The adequate notice of this regular meeting as required by the open public meetings act was provided by the posting mailing delivery and filing of this notice on January 9th, 2025. This notice was on that date posted on the bulletin board in township office,
sent to the courier news on tap into Warren and filed with the township clerk of the township of Warren. All in accordance with the requirements of the open public meetings act. Please rise for the pledge. Right. I will now call the role. Mrs.
Dol here. Mrs. Granholm here. Miss Keller here. Mr. Metta. Mr. Mr. Here, Mr. Tor here, Mr. Valentino, Mr. Weinstein, and Mrs. Z here. We have
a forum. Miss Kell resolve that the board of education approves public and private session minutes of May 12th, 2025. You have a second. Second. Right. I'll call the role on the minutes
from last meeting. Mrs. Golden. Yes. Mr. Yes. Miss Keller, yes. Mr. Otto, yes. Mr. Tor, yes. Mrs. Yes. Motion passes 6. Thank you, Dr. Mingle. Correspondence and
information. Thank you. Uh, the board received one email with appreciation for the district arts programming. In the HIP investigation area, there were investigations at Central and the middle school. Both were not confirmed to be incidents of HIV. And in the suspension report, there was a suspension at ALT,
one at Woodland, and two at Warren Real Estate. Thank you, Dr. Mingle. We will now be doing our second of the 2025 year uh annual adoptions. Uh Dr. Mingle, do we have anything?
Okay. Does any board member have any item on annual adoptions for a separate vote of conversation? Seeing none, please call to approve the annual adoption items A through G. We have a second. Second.
Right. I will call the role in the annual adoptions. Mrs. Dalton, yes. Mrs. Grant, yes. Miss Keller, yes. Mr. Otto, yes. Mr. Tour, yes. And Mrs. Yes.
Right. The annual adoptions pass 6. Thank you. Thank you. Um, good evening everyone. Welcome to the June meeting of the board of education. Um, that's it for the 2425 academic year everybody. Um, at least for the students that it is
and I hope that they have a wonderful summer and enriching summer. Please read some books everybody. Um, the staff, the administration and the board have already begun and we'll be spending the summer doing lots of hard work all of our summer work is underway. Uh, so
we're looking forward to a little change of pace. On behalf of the board, I want to extend our thanks to the Warren Middle School PTO for its donation of $1500 to be used to support the purchase of classroom instructional magazine subscriptions and which appears on the agenda tonight as item five for
approval. Thank you very much as always to our wonderful uh Dr. Lingo. Thank you, Mrs. Zan. just to to echo your comments. Uh thank you to all of our students, staff, parents, community members for a great 2024 2025 school year. Today was the last day of
school for our students uh and staff as well. We are back on August 26th for staff, August 28th for our students. Uh really only one announcement which is for the board members tonight. Uh the board self-evaluation was included in my update for the board last Thursday. Uh
we ask that each person fill that out by the end of this week. The results of uh that information gets uh synthesized and brought back to the board in July as part of the board's goal setting for the 202526 school year. If you have any questions or need any help accessing the form, just let me know and I can help
you. Thank you, Dr. Wingle. We have no presentation or discussion item this evening. So, I'm going to move on to a report from board members on external assignments. Um Dolan, I believe you know. Sure. Um, so I attended the Somerset County Educational Services
Commission meeting. Uh, it's a little bit of a mouthful. Um, date. Oh, it was uh June 4th. Um, and this was a reorg meeting. Um, just some brief updates. Uh, they have negotiations underway. They are going very well. Um, something interesting
that they had recently done was um, the kids had a like a a career center kind of activity. activities is not the right word, but um basically some of the older kids worked on creating a small bathroom. So they had um the trades come
in like electrical, tiling, plumbing, and they learned all those skills because um unfortunately the Votech doesn't take special ed. So that was a project that they had uh just recently finished and it went very well. Um they also had taken a trip to Sandy Hook. Um and for many of the kids, that's their
only um beach experience. Um and again that was also a success. Um they talked about how their sports were uh being integrated with regular ed and special ed and those programs were also going very well. Um they have several construction projects going on right
now. Um one of the big ones is for extra space for the counselors and administration and that is almost completed. Just checking my notes here. Uh they have 60 students enrolled for their summer school this year. Um they recently hired a new administration team
and they're working very well. There's two vice principles and two principles. Um and they are all adjusting and um as I said working well together. Um they're working on a new roof and adjusting classrooms for capacity as they are um they are very full with enrollment. Um
and they had 165 students this year. Um and after graduation they are expecting about 135 next year but could get more uh summer enrollments. Thank you Miss Jones. Moving on to committee reports. There is
no report for curriculum and technology. Um the finance operations and security committee met June 3rd. The first item on our agenda and we had a very full agenda um was the evaluation
of the vendor RFPs for the food service program for this coming year and appearing tonight on as item B10 is the committee's recommendation move to move forward with the approval of ministers as the vendor uh for the coming academic year. Um, capital project updates
included PSA referendum proposals and appearing tonight on the agenda as item 17 was the revised proposal for the referendum projects and as item 18 is the woodland restroom proposal. We also discussed uh the year end um uh numbers
the surplus estimate and that's attached to as an agenda to the agenda for the uh the committee. The capital reserve transfer resolution appears tonight as item 11. The emergency reserve transfer resolution recommendation appears tonight as item B12 and the fund balance
procedure updated for the uh next set of academic years appears tonight as item B13. Um we did discuss the Woodland crosswalk sidewalk project that appears on tonight's agenda under new business. So I'm going to defer an update on that
until we get to new business. And then finally, the committee recommended moving forward with an approval to the full board on the garbage bid and that appears tonight as item B6. Um there was a discussion uh regarding the Boomman contract renewal. There are
a couple of routes that the high school has discontinued and those routes will be put back out for a bid for us as well. Um and there'll be more information coming out in future. There is no readout for the personnel negotiation and communication committee.
