The Mount Laurel school board on Tuesday added two religious holidays to next year's school calendar.
Parents of children enrolled in the extended day care program in the Mount Laurel School District will face increased fees in the coming school year.
The Board of Education's decision Tuesday night means that starting with the 2024-25 school year, users will see:
• Morning rates increase from $6 to $9
• Afternoon/evening rates increase from $12 to $15
• Half-day rates increase from $18 to $28
• Registration fees increase from $30 to $35
The increases are the first in a couple of years and are necessary to cover increases in program employees salaries, Robert F. Wachter Jr., Mount Laurel Township school business administrator, told 70and73.com before the Tuesday school board meeting.
Responding to a school board member's question during the meeting about the increases, Wachter said the 2024-25 rates and fees are reasonable.
"We are still well below the YMCA and we are still below a few other districts in the area that run a similar program," he said. "We are still a pretty good bargain."
School Calendar Changes
The school board also approved closing district schools and offices on November 1 and March 31 during the 2024-25 school year in observance of the religious holidays of Diwali and Eid al-Fitr, respectively.
The first holiday, observed by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists, celebrates the "victory of light over darkness" while the second is a three-day holiday marking the end of Ramadan, Islam's holy month of fasting.
Muslim community members, including Fozia Janjua – the first Muslim and South Asian woman to serve as Mount Laurel mayor – thanked the board members for their recognition of the holidays and said it was a "step in the right direction."
"I want to commend you on this decision because it is a testament… to our commitment to inclusivity."
School Board to Review District Security
School board member Curtis Green asked the school board to further consider ways to ensure that there is a security officer in each of the district's buildings.
Maintaining the status quo could have tragic consequences even if a police station were located right across from a school that had an active shooter inside, said Green, who added that he based his concerns on conversations with several law enforcement officers.
"If the church across the street was a police station and there was an active shooter in (Harrington Middle School), until the shooter was identified, the police were called and came over here, that shooter could have killed probably at least eight people," Green said. "If someone's first thought is 'We cannot afford it,' my question to you is 'How can you put a price on your child’s life?' "
Superintendent George Rafferty said the district now has two Mount Laurel Township police officers and four special law enforcement officers who work in the district's eight schools. Rafferty said while those staffing levels are higher than in the past, another look at the staffing levels would be beneficial.
"Given the world we are living in (and) these news events that we hear about, you raise a good point," Rafferty continued. "We can definitely talk more about that…and see what we can do."
