March 7, 2024 at 7:00 PM - Work Session Meeting

1. NOTIFICATION OF MEETING
Welcome to a public meeting of the Alexandria Township Public Schools under the Open Public Meetings Act of 1975, also known as the “Sunshine Law.” The District hopes that you will find this meeting informative and instructive, and that citizens are afforded an opportunity to better understand and appreciate the District’s operation and functions.

Under the Sunshine Law, the District must provide notice of all open meetings to allow citizens to attend and observe the deliberations of the District.  This meeting was properly advertised according to the Open Public Meeting Act (P.L. 1975:31) in the Hunterdon Democrat on January 11, 2024, to begin at 7:00 PM at the Alexandria Middle School Media Center, 557 County Road 513, Pittstown, NJ.

2. ROLL CALL
April Abelman
Renee Bagley
Caterina Dobak
Eric Joseph
Marybeth Madlinger 
Marci Nardone
Wanda Quinones
Michael Small
Doug Walker 

3. FLAG SALUTE

4. PRESENTATIONS

5. CORRESPONDENCE
Email from K. Carven

6. BOARD PRESIDENT'S REPORT

7. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT

7.A. Bullying / Suspensions (see details attached)

8. SCHOOL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR/BOARD SECRETARY'S REPORT
Discussion of preliminary 24-25 school budget

9. COMMITTEE REPORTS

10. PUBLIC INPUT - (Agenda Items Only)
The Alexandria Township Board of Education recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves on school matters.  Public participation at board meetings is intended to allow individuals of the public to address the Board on issues of public concern, and is not intended as a forum for extended conversation or two-way dialogue with the Board members and/or District officials.  The Board has set aside a specific section of the agenda, titled Board Discussion of Public Comments, whereby the Board can discuss the public comment topics in open session.

Thus, the Board shall set aside two twenty-minute periods for public comment at each meeting. In order to permit the fair and orderly expression of such comments, public participation shall be governed by the following rules:

1. A participant must be recognized by the presiding officer and must preface comments by announcing his/her name, place of residence, and group affiliation, if appropriate.
2. Each statement made by a participant shall be limited to 5 minutes in duration.
3. No participant may speak on the same topic until all others who wish to speak on that topic have been heard.
4. All statements shall be directed to the presiding officer; no participant may address Board members individually.
5. An individual cannot give his/her time to another individual.

The Board President is responsible for maintaining a respectful environment during public participation, so that public comments can be heard and considered by the Board. The President, therefore, may interrupt or terminate any individual’s speaking privilege if the speaker’s comments are excessively loud, disruptive, obscene, or otherwise in violation of applicable law. Further, an individual may be cautioned that a personally directed statement may be slanderous or defaming and that the individual may be liable for his/her statement.

Examples of unacceptable behavior that will not be permitted include, but are not limited to:  naming District employees and engaging in personal attacks, racial slurs, excessive loudness, calling out, yelling, generally disruptive behavior, attempting to disrupt the meeting or inciting others to do the same.  

Any disregard for the rules of decorum stated above will not be tolerated and may subject the individual or group to removal from the meeting.  If necessary, the board meeting will be adjourned temporarily or until the next scheduled meeting.

11. BOARD DISCUSSION OF PUBLIC COMMENTS

12. OLD BUSINESS
Policy 0164 Conduct of Board Meeting - eliminate "Correspondence"
Policy 0168 Recording Board Meetings - eliminate "The Board Secretary shall make an audio tape of each meeting. The recording shall be permanently preserved as a governmental record in accordance with the Open Public Records Act."

13. NEW BUSINESS
Policy 0171 - Duties of President and Vice President

14. CONSENT AGENDA
Motion made by __________, seconded by __________, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools that the Alexandria Township Board of Education approve the Consent Agenda as follows:

ROLL CALL VOTE:
Abelman____Bagley____Dobak____Joseph____Madlinger____Nardone____Quinones____Small____Walker____

14.A. Finance

14.A.1) Financial Reports
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools that the Board approve the transfers for the months ending January 31, 2024 and February 29, 2024 as submitted by the Superintendent, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:22-8-2.

to accept the monthly financial reports of the Board Secretary and the Treasurer of School Moneys for the month ending January 31, 2024 and February 29, 2024 in compliance with N.J.A.C.6:20-2.13(3) that the Board of Education certify that no major account or fund has been overexpended and that as of this report sufficient funds are available to meet the District's financial obligations for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools that the Board accept the certification of the School Business Administrator, as required by N.J.A.C.6:20-2.13(D), that no line item account has been over expended as of February 29, 2024, and that as of this date sufficient funds are available to meet the District's financial obligations for the remainder of the fiscal year.