So, Miss Keller, planning for Yeah, thank you. The planning for group working group met for the first time on June 2nd. As a reminder, this is sort of a spin-off group, if you will, from the
strategic planning work, which uh ended, I would say, winter time frame. The board approved it at the May meeting. One of the pillars of the strategic plan for the next five years is focusing on addressing growth. And so this is going
to be a series of meetings over the next year with a subgroup which is comprised of board members, staff members, parents and importantly community members. We thought it was very important that we are not only talking to people who are
directly connected to the school but also those individuals who live in town, pay taxes, and we want to get their respect as well. Uh I'm going to read the takeaways from this first session that happened on June 2nd. Um the sort of notes, these are captured. Dr. Mingle
had done a great job in sort of summarizing what were the major take from this meeting. So I believe it's my purpose to cover them right now. So special education and preschool needs. Many members were surprised by the scale and cost of our specialized programs.
Several asked for fair information on what these services entail and how they impact facility planning. Growth and development trends. The projected housing growth and its uneven impact on school capacity particularly at Woodland and Central Schools prompted strong interest in demographic data, occupancy
trends and township planning timelines. strategic communication and referendum readiness. Participants emphasize the importance of messaging, community education, and early outreach should a tax referendum be considered. Creative ideas for campaign style engagement
surfaced. Facilities and utilization. Requests were made for building tours, visual layouts, and a better understanding of space usage, including for preschool, special education, and basic inperson lunch such as kitchens, deescalation rooms. Um and then finally
a shared commitment to the process. Uh every survey response so at the end of this meeting we did a a digital survey. Every survey response expressed confidence that participating voices will be heard and respected throughout this process. So the next meeting is scheduled for July 21st and in that
session we'll be focusing specifically on preschool programming. Miss car just as a follow this information is also available in the website isn't Yes, we have a new section on the website. Moving on to public commentary. Uh at
this time, um we will open for the first of two opportunities for public commentary. I ask that anyone interested in addressing the board please raise their hand or use your hand featuring Zoom. Each speaker is asked to limit their comments to three minutes. Please begin your comments by stating your name
and address and directing minutes to no. Please know the board welcomes and encourages input from the public. Um public commentary is an opportunity for the board to receive such input, but it is not intended as a Q&A session. Following public commentary, of the appropriate, the presiding officer or
the superintendent may provide some response. For this first opportunity, we ask that the comments be limited to items that appear on tonight's agenda. There will be a second comment opportunity for all other comments later in the evening. looking first to the audience.
Seeing none, do we have anyone in our Zoom audience that would like to discuss the board on the agenda? Seeing none, do I have a motion to close first opportunity for public comment? Motion. Second. Okay. All in favor? Opposed? Abstain. First opportunity for
public comment is closed. Dr. Mingle, do you have anything on agenda? No, I don't. Does any board member have any agenda item that they would like to pull for separate conversation? Miss Kell
items for consideration A15 720 C1 for A1 for A5 B1 for B5 double check B7 through 20
We have a second. Second. Call the role on the consent agenda. Mrs. Yes. Mrs. Stra. Yes. Miss Co. Yes. Mr. Yes. Mr. Tor. Yes. Mrs. Yes. Motion
pass 6. Thank you. Oops. Sorry. I I should have said this when you gave me the opportunity before business agenda items. The item that was struck from the agenda just for the public's uh knowledge. B six, which was a donation from the
Woodland PTO, is only removed. It will be on the next agenda when we finalize some numbers. It's uh that's the only reason it was struck. Thank you, Dr. Mingle. We have no unfinished business on tonight's agenda. We do have a new business item and this is the Sterling Road crosswalk.
