North Jersey Area Symphonic Band. Included are
Michael Sender, a senior who plays trumpet; Matthew da Silva, a
junior who plays bassoon; Rob Latz, a sophomore who plays tuba; and
Kip Zenowich, a sophomore who plays baritone saxophone. These
students will rehearse and perform with over 100 of the top student
musicians in North Jersey in a gala concert to be held at Mount
Olive High School. Mr. Peter Bauer, CHS director of bands, is the
students’ music teacher.
2. The CHS Honors Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Mr. Peter
Bauer, has been invited to attend the New Jersey State Band Gala at
Bridgewater-Raritan High School on Sunday April 26th.This formally
recognizes the CHS Honors Wind Ensemble as one of the top high
school bands in the state of New Jersey.
3. Francois Sissoko, sophomore at Columbia High School, and
Cha’Nel Ellis, 7th grader at Maplewood Middle School, were selected
to receive music scholarships from the Donald Johnston Memorial
Fund, which provides private music lessons to talented students in
this community. Cha’Nel is taking private violin lessons from
Maplewood resident Deborah Buck, and Francois is taking private
viola lessons from Columbia music teacher Todd Van Beveren.
4. Columbia High School senior Marvin Pierresaint was awarded the
Foreign Language Educators of NJ Scholarship. He was recognized for
his accomplishments in French, including AP French Literature, and
received a $1,000 scholarship toward college. Marvin’s French
teacher is Ms. Cathi Politi.
5. Columbia High School seniors Sam Bernard and Alixcia Semexant won
first place in their conference in the 2009 Conqueror of the Hill
Student Competition, held at The College of New Jersey. It is an
annual applied engineering/technology/science competition for all
public and private high school students in the state. Each year the
competition focuses on designing and building a “robot” made from
common household items designed to complete a specific task on the
playing field of a plywood hill. This is a head-to-head competition
where two teams at a time compete against one another on the same
hill, incorporating both offensive and defensive strategies in the
design of their robot.Senior Midrash Evra also entered the
competition. All three students are in Mr. Michael Novemsky’s
Physics II class where they worked on this project.
6. Columbia High School seniors Laura David and Jasmine Teng received
the NJ High School 2009 Japanese Language Study Awards sponsored by
Seton Hall University. Each year, Seton Hall’s Japanese Program
honors high school students for their accomplishments and
achievements in Japanese studies. Laura and Jasmine were
recommended by their teacher, Ms. Loretta Graziano, to receive this
award.
7. Columbia High School seniors Dane West and Nick Brown won first
place in the NJ State Safety Council's Statewide Teen Driving
Safety Film Festival Contest.Under the direction of Television
Arts Teacher Anthony Campiglia, the students’ Public Service
Announcement won in the Alcohol/Underage Drinking category. One
statewide winner was chosen in each category and the winning
filmmakers, instructorand school administratorare invited to
attend the awards luncheon in Atlantic City on Wednesday, April
22nd, at Trump Plaza. The winning entries will also be shown
throughout the 2009 Mid-Atlantic Safety& Loss Control Expo in
Atlantic City on April 21-23.
Dane West also won first place in the Derek Freese High School Film
& Video Festival 2009 for an episode of"Senior Class Cougars" that
he created.
8. Bridget Sherman and Carolyne Leys, 5th graders at Jefferson School,
were first runners up in the Foreign Language Educators of NJ
Podcast competition. The theme of the podcast contest was “Having
Fun with World Languages.” Students were asked to create an
original podcast in the target language. Their Spanish teacher is
Ms. Laurence Seltzer and their classroom teacher is Ms. Suzanne
Ryan.
9. Two Columbia High School students garnered state championships in
fencing.
Columbia sophomore Brian Kaneshige won the NJSIAA Individual State
Foil Championship with an undefeated record of 57-0. He helped his
foil squad take 1st place at the Districts and finish 2nd in the
State Squad Tournament. Brian also won the District 3 Individual
Foil crown and led the foil squad to a 2nd place finish at the
Cetrulo Tournament. His experience extends to national and
international competitions where he is ranked 6th in Cadets, 8th in
Juniors, and 14th in Seniors in the United States. He recently
finished 2nd at the Junior Olympics. Brian has been named Fencer of
the Year by the Star-Ledger. Mr. Darryl White is the boys fencing
coach.
Columbia junior Faizah Muhammad won the NJSIAA Individual State
Sabre Championship and finished the season with an impressive 53-3
record. She lead her team to a 2nd place finish at the Santelli
Tournament, won the District 3 Individual Sabre title, and was
named to First Team Iron Hills Conference and First Team All-State
for the 2008-09 season. Faizah also competes on a national level,
ranking 13th in Juniors and finishing 2nd at the Junior Olympics.
Ms. Holly Buechel is the Girls Fencing Coach.
