
John ‘Jack’ McKeever and Lilah Mallemat take the oath of office to become non-voting members of the Haddonfield school board.
It was a jam-packed agenda during the recent Haddonfield board of education meeting, with the swearing in of new student representatives and updates regarding bond referendum projects, among other agenda items.
At the start, Superintendent Chuck Klaus administered the oath of office to John “Jack” McKeever and Lilah Mallemat, who will serve as student representatives to the board through January 2026. Also sworn in was Marlina Kadar, who took the oath later following her basketball game.
This trio was selected from a pool of 12 high-school students. Each completed an application process; interviewed with faculty; and gave a speech to the student council, after which they were selected to become non-voting members of the board.
“This is really quite a special thing to have our students be part of our board and share with us the thoughts of what’s happening in high school, what the kids are thinking, all that good stuff,” Klaus explained, adding that the role involves reaching out to their peers and getting feedback.
“It’s really invaluable,” he added. “And I know that it’s not just showing up one Thursday a month and giving a report.”
“It’s a really important position, because you’re getting to be an age where you have a strong voice in what’s going on in your school,” observed board President Jaime Grookett. “And it’s wonderful that you bring the thoughts and opinions of those that you’re in school with to us, and that you get to hear a little bit about the decision-making process.”
McKeever presented the inaugural student report for the student representatives, detailing how a dozen student groups engaged in Martin Luther King Day service projects such as making blankets, and how he, Mallemat and Kadar plan to reach out to middle- and elementary-school principals so they can represent the entire district at board meetings, not just the high school.
In other news, board Vice President Linda Hochgertel addressed the prioritized projects to be tackled by the end of this year under the $46.7-million bond referendum. They include the installation of ADA seating in the high-school stadium, limited full-day kindergarten, the Haddonfield Middle School auditorium, a secure vestibule for the high school and interior alterations at several schools.
“We’re going to be very aggressive with the timeline,” Hochgertel noted. “These are ambitious, but we think that they can be managed.”
The high-school auditorium, which Klaus said is the biggest project for summer 2025, will include 200 additional seats as part of an upgrade that will begin the following spring, along with middle-school work.
“So by winter break of ‘26,” he assured, “the auditoriums will be completely redone.”
Kindergarten will be lottery- and tuition-based, at least at the start. The goal is to have two sections for 50 students each in September. More full-day kindergarten will be phased in as additional space becomes available at locations like the old board office, which Klaus said will be completed by September 2026.
Updates on all projects will be communicated to the public as details become available.
Also during the meeting, Rob Fox, the anti-bullying coordinator for the school district, presented the Bi-annual Superintendent’s Report: “Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying.” During the first of two periods – from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31 – 15 HIB incidents of HIB were reported. Of those, seven didn’t require investigation, two were confirmed HIB and six were non-HIB.
Fox explained that, when an HIB incident is reported, a 388 Form provided by the state must be filled out by the involved student(s) and their parent(s), which then helps determine whether or not an incident needs to be investigated. Of the HIBs, three were based on race, two on sexual orientation and one on disability.
While 11 reports were filed during the first period in 2024 and 15 in 2025, each year’s incidents required investigation into eight of the incidents.
In an effort to address HIB, Fox shared a number of initiatives. His team is working with the high-school’s graphic arts program to develop StopIt flyers that will include ways for students to report incidents anonymously. He’s also working with the administration on ways to make such incidents a teachable moment for the students involved.
“That’s a chance where we can address these things before they get to adulthood,” Fox emphasized, “and before issues become a bigger thing.”
The board meeting also saw several students — five from the high school and three from the middle school — receive commendations for being accepted into the All South Jersey Band and Orchestra. This marked the largest number of Haddonfield students accepted into the organization in over 20 years.