14.A.2) Bill List
Resolved upon the recommendation of the Superintendent the Alexandria Township Board of Ed approve the following Bill List:
February 21, 2024 - 
Check #   A12025 - 
Check # B241
Total - $

14.B. Policy
RESOLVED upon the recommendation of the Superintendent the Board approve the       reading of the following policy:

14.C. Approval of Minutes
RESOLVED upon the recommendation of the Superintendent the Alexandria Township Board of Education approves the following meeting minutes:
Meeting Minutes February 22, 2024
Executive Session Minutes February 22, 2024

14.D. Travel and Related Expenses Reimbursed
RESOLVED upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of the Alexandria Township Board of Education approves the attached list of requests for employee/Board Member travel in accordance with the School District Accountability Act. Only overnight stays are eligible for meal reimbursement. Mileage, meals, and lodging reimbursements shall be in accordance with NJ Statute, Code, and NJ Department of Treasury Guidelines. OMB Mileage Reimbursement Rate is $0.35.

14.E. Personnel
RESOLVED upon the recommendation of the Superintendent the Alexandria Township Board of Education approves the following:

14.E.1) Long Term Substitute Nurse
Motion to approve Christina Stoffers as Long Term Substitute Nurse, from March 11, 2024 to April 19, 2024 at the rate of $185/hour, pending completion of the necessary documentation.

14.E.2) Part-time Custodian
Motion to approve Zoraida Ramos de Garcia as part-time Custodian beginning March 7, 2024 at a rate of $18.00/hour, not to exceed 29 hours/week.

14.E.3) Leave Replacement Teacher
Motion to approve Tara Werner as Leave Replacement Teacher from March 25, 2024 until June 12, 2024 at a salary of 1-BA $60,455, prorated.

14.E.4) Leave of Absence
Motion to approve employee #ST243 for a Leave of Absence beginning on March 5, 2024.

14.F. Finance and Facilities

14.F.1) Payment Applications
Motion to approve the following Payment Applications:
Preferred Mechanical - Pay App #21, $39,453.50
DC Systems - Pay App #18, $25,258.17

14.F.2) School Health Insurance Fund (SHIF)
WHEREAS, a number of school boards in the State of New Jersey have joined together to form the SCHOOLS HEALTH INSURANCE FUND hereafter referred to as "SHIF", as permitted N.J.S.A. 18A:18B-1 et seq., and;

WHEREAS, the SHIF has received approval by the Commissioner of the Department of Banking and Insurance on August 10, 2015;

WHEREAS, the statutes and regulations governing the creation and operation of a joint insurance fund, contain certain elaborate restrictions and safeguards concerning the safe and efficient administration of the public interest entrusted to such a school board joint insurance fund;

WHEREAS, the governing body of Alexandria Township Board of Education, hereinafter referred to as "SCHOOL BOARD" has determined that membership in the SHIF is in the best interest of said SCHOOL BOARD.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the governing body of the SCHOOL BOARD hereby agrees as follows:

    i.    SCHOOL BOARD shall become a member of the SHIF for the period outlined in the SCHOOL BOARD's Indemnity and Trust Agreement.

    ii.    SCHOOL BOARD will participate in the following type (s) of coverage (s):

        a.)   Health Insurance as defined pursuant to N.J.S.A. 17B:17-4, the SHIF's Bylaws, and the SHIF’s Plan of Risk Management.

    iii.    SCHOOL BOARD accepts and approves the SHIF's Bylaws and agrees to be bound by the terms thereof.

    iv.    SCHOOL BOARD shall execute an application for membership and any accompanying certifications.

