Cherry Hill school board formally appoints Kwame Morton as superintendent in a 5-2 vote.

Acting Superintendent Kwame Morton was named superintendent of the Cherry Hill school district in a 5-2 vote at a tense and acrimonious Board of Education meeting on Tuesday.

Morton's promotion to lead the largest school district in South Jersey was not unanimous: five Board of Education members voted yes, two said no, one abstained and another did not attend the meeting.

The board previously voted to select Morton and sent that recommendation to the Camden County executive school superintendent's office, which approved Morton and returned his nomination to the board for a vote.

Voting in favor: Adam Greenbaum, Joel Mayer (board vice president), Benjamin Rood, Miriam Stern (board president) and Gina Winters.

Voting against: Renee Cherfane, Kimberly Gallagher.

Recusing: Quadsia Niaz, who has noted that she has a relative who works in the school district.

Absent: Sally Tong

Morton said that he did not take his being chosen for granted and that the district's future was bright.

His contract runs through June 30, 2028, according to Stern. Morton had served as acting superintendent since July, when Joseph Meloche, the previous superintendent, resigned to take a similar position in Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, the board named two employees to high-level positions — a move that caused some contention among board members.

Neil Burti, principal at Carusi Middle School, was named director of secondary education, and George Guy, the district's lead principal, was named director of elementary education.

Each will be paid $184,312 a year.

Gallagher and Cherfane abstained in the vote appointing the two. Cherfane did not say why, but Gallagher said she did not have enough time to review the materials on each candidate.

Mayer, Greenbaum, Rood, Stern and Winters each voted in favor of the two appointments. Niaz again recused herself.