Haddonfield Happenings: Board of Education Meeting on November 27th

On November 27, 2012, Haddonfield High School held a special Board of Education Meeting to discuss the potential purchasing of the adjacent Bancroft School property.

According to a draft proposal made available to those attending the meeting, purchasing costs will total about $16.8 million for the 19.2 acres of land. Unfortunately, none of this is eligible for NJ State support through the Department of Education. However, to help pay the bill, the school district has received a grant commitment from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Green Acres Program, the Camden County Open Space & Farmland Preservation Program and the Borough’s Open Space. These funds total about $3.5 million.

Haddonfield has applied for a bond in the amount of $12.5 million. Haddonfield residents will vote on whether or not to approve the $12.5 million bond on January 22, 2013.

It is this bond that became the hot topic of the evening as the BOE meeting progressed. The Board heard comments by many residents in favor and in opposition to the purchase.

Some residents voiced complaints about taxes increasing and expressed that they did not have children that went to the high school and did see any reason to purchase Bancroft. Others enthusiastically supported the acquisition of additional land.

The borough and school district have joined forces and entered into a “Shared Services Agreement.” In other words, both the town and the students would be permitted to use the land. Proponents of the purchase at the meeting suggested that this arrangement should make the proposal more appealing to voters.

One resident, who referred to himself as Mr. Harrison said, “You have received $45 million since 1995, and now you are asking us for more. Where did all of that money go?” President of the board Steve Weinstein replied, “Mr. Harrison you were on the board when those bonds were passed. You had access to the audits. You know very well where all that money went. All of that money went into the school and to suggest that we got approval and then took the money and it’s sitting in a drawer somewhere is a misconception.”

Haddonfield resident, Cynthia Brown, who does not usually go to the BOE meetings said after the meeting, “I was impressed with the Board’s response to the criticisms made by some of the other residents... I was surprised at some of the disrespectful behavior that I observed.” She also stated, “I think Haddonfield would be crazy not to buy that land...it would be shameful for us not to get the big picture.”