Cherry Hill High School East.
A decision by the Cherry Hill school board to move its Alternative High School from the Lewis Administration Building to Cherry Hill High School East is not universally supported by the public, according to comments made at the Tuesday school board meeting.
The alternative school student population consists of those who are experiencing trauma, have a transient school history, have difficulties managing their emotions or those who need academic recovery and acceleration, Lauren Giordano, the alternative school's principal, told the board. About 38 students are enrolled, according to the district.
Discussions to relocate the Alternative High School have been going on for at least a decade, Caitlin Mallory, the district's director of special education, told the board. However, the timing for the relocation finally seems right, she added.
"You have to have the right leadership, staff and group of students to endure a transition like this," Mallory said.
The district plans to designate the B Wing of Cherry Hill High School East exclusively for Alternative High School students.
That space will be called Coles Alternative High School and will retain the current Alternative High School's academic core staff, two full-time certified mental health clinicians, a full-time counselor, a secretary and a principal, Mallory said.
The relocation will also allow Alternative High School students to take electives with Cherry Hill High School East students, expand alternative school student extracurricular opportunities and create new fundraising opportunities, Mallory said.
Acting Superintendent Kwame Morton called the relocation, which would start in the fall, a "tremendous opportunity" and "the right thing to do."
Public comments during the school board meeting suggest that not everyone shares the school district's outlook.
"East is very congested in between class periods (when) moving between classes. By relocating a certain portion of the building to the alternative high school, it may exacerbate those issues of congestion," said Matt Rentezelas, the Cherry Hill High School East representative to the school board.
Jim Neary, the parent of a child with special needs, said the relocation announcement was "a slap in the face to wake up (to) the morning after we were marching on Trenton (to support more school aid) with you by your side, banging your drum."
Added Laurie Neary: "The most disturbing behavior that I have seen is from the adults." She said that some refer to alternative school students as prison inmates.
Demand heavy for pre-kindergarten
The district can accommodate less than a third of the free all-day pre-kindergarten students whose parents applied for available openings in the district's program.
A total of 526 families applied for 150 available seats, Morton said. Letters will be sent April 22 to the parents whose children were chosen, informing them of their school locations, he explained.
In another pre-kindergarten matter, the school board unanimously agreed to apply for a waiver regarding the classroom size in the district's current preschool and preschool expansion programs at Malberg Early Childhood Center.
The waiver is needed because the current classrooms at the center are smaller than the 950-square-foot of usable space that the New Jersey Department of Education generally requires, said Gina Winters, school board member. The classrooms meet the waiver requirements of 700 square feet of usable space and have bathrooms in the classroom or within line of sight, Winters continued.
Assistant Superintendent Lynn Shugars said it is common for older schools to request the waiver. Malberg was built in 1959. Shugars said the yet-to-be-constructed additions that are part of the preschool expansion will comply with the space requirement.
New job descriptions
The school board approved job descriptions for a director of elementary education and a director of secondary education. Member Renee Cherfane abstained and members Benjamin Rood and Sally Tong did not attend the meeting.
Several members of the public asked the board to justify that action in the wake of the $6.9 million state aid reduction and likely cuts to district operations.
Morton said confidentiality about human resource decisions kept him from discussing the job descriptions in depth. He added the positions are "budget neutral" and that a reorganization of the district's organizational chart is coming.
Board President Miriam Stern said that some of the cuts that the public alluded to will affect positions, not employees.