Um just to bring the public up to speed or remind them this is something that's been appearing as a readout in the finance committee now for years. Um we began a conversations um regarding the crosswalk um about two years ago. Uh for
reference we're talking about um uh immediately across from school um the Woods at Warren uh development which sits on Lindberg Road there. Um we have young young people students uh both in
the uh K5 at Woodland as well as high school age students that are crossing the road there. Um anybody who's driven on that road knows that most particularly during the times of schools um you know beginning and ending. It's a highly trafficked area and the
topography of the road does have blind spots which would allow that um drivers to be almost on top of that intersection to see crossing and there's limited visibility for anybody standing on the road there seeking to cross journey at
Lindberg. Uh if they look both directions looking for vehicles it's it's very hard to to cross that road safely. Um this was raised to our attention a couple of years ago and our first responders on on the board actually have been very proactive in uh
keeping this front and center. We have four um entities that have been involved in addressing what to do there. The it's a county road so we have been talking with the county who um uh I think it would be fair to say they
have pledged pledged coordination with anything that we want to do there to address this. the town has contributed um in kind services and formed their engineers uh to assist us in um getting to the right solution and early in the process there was an
understanding between the two uh boards of education that's the board of education was here as well as the high school board uh that there would be a share in the cost of putting a crosswalk sidewalk in at that location to provide safe crossing of pedestrians
during school hours and during non-school hours. Um we were advised and we're pretty far along in the process, but we were advised um a couple of months ago that the high schools uh operations committee did not recommend approving participation to their whole
board and that they were not going to proceed uh with assisting in the cost of of putting in a crosswalk or sidewalk at this location. We did invite them representatives at the high school um to meet with us at the site, hoping to demonstrate to them the safety concerns
that we have and the need to address this. And uh they they did make time in their in their busy days to do that. The president of their board, the chair of their operations committee, their VA, their director of operations joined
myself, Mr. Otto, Mr. table. Um, representatives of the Warren Police Department were present as was the, uh, township engineer. Um, at the last board meeting of the high school, uh, during their readout, they confirmed what we
had been told shortly before that, and that is that they have decided definitively that they will not be proceeding to assist in the cost for installing a crosswalk inside at this location. The finance committee which
has been primarily um focused on this uh is unanimous in its belief that this is a critical safety issue not just for our students but for all pedestrians and in fact the high school students present a
particular problem because their faces are frequently down in their cell phones and they are less attentive when we're crossing that road. Um so um we are bringing it now to the full board. so that the full board can give
us their views on on this topic. I think um I've driven on that road many times and I would agree that it absolutely is necessary, but can you put something there? Um as far as a crosswalk, it people drive way too fast down there and
especially during um you know the arrival and dismissal times of the day. Um it's definitely warranted. Um, and I would just like to share that I'm I'm disappointed to hear that the um John Hills board is no longer going to help finance this as I feel it's affecting
their students as well. So, I don't believe that it should be a burden that's just on our district. Thank you, Miss D. Mr. M. I was just going to echo um what Mr. Dton said. You know, I think it is just
uh frustrating and disappointing that the This is just safety of not only our children but other folks from our community but something is not something else prioritiz
But I certainly support philosophies and not be stupid. So we should really take years. It has been frustrating for Yeah. out and it's just disappointing that we
again been working on this for years transparent about decision making. It's not easy to coordinate these organizations and you know now we're situation and I again fully support you know us supporting the bill for it but
we are just as a community just continuing to grow have more circumstances where we need to coordinated with different county towns and this is really proven it's not proven but I 100%
have to do it as the right Any comments? Mr. Mr. Mr. Would it be fair then to say that the finance committee has the support of the board um in proceeding in the most fiscally responsible way possible to
address this urgent um safety concern. Thank you very much. Okay, going to move on to the second opportunity for public commentary. Uh, this is the second opportunity and it is open to any topic you wish to raise for
Bill's attention. Again, unless we lose the raise your hand feature on Zoom, I would say raise your hand in the audience, but we have no um well, if you're in the audience, raise your hand. Um, remember that comments are limited to three minutes. Please
state your name and address. looking first to the audience. Okay, then looking to the Zoom audience. Last call. Hey, do I have a motion to close public commentary? Second. Okay. All in favor? Opposed?
Abstain. Uh the second opportunity for public commentary is now closed. Um Miss Whereas the open public meetings act NJSA84-11 permits the board of education to meet public session matters now therefore be involved
current session discuss specific perspective or current employees unless all personally effective for the best open session evaluation action will not be taken upon return of public session. The length of the meeting is anticipated to be approximately 30 minutes. Further
resolved. Okay. Do I have a second? Second. All in favor? Opposed? Stayain. The board is in executive session. Okay. Motion to return to open session.
Second. All in favor? I opposed. Stain. The board is in session in public session. And Miss Keller second. All in favor? I opposed. Abstain. The meeting is done. Thanks.