Franklin Borough Board approves staff appointments, policy updates and contracts ahead of 2024-25 school year

The Franklin Borough School District Board of Education on Aug. 12 approved a slate of personnel actions, policy adoptions and finance items to prepare for the 2024-25 school year.

Superintendent John R. Giacchi provided an operations update and timelines for the start of school, and the board moved through several personnel resolutions. The board rescinded two previously approved paraprofessional appointments, accepted the resignation of part-time paraprofessional Ryan Silvestri effective June 30, 2024, approved unpaid leave dates for employee Joyce Carr, and appointed staff including Sara Blondina as long-term substitute special education teacher and Savanah Rivera as a full-time speech-language pathologist (MA Step 7), pending completion of required paperwork.

The board amended full-time equivalents for multiple paraprofessionals (Erika Alonso, Lisa Davis, Michelle Maher, Nicole Paragh and Kelly Walters to .75 FTE), approved extra summer hours for Child Study Team staff (up to 10 hours each at listed hourly rates), and authorized supplemental pay and substitute appointments. The board also approved substitute-teacher stipends for specified paraprofessionals with annual stipend amounts recorded.

On policy matters the board approved second readings and adoption of several policy and regulation pairs, including physical examination policies (P & R 3160 and P & R 4160) and a package of additional policies covering board member terms (P 0141), curriculum content (P 2200), attendance (R 5200), service animals (P 5337), student suicide prevention (P 5350), honoring student achievement (P & R 5440), vandalism (P & R 7610), emergency and crisis situations (P 8420), and firearms and weapons (P & R 8467). The roll call on one set of adoptions was recorded as seven yes, zero abstentions and zero no votes.

The board approved multiple out-of-district special-education placements for the 2024-25 school year, including placements at Celebrate the Children with tuition listed at $98,252.00 per student and related aide and transportation costs; Chancellor Academy tuition of $93,207.45 plus aide and transportation; and Northern Hills Academy tuition of $55,025.00. The minutes note transportation and administrative fees and indicate one placement had been previously approved at the June 17 meeting.

Finance actions included approval of vendor payments dated July 13–31, 2024 totaling $514,709.06 and authorization to participate in a joint transportation agreement with High Point High School for 2024-25 costing $114,923.65 (including a 5% administrative fee). The board authorized submission of a Preschool Facilities Expansion Grant by Parete Somjen Architects, LLC; approved clearing $12,646.60 of prior school lunch balances; and approved several contracts and purchases, including a pneumatic contract with AME (not to exceed $18,480), a fixed-asset revaluation (not to exceed $500), a laminator for the mailroom (not to exceed $2,876.99), phone-line repairs (not to exceed $2,000), and the purchase and installation of seven security cameras through DynTek/Arctiq at $15,831.79.

The board also approved charging portions of certain paraprofessionals’ salaries to federal grants (ESEA Title I-A and IDEA Preschool) for FY 2025 with specified amounts and percentages, set meal prices for 2024-25 (student breakfast $1.70; student lunch $3.65; adult lunch $4.35), and confirmed annual appointments and designations including Title IX Coordinator Nicole Charpentier and HIB Specialist Stephen Untisz.

The board opened the floor for public comment; visitor Eve Zierold-Soares apologized to and thanked the board. The meeting adjourned at 7:37 p.m.

What happens next: several approvals are contingent on completion of required paperwork and some contracts note “not to exceed” dollar amounts; staff follow-up and execution steps are recorded in the minutes.