    v.    SCHOOL BOARD agrees to commit to the four principles of the SHIF which are:

        a.)    A long term philosophy on rates.
        b.)    A willingness to work with bargaining units to achieve plan design     changes.
        c.)    Professional management with stability and commitment.
        d.)    Rating structure based on actuarial numbers.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the governing body of the SCHOOL BOARD is authorized and directed to execute the Indemnity and Trust Agreement and such other documents signifying membership in the SHIF as required by the SHIF's Bylaws, and to deliver these documents to the SHIF's Executive Director with the express reservation that these documents shall become effective only upon:

    i.    Approval of the SCHOOL BOARD by the SHIF.

    ii.    Receipt by the SHIF of a Resolution from the SCHOOL BOARD accepting SCHOOL BOARD’s SHIF assessment.

    iii.    Approval by the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance of SCHOOL BOARD as a member of the SHIF.

14.F.3) ATS Lacrosse Teams
Motion to approve students from Kingwood Township School and Holland Township School to participate in Alexandria Township's Girls and Boys Lacrosse programs.

 

14.F.4) ATS Softball Team
Motion to approve Alexandria Township School's Softball Team to participate in Kingwood Township School's Softball program.

14.G. Education

15. PUBLIC INPUT
The Alexandria Township Board of Education recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves on school matters.  Public participation at board meetings is intended to allow individuals of the public to address the Board on issues of public concern, and is not intended as a forum for extended conversation or two-way dialogue with the Board members and/or District officials.  The Board has set aside a specific section of the agenda, titled Board Discussion of Public Comments, whereby the Board can discuss the public comment topics in open session.

Thus, the Board shall set aside two twenty-minute periods for public comment at each meeting. In order to permit the fair and orderly expression of such comments, public participation shall be governed by the following rules:

1. A participant must be recognized by the presiding officer and must preface comments by announcing his/her name, place of residence, and group affiliation, if appropriate.
2. Each statement made by a participant shall be limited to 5 minutes in duration.
3. No participant may speak on the same topic until all others who wish to speak on that topic have been heard.
4. All statements shall be directed to the presiding officer; no participant may address Board members individually.
5. An individual cannot give his/her time to another individual.

The Board President is responsible for maintaining a respectful environment during public participation, so that public comments can be heard and considered by the Board. The President, therefore, may interrupt or terminate any individual’s speaking privilege if the speaker’s comments are excessively loud, disruptive, obscene, or otherwise in violation of applicable law. Further, an individual may be cautioned that a personally directed statement may be slanderous or defaming and that the individual may be liable for his/her statement.

Examples of unacceptable behavior that will not be permitted include, but are not limited to:  naming District employees and engaging in personal attacks, racial slurs, excessive loudness, calling out, yelling, generally disruptive behavior, attempting to disrupt the meeting or inciting others to do the same.  

Any disregard for the rules of decorum stated above will not be tolerated and may subject the individual or group to removal from the meeting.  If necessary, the board meeting will be adjourned temporarily or until the next scheduled meeting.

16. BOARD DISCUSSION OF PUBLIC COMMENTS

17. EXECUTIVE SESSION
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 under circumstances where the public consideration of such topics will clearly endanger the public or where the personal privacy or guaranteed rights of individuals whose activities or affairs are to be discussed would clearly in danger of unwarranted invasion; be it

RESOLVED that the Board of Education of the Township of Alexandria now adjourns its public session to reconvene in Executive Session for the purpose of discussing the following:

___Confidential Matters by Law or Court Order
____Purchase Property
____Personnel Matters
____Invasion of Individual Privacy Employee or Student
____Investigation into Violations of Law
____Suspension, Civil Penalty or Loss of a License or Permit
____Disclosure would Impair District's Right to Receive Funding
_X__School/Public Security
____Collective Bargaining
____Pending, Ongoing or Anticipated Litigation
_X__Budget

And be if further RESOLVED that the matters discussed in Executive Session will be made public when confidentiality is no longer required. 

Motion to Enter Executive Session
Motion made by __________, seconded by __________, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools the Alexandria Board enter Executive Session at _____ to discuss __________.

18. OPEN SESSION
Motion made by __________, seconded by __________, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools that the Alexandria Board return to Open Session at __________.

19. ADJOURN
Motion made by __________, seconded by __________, to adjourn the meeting at __________ .