Board of Education candidates weigh in

By ROBERT LINNEHAN | The Haddonfield Sun
Five candidates are gearing up for three open seats on the Haddonfield Board of Education. Voters will have their say during the school district election held on Tuesday, April 20.
Incumbent candidates Joseph Ehrhardt, Cheryl Laney, and Steve Weinstein will vie to keep their seats against newcomers Chris Basner and David Raymond. Each week The Haddonfield Sun will ask every candidate the same question to help them get their thoughts and ideas out to the public.
This week, all five candidates were asked, “What are your top priorities for the school district,” and four chose to respond.
Incumbent candidate Ehrhardt said negotiations for new teacher contracts would be his top priority. He cited his experience as the chairman of the Board’s negotiation committee and his desire to see the new teachers union’s contracts be crafted for the upcoming year. The current contracts will expire on June 30.
“The Board’s contract with the Haddonfield Education Association expires on June 30. Over the past year, I have chaired our negotiations committee, and we are just in the beginnings of negotiations. A key reason that I am running for re-election is to finish this work with the goal of negotiating a contract that is fair to staff, students and taxpayers,” he said. “After nine years on the finance committee, seven as chair, I believe that have the background to be a strong contributor through this process.”
Maintaining the district’s excellent curriculum and keeping the cost per pupil low are Laney’s top priorities for the district, she said.
In nine years on the Board of Education, Laney said she has strived to improve the overall curriculum and been pleased to see the curriculum of all three elementary schools become more equal.
“All this has been accomplished with very little state aid, and a cost per pupil lower than neighboring districts,” Laney said. “That delicate balance must be maintained.”
Newcomer David Raymond said finding additional revenue streams and thinking outside the box to maintain reasonable tax rates for borough residents will be his top priority. Finding ways to limit the “human cost” and help employees keep their jobs in the district is key during a difficult budget season, he said.
Additional revenue streams such as pay-to-play for athletics or a specific activity may be necessary in the future, he said.
“One of the interesting things that other school systems have embraced is pay-to-play in the athletic arena. Getting some funding for the budget by virtue of having people pay an additional fee for a specific activity. Though it’s not necessarily popular, we could always allow for hardship cases. If you couldn’t afford the increase in the dues, we’d give them a break on the price. If you can’t afford this, send us a confidential note, and we will take it under advisement and try to find a more modest solution to the problem.”
Incumbent candidate and Board President Weinstein said maintaining the excellence of the district while keeping taxes low for Haddonfield residents will be his top priorities.
Maintaining the relationships culled with outside districts and educational institutions are important as well, he said. The district will also look to reinvigorate its Haddonfield Education Trust to develop ties with alumni across the country and to seek their support for their alma mater.
“These include a more aggressive effort to recruit tuition students, and to attract other districts — or their parents — to ‘purchase’ seats in our extensive AP offerings and our in-house special education programs. We hope to work through our exciting partnership with Drexel University to offer our courses to outside districts through distance learning,” he said. “Finally, as the Board president, I will be appointing a citizens committee to assist us with ideas and talent in moving these ideas along. We must build on our strengths to supplement the revenue from our citizens.”
Basner did not respond to this week’s question.