The township board of education approved a $307 million budget on April 28 with only one member voting no.
The financial plan includes $14.5 million in budget cuts, $6.5 million of which will come from eliminating 70 staff positions.
Board member Renee Cherfane said she voted no despite the fact that the budget is the first she’s seen that included an honest conversation about how the district will move forward. She believes the board can do more.
“I’ve challenged my fellow board members to start looking forward to certain things that we need to look into,” she said. “Specifically what we require for graduation … We’re looking at class sizes. There’s things in Cherry Hill that we do differently than other districts in the state.
“And so I’m challenging us to continue to look at the things that we can analyze and weigh our options with.”
According to the district, 84% of the planned personnel cuts are due to attrition. In a meeting that lasted more than three hours with 60 residents on hand and about 300 more online, parents, students, teachers and former board members addressed the cuts and other concerns about the budget.
The attendees included 36 who spoke at the meeting, including several students, a rarity at board meetings that usually see just a few regulars.
Addie Chertok, a third grader at Woodcrest Elementary School, worried about possible cuts to inclusion classrooms there.
“I have a younger sister who needs to be in the inclusion class,” she explained. “And if she can’t go, I just can’t imagine … She’s already in a different school and it’s already really hard without me to be there with her.”
Addie’s father Daniel, who was holding a paper for Addie to read, noted that while the district claims it isn’t cutting inclusion classrooms, he’s still unsure.
“The budget does say very specifically that you’re not cutting special education services,” Chertok acknowledged. “It’s everywhere. It’s in this presentation, it’s online. So, we don’t know what’s going to happen. It might be that Woodcrest does have a first-grade inclusion classroom.
“But that’s not what we’re hearing,” he added, “and it’s very confusing to us when all the messaging is saying they’re not cutting services, when it sounds like they’re cutting services.”
Woodcrest Elementary third-grader Addie Chertok expressed her concern about possible cuts to inclusion classes with a prepared speech she read with the help of her father Daniel at the board of ed meeting.
Superintendent Kwame Morton denied cuts to special education.
“There have been no special-education cuts of any position or any reassignments based upon budget,” he asserted. “Annually, what we do is, we actually look at the enrollment of students that are designated or entitled to our program. If there are no students remaining in a building for the next year that constitute a teacher position, what we’ll do is shift that staff to a (another) building.”
Hunter Cohen, a student at Bret Harte Elementary, was concerned about the potential loss of his computer science teacher, Jacqueline Woods.
“Ever since I heard Ms. Woods was not going to teach computer science, I was devastated,” he noted. “Taking away computer science teachers is like taking a puppy from its mom.”
Sandra Wilcox, a first-grade reading support teacher at Joyce Kilmer Elementary, said her position enables students to grow skills they otherwise wouldn’t grasp.
“Over time, this role has evolved into a comprehensive system of support that reaches all first-grade students,” she stated, “some years kindergarteners, and like this year, second-graders … The educational assistants and I provide ongoing specific skill instructions throughout the day.
“Students are supported until they master the skill,” Wilcox added, “and then can be exited, and then we’re able to bring in another student who needs support.”
Wilcox had more to say but reached her allotted three minutes.
A statement from Jen Naddeo, president of the district special education PTA, decried the budget and urged other attendees to continue their advocacy.
“While this outcome is truly disappointing, very disappointing, we also understand that this budget will pass, regardless of what is said here this evening,” she remarked. “That said, it’s important to recognize how many people are here tonight. This level of engagement matters. And it’s critical that we don’t let this momentum fade once this budget goes into affect.
“Our involvement can’t be reactive – it has to be proactive.”
After public comments, each school board member briefly discussed why they were voting for the budget.
District public information officer Nina Baratti said in an email that there were no changes to the budget between the last board meeting on April 14 and its approval. At the earlier session, several teachers with the Encore program for Spanish and computer science were concerned about losing their jobs.
Baratti maintained that the district is still considering how to structure Encore classes for the fall.
Students and teachers line up to voice their opposition to the budget at the April 28 school board meeting, which drew hundreds in person and online.