10. The Columbia High School Boys and Girls Track Teams won top awards
at The Nike Indoor Nationals in Boston, Massachusetts and qualified
for All-American Honors after finishing in the top six of their
specific events. Under the direction of Coach Lisa Morgan, the
teams met stiff qualifying standards in order to participate in the
Nike event, the highest national athletic honor that a student
track athlete can achieve.
The Columbia boys 4x400 meter relay team ran a time of 3:23.07,
setting a new school record and finishing 5th in the nation. This
is the second fastest time in NJ this year. The team members
include Kharique Bell, Stephen Wiggins, Terry Anderson, and DJ
Roberts.
Terry Anderson competed in the Pentathlon for the first time and
finished 7th overall and McNisky Jeantus competed on the Boys 4X200
meter relay team that finished 11th overall.
The Columbia girls team, including TyVonna Johnson, Kelsey Jackson,
Kayann Richards and Brittney Jackson, competed in both the Sprint
Medley Relay and the 4x400 meter relay, finishing 4th in the nation
in both events. The teams’ times of 4:07.50 and 3:53.99 make their
wins in both events the second fastest times in the state of NJ for
those events this year.
Other members of the girls team participating in events at the
Nationals include Melissa David and Jade Johnson in the 4x800 meter
relay, Jasmine Carter in the 60 meter dash and freshmen Ayaana
Smith and Brittany Padmore.
Prior to the Nationals, Coach Lisa Morgan was selected by her peers
as the Essex County Track Coach of the Year for both the boys and
girls teams. This wasa first time achievement for any Essex County
track coach.
11. Columbia High School junior Henry Scott and sophomore Priya Duvvuri
competed in the NJSIAA High School State Championships held in
Sewell, NJ for the fastest swimmers in the state.
Henry tied for 2nd place in the 100 Yard Butterfly in a time of
50.01 seconds, which not only smashed his previous school record,
but is an automatic qualifying time for High School All-American.
The winner in this event touched out Scott in just 9/100ths of a
second. Scott also got 6th place in the 200 Yard Freestyle in a
time of 1:43.40 which is a new CHS record. Both times are also
personal bests.
Priya placed 16th in the 100 Yard Butterfly which puts her in the
top 16 fastest in the state. Her fly time of 59.98 seconds broke
her previous CHS record in that event. She also competed in the
100 yard Backstroke in a time of 1:00.32 which is a new Columbia
High School record. Both times are personal bests.
BOARD ACKNOWLEDGEMENT – Read by Mr. Gleason
The Board of Education acknowledges and extends its thanks and appreciation to Rena Spangler, from Keller Williams of Maplewood and a
South Orange Middle School parent, who donated a small fish tank and four art supply carriers to South Orange Middle School. The items are valued at approximately $200.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Mr. Gleason declared the minutes of the Executive and Public Sessions of March 16, 2009, and the Special Meeting of April 13, 2009 approved as presented.
HEARING OF INDIVIDUALS AND DELEGATIONS
Name Topic
Sheila Belt Requested status of district task force on District Parent student placement.
Superintendent Osborne provided an update on the school day on Friday, April 17th that was a make up day for the extra snow day in March.
DISCUSSION
English Language Arts
Mr. Osborne introduced Rosetta Wilson, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction who provided an update on the progress being made in the English Language Arts department.
The recent audit focused on four key areas:
§ Policy
§ Curriculum development and implementation
§ Professional development
§ Assessment
Specific findings and recommendations were made to address curricular and instructional deficiencies. Goals for improvement in the key areas were detailed and include:
§ Develop clear curriculum objectives
§ Conduct frequent and common assessment
§ Expand professional development
The presentation was followed by discussion among the board members [powerpoint presentation is on file in Board Secretary’s office].
Community Engagement Outreach Committee
Ms. Karriem announced two workshops on District Goals on May 7th and 11th in the Columbia High School library. The public is invited to attend.
Policy Committee
Mr. Eastman introduced the second reading of the following policies and provided background, and the first reading of 5514.
Second Reading: 0142.1 – Nepotism
Second Reading: 0147 - Board Member Compensation and Expenses
Second Reading: 0165 – Voting
Second Reading: 1220 - Employment of Chief School Administrator
Second Reading: 1620 - Administrative Employment Contracts
Second Reading: 2460 - Special Education Services
Second Reading: 5120 - Assignment of Pupils
Second Reading: 6360 - Political Contributions
Second Reading: 6423 - Expenditures for Non-Employee Activities, Meals and Refreshments
Second Reading: 6470 - Payment of Claims
Second Reading: 6471 - School District Travel
Second Reading: 6510 - Payroll Authorization
Second Reading: 6830 - Audit and Comprehensive Annual Final Report
Second Reading: 6832 - Conditions of Receiving State Aid
Second Reading: 7410 - Maintenance and Repair
Second Reading: 7650 - School Vehicle Assignment, Use, Tracking, Maintenance, and Accounting
Second Reading: 9120 – Public Information Program
First Reading: 5514 – Pupil Use of Vehicles
Committee Structure
Mr. Gleason proposed the addition of committees to deal with measurement, curriculum and personnel. Discussion followed.
