Missed some of the latest Washington Township Public School District board of education meetings? Here, we provide a brief recap of some of the latest and biggest talking points regarding the board of education.
If you would like more information, check out the meeting agendas and minutes at www.wtps.org/board-of-education, or watch the archived live streams of each meeting at @WTTVProductions on YouTube; town council meetings are also posted here.
BOE votes against Superintendent Eric Hibbs’ contract renewal
Back on September 15, the BOE voted against approving Superintendent Eric Hibbs’ contract renewal. The 5-4 vote approved that Hibbs’ —who has been long regarded as a controversial superintendent by the BOE and town since his appointment in 2023 — four-year contract will not be renewed once his current four-year contract ends in June. After the end of the school year, Hibbs will part ways with the school district.
Additionally, for the fourth time, the BOE voted 5-4 against awarding Hibbs $27,000 in merit pay for the 2024-25 school year. Hibbs’ annual salary is $215,000 and runs through 2027. According to a report from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Hibbs’ contract states he is “eligible to receive an increase annually on July 1 of 2.5% of his base salary,” and he is additionally “entitled to an annual merit bonus of up to 14.99% of his salary, provided he meets performance goals set by the board.”
The board set goals for him to reach in order to receive the bonuses, and the majority of the board must vote and agree that they were met. The board voted against approving his merit pay in a 5-4 vote.
Despite tensions and legal actions among Hibbs and several BOE members, Hibbs is still participating in his role as superintendent and at biweekly BOE meetings. Meanwhile, the district immediately began its search for fulfilling the role of superintendent, as an “Admin Hiring” post was made to Our School Board the same day.
District-wide mold issues
In early October, the school district was notified of humidity and mold issues inside some of the schools. The most pressing concerns were in Grenloch Terrace Early Child Center, Hurffille Elementary and Thomas Jefferson Elementary.
At the October 13 BOE meeting, Hibbs brought up updates surrounding the mold issues — mostly at Grenloch Terrace — at the start of the meeting; many faculty members from the school spoke out about their concerns and experiences during both public comment portions of the meeting.
A message came out on October 4 from Hibbs stating a classroom at Grenloch Terrace — one of the school district’s preschools — had reportedly poor air quality, and students were relocated for the rest of the day. Environmental testing was then scheduled for the specific classroom, as well as other classrooms of concern across the school.
Humidity was allegedly the source of the mold, however, many faculty members were unsure why information on the source of the problem, health concerns, and solutions to the problems from the district were not being transparently and timely communicated to them as the faculty and ones in the schools with the preschool students.
Some of the additional concerns faculty wanted to know was why some rooms were receiving dehumidifiers and others were not, why some rooms that were allegedly reported as rooms with visible mold did not receive any treatment, timeline of repairs, tile inspections and overall safety for the staff and students.
Faculty and Hibbs discussed that having a group question and answer session would be beneficial. At the following October 27 BOE meeting, Hibbs said this discussion did occur with the Grenloch Terrace faculty and staff, and he said it was productive.
Additionally, Hibbs said the district received notice that every room in Grenloch Terrace and the Hurfille Elementary library were clear, had no oustanding tests, and the humidity percentages in the schools decreased.
Hibbs said that the district has “between now and springtime to have a permanent solution at Grenloch and in Hurffvile’s library,” adding that they “already have the solution, because a humidified was placed right into the system, so we are good to go on the library.”
At time of press, there are no additionally reported issues about the mold. More will be reported in later editions of The Sun if further issues arise.
New board of education members elected
Three spots were up for grabs on the board of education. Ten candidates vied for the three, three-year term seats on the board.
Ralph E. Ross Sr. and Patricia Blome are incumbents. Melissa Demyan, CJ Smith, Dayton A. Lundberg, Logan R. Elias, Kryzstian M. Koslosky, Tiffany Orihel, Lindsay Foglio and Angela Terruso are seeking their first terms.
According to unofficial election results of Nov. 4, Terruso leads with 5,376 votes, followed by Blome with 5,147 and Demyan with 5,034. Elias has 4,877 votes, Lundberg has 4,570 and Foglio has 4,394. Koslosky has 4,371 votes, Ross has 4,163, Orihel has 4,025 and Smith has 4,007.
There are 239 write-in votes.
The next board of education meeting will be on Tuesday, November 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Washington Township Public School District Board of Education meeting on October 13.
