Middlesex Borough School Board approves routine actions amid parent concerns about renovations, safety and staffing

The Middlesex Borough School District Board of Education on Tuesday approved a slate of routine agenda items — including minutes, personnel actions, education items, policy updates and facilities and finance measures — while hearing extended public comment about school renovations, safety and staffing.

Residents at two public-comment periods pressed the board on several topics. Laura Thomas asked whether the district’s planned work is interior renovation rather than placing a temporary trailer and requested enrollment counts across Parker, Wacham and Hazelwood elementary schools to evaluate balance. "So they need more rooms," she said while asking whether grades or assignments could be redistributed to avoid added construction costs.

A school representative said engineers’ site studies found placing a trailer in the back field would be more expensive and that the architect proposed interior modifications as a less costly option. On repairing a front section of roof, a district official explained that replacing the soffit and the leaking roof section together was recommended by the architect.

Community members also sought clarity about how the district records and publishes incident reports. A resident asked how a single reported incident at the high school was captured in the minutes and whether reporting was by phone, email or another form. An administrator said the district’s posted PIP process governs reporting and that investigations generally start at the building level and can move up to the superintendent and the board.

Volunteering and background checks drew questions. One commenter read Board policy 9180 ("school volunteers") and asked why a volunteer request from a school PTO was limited to people with children in that building. The board’s response clarified that PTO volunteer requests are handled by the PTO, a separate entity, and the district’s volunteer rules and screening processes apply to district-run volunteer opportunities.

Lisa Zaimat, a resident of 5 Bridges Drive, described behavioral issues at Warburg School and urged the board to secure class‑3 officers for campus safety. "This has been going on for three years ... it's totally embarrassing what's going on in Warner School," Zaimat said, citing concerns about students' access to bathrooms, behavioral control and staff turnover. A school official later responded to a related safety concern about outside contractors working near children, stating, "I just confirmed it with the superintendent and as required, they all have to be background checked. That is a requirement for them to work." (paraphrased from public comment and district reply.)

Board business proceeded between public-comment blocks. Personnel committee chair Mister Kudnikovic presented superintendent recommendations for personnel items 9.01–9.13; the board approved the personnel slate with recorded exceptions: Missus Ferranti abstained on 9.12 #5, Missus Bantry recused herself from 9.03 #1, and Mister Perry, Missus Quinn and Missus Reynolds also abstained on 9.12 #5.

Education items 11.01–11.14, presented by education committee chair Missus Brenda Perry, were approved with one recorded abstention: Missus Gwen abstained on 11.11 for Gary Brenner. The board approved policy action items 12.01 and 12.03 as presented, and facilities and finance items 14.01–14.09 were approved after Missus Quinn declared an abstention on 14.01 because she is on the bills list.

On enrollment and registration, the administration said four students remained in the re-registration process from earlier checks and staff were working with families — including through home visits and interpreter support — to finalize paperwork. The district said there is no routine, year-round automated check of residential lease expirations; administrators said reregistration processes and case-by-case follow-up are used when concerns arise.

The meeting closed with a reminder from a board member that the Middlesex County School Board Association monthly meeting is Dec. 3 at Colonial High School, followed by a motion to adjourn that passed by voice vote.

The board did not take up any additional public motions during the meeting; no final timeline was announced for disclosures from the earlier executive session beyond the president’s statement that the matters "will be disclosed to the public as soon as possible once the reason for non disclosure no longer exists."