ITEMS FOR ACTION
MOTION made by Ms. Crawford, seconded by Mr. Bennett, that the Board of Education:
2487A. RETIREMENT – Read by Mr. Gleason
Name / ASSIGNMENT / EFFECTIVE DATERabke,
Anne Marie / School Nurse
CHS – 1.0 FTE / 7/1/09
2487B. RESIGNATIONS
Name / ASSIGNMENT / EFFECTIVE DATEPepe,
Laura / T Kindergarten
MAR – 1.0 FTE / 7/1/09
Secor,
Melanie / 4th Grade
CLIN – 1.0 FTE / 7/1/09
2487C. SUSPENSION
Name / EFFECTIVE DATE / SALARYEmployee # 685 / 2/10/09
4/20/09 / w/Pay
2487D. LEAVES OF ABSENCE
NAME / ASSIGNMENT / EFFECTIVE DATEChambliss,
Shadiyqah / Secretary
MM
1.0 FTE / 3/2/09-3/31/09
3 Unpaid Days
(Intermittent FMLA)
Colon,
Geraldine / LDTC
DIST
1.0 FTE / 3/27/09-5/11/09
(Paid Maternity Leave)
5/12/09-6/30/09
(Unpaid FMLA)
Evans,
Catherine / T KDG
MAR – 1.0 FTE / 3/10/09-3/27/09
(Unpaid FMLA)
Leary,
Karen / T Special Education
JEFF
1.0 FTE / 12/23/08-3/17/09
(Paid Maternity Leave)
3/18/09-3/31/09
(Unpaid FMLA)
Ooi,
James / T Mathematics
CHS - .1 FTE / 9/1/09-6/30/10
(Unpaid Personal Leave)
Spencer,
Jourdan / T Special Education
JEFF
1.0 FTE / 2/11/09-4/2/09
(Paid Maternity Leave)
4/3/09-4/22/09
(Paid Sick/Personal Days)
4/23/09-6/30/09
(Unpaid FMLA)
2487E. STIPENDS
NAME / ASSIGNMENT / EFFECTIVE DATE / SALARYCampbell,
Jon / Mock Trial
CHS - .5 FTE
Junior States of America
CHS - .5 FTE / 2/1/09
6/30/09
2/1/09
6/30/09 / -$1,417
-$1,417
Rachel,
Anicel / Mock Trial
CHS - .5 FTE
Junior States of America
CHS - .5 FTE / 2/1/09
6/30/09
2/1/09
6/30/09 / $1,417
$1,417
2487F. SALARY ADJUSTMENTS
NAME / ASSIGNMENT / EFFECTIVE DATE / ADJUSTMENT / ACTUAL SALARYBetcher,
Sue / School Social Worker
DIST - .2 FTE / 3/20-4/30/09
(25 days) / $78.73
(per day) / $1968.38
Gaskins,
Lena / School Bus Aide
DIST - .5 FTE / 3/2-31/09
(40 hours) / $4.47
(per hour) / $178.80
LaVolpe,
Marge / LDTC
DIST - .2 FTE / 3/20-4/30/09
(25 days) / $88.58
(per day) / $2,214.63
Nowak,
Dawn / School Psychologist
DIST - .2 FTE / 3/26-4/30/09
(21 days) / $54.43
(per day) / $1,142.99
Santoro,
Barbara / T Music
DIST - .6 FTE / 3/20-3/27/09
(6 days) / $236.20
(per day) / $1,417.23
Schwinder,
Phoebe / School Social Worker
DIST - .2 FTE / 3/26-4/30/09
(21 days) / $86.58
(per day) / $1,818.29
Van Kline,
Mark / School Bus Aide
DIST - .5 FTE / 3/2-31/09
(56 hours) / $4.56
(per hour) / $255.36
2487G. APPROVE JOB DESCRIPTIONS
REVISED: ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
ELEMENTARY READING SPECIALIST
NEW: ELEMENTARY MATHEMATICS SPECIALIST
READ 180 TEACHER
[Job descriptions on file in Board Secretary’s
office].
2488A. APPOINTMENT OF SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS FOR THE 2008-2009 SCHOOL YEAR
STATE CERTIFIED TEACHER
NAME
/INSTITUTION
/DATE
/DEGREE
Jones,Nancy / Park College / 5/1977 / BA
Lazzari,
Briget / Penn State University / 12/2007 / BS
Livingston,
Angela / University of Idaho / 5/1994 / BS
Riemer-Schachtel,
Beth / Northwestern University
Yeshiva University / 6/1983
6/1985 / BS
MSW
COLLEGE GRADUATE AND COUNTY SUBSTITUTE CERTIFICATE