Evesham's Teddy Bear Academy next to Marlton Marlton Middle School off Tomlinson Mill Road.
Correction: An earlier version of this story had the incorrect vote count.
Teddy Bear Academy, the Evesham Township School District's preschool program that starts at age six weeks, will close at the end of the school year, the school board decided Thursday evening. The board voted 6-2.
Teddy Bear Academy has never made a profit, according to District Superintendent Justin Smith.
"Our district (is) facing the seventh straight year of state aid reduction," Smith said. "We cannot afford to run a program losing money for kids that…we are not responsible for, to the detriment of the kids that we are responsible for."
He added: "You are welcome to disagree with me, but ethically I cannot do that."
Lisa Weber, one of dozens of parents at Thursday's meeting, made comments that suggested she felt Smith’s financial assessment of the preschool program was inaccurate.
"I understand it is not totally your fault that the cost of child care is exorbitant in this country," she said.
"However, I pay a lot of money and on top of that, I provide everything for my daughter's well-being. ...What I want to know is how in the world is TBA actually losing money when I'm paying ($1,575) a month and supplying you with everything. My daughter's room alone brings in $6,300 a month."
Another resident who asked the board to reconsider closing TBA was Trish Everhart, who spoke of the inability of the public to comment before a decision was made.
"I was dismayed that we did not have the opportunity to have...public discourse regarding such a beloved institution and program for the district," she said. "I want to express my disappointment over that to the superintendent and the board leadership."
Smith tried to assuage parental concern by saying the district did not make the decision lightly. He also said the district will seek state grant funding to allow the district to provide tuition-free preschool, which would cover 50 of the 72 children currently attending Teddy Bear.
School Board Member Janis Knoll said shutting down the Teddy Bear Academy would cause a domino effect in the district.
"The decision to close Teddy Bear Academy is the first of a series of calculated steps to forever change Evesham Township School District," she said. "Do not fool yourself. Once TBA closes, the contractors will come in, the classrooms will be undone and the work by previous boards will be demolished."
In the end, though, only School Board member Jaron Brown joined Knoll in voting against closing Teddy Bear.
The almost 10-year-old Teddy Bear Academy, located next to Marlton Middle School and on the same campus as Marlton Elementary on Tomlinson Mill Road, in the past faced the possibility of closing.
News reports show that Marlton's Under the Sun Learning Center claimed that the district was outside its legal authority in operating the academy.
The district said that the academy provided the district with much-needed revenue. Even so, an administrative judge ruled that Teddy Bear Academy would have to close after the 2018-19 school year ended. The New Jersey Department of Education chose to go along with that judge's ruling rather than modify or reject it.
The previous reports also indicate that in response to the administrative law judge and state decisions and public outcry, several local lawmakers introduced legislation that would allow a school district to use its property to offer child care services during school hours for children who have not reached school age, regardless of where they live.
