Several Cherry Hill school board members who attended a State Assembly Budget Committee hearing in Trenton about school aid cuts told their fellow school board members on Tuesday night that, while they felt their presence was noted, their efforts should only be the tip of the advocacy iceberg.
During the Assembly hearing, board President Gina Winters testified that state aid to school districts is "a crisis with no end in sight. Year after year, we are forced to raise taxes on a community that is at its breaking point. …Meanwhile, our number of students in need of services and the cost of those services continues to rise."
Winters said that a member of the Cherry Hill Zone Parent Teacher Association and a member of the Cherry Hill Education Association also testified. Winters also said board Vice President Adam Greenbaum and board member Bridget Palmer also attended the hearing, providing what Winters called "a nice representation for Cherry Hill."
Palmer encouraged members of the public to make their voices heard, adding that "as much as we as board members on the district level make our voices heard, the voices of our community members and our parents matter 100 times more."
Added Superintendent Kwame Morton: "Advocate to our legislators and allow our voices to be heard."
District officials also noted that the Cherry Hill Fair Funding Committee is scheduled to meet on Thursday. Palmer noted that details on how to attend the meeting or advocate on behalf of the district can be found on the committee Facebook page and that the public should "consider attending the meeting and taking advantage of those resources."
A contingent of concerned students, faculty, administrators, parents and other Cherry Hill stakeholders had also traveled to Trenton in 2024 to protest the cut in state education aid the district faced, which ultimately led to Gov. Phil Murphy signing legislation that provided about $3.1 million of the $6.9 million in state aid that was cut. Assistant Superintendent Lynn Shugars stated at the March 12 school board meeting that a similar financial reprieve is not likely for the upcoming school year’s budget
The $256,122,121 proposed general fund 2025-26 budget the school board approved on March 18 represented a $309,110, or 0.1%, reduction from the current budget, district data shows. Shugars and Superintendent Kwame Morton have previously stated the budget calls for moving to a junior high school model, adding nearly a half-dozen educational and behavioral health positions and cutting about 19 support positions. In addition, state aid in the coming school year is expected to decrease to $28,592,928, representing a $884,317, or 3%, reduction from this year's 2024-25 budget. State aid in 2023-24 totaled $36,377,427.
Only one resident directly addressed the coming school year budget during the meeting, and she asked the school board to revisit the spending plan and balance it without increasing taxes.
Board members voted 8-0 to formally adopt policies on harassment, intimidation and bullying, student smoking, electronic surveillance in school buildings and on school grounds, food services, spectator code of conduct at interscholastic events and cooperation with law enforcement.
