Salem County special services board approves personnel, contracts and minimum wage increase

The Salem County Special Services and Vocational Technical School Board on Nov. 19, 2024 in Woodstown approved a package of personnel actions, contracts, warrants and policy items, and voted to raise the district minimum wage to $15.49 per hour effective Jan. 1, 2025.

The board approved the Oct. 15, 2024 meeting minutes as recorded in the packet; the minutes item carried with a split roll-call result recorded in the minutes (3 yes, 2 no). The board also accepted agenda addenda for SCVTS personnel and moved through a multi-item consent bundle that included payroll and payments: SCVTS payroll for Oct. 15 ($327,099.73) and Oct. 30 ($310,292.64) and payments for Oct. 2024 ($1,687,048.57). The Special Services payroll and payments approved were listed as SCSSSD payroll Oct. 15 ($456,953.27), Oct. 30 ($458,312.19) and payments for Oct. 2024 ($1,819,635.37). These warrant and payment approvals were recorded as passed on roll call (record shows five affirmative votes where totals are provided).

On recommended business items, the board approved: the minimum wage increase to $15.49/hour (effective Jan. 1, 2025); acceptance of school bus emergency evacuation drill reports; designation of Legacy Benefits Group/New York Life as a voluntary insurance provider for staff; renewal of membership in the Gloucester-Cumberland-Salem School Districts Joint Insurance Fund (SPELLJIF) for a three-year term beginning July 1, 2025; and authorization to use the Square app to collect food-service payments.

The board approved several contracts and agreements: a refrigerated trailer lease with US Foods for the Culinary Club’s Thanksgiving fundraiser (28-foot refrigerated trailer Nov. 21–27, 2024 at $140/day or $800/week plus diesel), a Fitness Machine Technicians preventative-maintenance contract for fitness equipment at $1,289 beginning Dec. 1, 2024, and a Master Training Agreement with Thomas Jefferson University for clinical experiences. The board also approved GCSSD transportation contracts (parts 1 and 2) and an itinerant services agreement for early intervention services with Harrison Township beginning Dec. 1, 2024.

Financial housekeeping actions included approval to void two checks (Ck #2229, $30.01; Ck #2246, $1,001.27) with the reasons noted in the packet, and approval to return $10,756 of unexpended Non-Title I ARP grant funds that the district could not use due to prior accounting/finding adjustments.

The board accepted donations and created new student funds: a $500 donation of electrical supplies from Kelko Electric for the Electrical Program and creation of a Student Activity Fund for the Class of 2028 to support fundraising for trips and events; the regional day school was also noted to have received a $50 gift card donation from ACME Markets.

Personnel approvals covered both SCVTS and Special Services items. The board continued COVID-19 stipends for specified staff (SCVTS: Kimberly Connell-Miller, Level I stipend $2,565; SCSSSD: Jane Smith, Justin Moore and Nadina Brown, Level I stipend $2,500), approved multiple new hires and role changes (including Cheryl Mortimer as a part-time WIOA Title II adult literacy instructor at $32/hour; Tara Wiland as a school bus driver effective Oct. 28, 2024; Caylee Stead as a substitute teacher at $125/day; paraprofessional hires for the Cumberland campus with stated salaries; and stipend payments of $1,312.47 each to two staff who covered payroll duties). The board also accepted resignations recorded in the packet.

Where the transcript does not specify a motion mover or seconder for individual items, the minutes record the roll-call results and totals; the article follows the meeting record rather than inferring missing procedural details. The meeting returned from executive session at 8:16 p.m. and adjourned at 8:19 p.m.

The board packet cited statutory reporting requirements where applicable (for example, Board Secretary reporting under 18A:17-36 and N.J.A.C. 6A:23-2.12).