The Bellmawr School Board approved the contract for interim business administrator, Mark Ritter, at its January 25 meeting. Ritter replaces Amy Capriotti, who left to pursue an opportunity in another district.
The contract is effective January 30, 2017 and runs “through a date which will be on or before June 30, 2017.” There is an option to extend the contract based on the Board’s needs and mutual agreement of the parties. Compensation will be $500.00 per day. In addition, a fee of $80.00 per hour for evening meetings other than regular Board of Education (BOE) meetings and monthly Facilities or Finance committee meetings may be charged.
Emergent Projects at E.M. Burke & Bellmawr Park
During the meeting, the BOE also voted to approve all other items on its agenda, including a withdrawal of funds from capital reserve to fund emergent projects at E.M. Burke and Bellmawr Park.
As for E.M. Burke, electrical upgrades were approved in the amount of $58,300 and have been completed, School Superintendent, Annette Castiglione confirmed via email.
Another emergent project was the replacement of HVAC units and boilers in the amount of $217,314.56 at E.M. Burke and Bellmawr Park.
The meeting agenda provided additional information: “The district has been exploring cost effective ways to continually improve the infrastructure in the district facilities. The New Jersey Clean Energy Program allows local government entities (like schools) to participate in cost effective direct equipment replacement. The attached reflects our desire to partner with the New Jersey State pre-qualified company (Hutchinson) to replace the lighting, boilers, and Multi-Purpose Room HVAC units in E.M. Burke and Bellmawr Schools for a fraction of the actual cost.”
Superintendent, Annette Castiglione, provided this additional comment via email: “The second emergent project is a 70/30 grant for new lighting, boilers and roof top units at both elementary schools. We pay 30% [and] Hutchinson Electric pays 70%. It is a great deal for us. This money was in capital reserve and had to be moved out in order to begin the work.”
Board Approves Agenda Items
The BOE voted to approve the bill list in the amount of $1,838,710.69 and the submission of Sustainable New Jersey Grants in the amount of $10,000.
Other approvals included:
Shared Services Agreement with the Borough of Bellmawr
This Shared Services Agreement relates to the purchase of equipment/materials for the maintenance of school parking lots during inclement weather for a term of January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2022.
Professional Development
- Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds, Glenn Cook, will attend NJSBGA Expo 2017 from March 13-15, 2017 at Harrah’s Atlantic City at a cost of $200.00 for registration plus travel.
- Cindy MacAdams, Sue Hubbard and Ashley DeMarco will attend “Fundations Level 2 Training” on February 9, 2017 at a cost of $350.00 each for registration plus travel.
- Annette Castiglione, Beth Calabria, Roseanne Yezzo and Gina Heller will attend “Model Schools Conference” in Nashville, Tennessee from June 24-28, 2017 at a cost of $7,990.00. The funding source is the (Early Childhood Center) ECC grant.
Acceptance of Donations
Rebecca Miller’s Special Education class at E.M. Burke School received the following donations through DonersChoose.org and First Book:
From Donors Choose: Two Dream chairs; Two packs of cozy shades (eight total); one box of Cando exercise bands; 25 writing CLAWs; one box of flip crayons; and six lamps and bulbs to create a calm classroom environment.
From First Book: 44 Magic Tree House Books
Executive Session
The BOE also went into Executive Session and the superintendent confirmed that a motion was made when the Board re-convened.
“We placed an employee on administrative leave and the motion carried,” Castiglione wrote via email.
The BOE will meet next on Wednesday, February 22, 2017 in the Bell Oaks Media Center. Workshop Session begins at 5:00 p.m. and the Regular meeting follows at 6:00 p.m.