Candidates opine on district’s strengths, weaknesses

By ROBERT LINNEHAN | The Haddonfield Sun
Haddonfield is by all accounts a strong school district, but what are some of its weaknesses?
The Board of Education candidates chimed in this week with their thoughts on the top strengths and weaknesses of the Haddonfield School District.
Candidate David Raymond said the quantitative strengths of the district are easy to see, as each year the school district achieves high SAT scores and is recognized for the original, challenging curriculum offered to its students.
The district’s sports program, along with the extracurricular activities offered to students, is a great strength as well, Raymond said.
“They really are like co-curricular activities, they’re not extracurricular. Nonetheless, they offer important life experience,” he said. “What’s being lost, partially, among the budget process is that those are real strengths of the district, they give identity to the kids, parents and the families that take a great deal of pride in these things.”
While the school system doesn’t have any major weaknesses, Raymond said one of the district’s weaknesses is its inability to upset the “status quo.”
Not going outside of the box to find different revenue sources is a weakness, he said. Making the difficult decisions to limit layoffs and staff reduction is important, he said, to spread the sacrifice throughout the district.
Having a community that supports and values education is the biggest strength a school district can have, Board member Joseph Ehrhardt said.
While the district’s academics and sports are highly recognized, they can’t be possible without the backing of a community that supports education.
“I believe all of our strengths emanate from a community that values and supports public education. This support provides the funds in a well-taxed community to attract excellent teachers and staff,” he said. “The support provides the interest in the school system to push for continued improvements. And, it provides students that want to learn supported by parents that want them to learn.”
Two opportunities stand out for the district, he said. The district should put a priority on tapping into the knowledge and experience of the surrounding community to find alternate sources of revenue and implementing new forms of technology.
Additionally, Ehrhardt said the district needs to focus on new technologies.
There is much to consider, he said, from distance learning, to classroom technology to laptops. The district needs to find ways to fund these new technologies and the decisions need to be made before the technologies become obsolete.
Board President Steve Weinstein pointed to the combination of parents who are supportive of the educational system in Haddonfield, the students who work incredibly hard, and the devoted faculty and administration that puts students first as the greatest strength of the district.
The goal of a school district, he said, is to help students reach their potential and prepare for adulthood.
The district is able to achieve this goal because of the cooperation and support between the three parties.
The greatest weakness of the district, he said, is the property tax system that funds public education.
“Not withstanding substantial cuts in expenses over the past few years, there is too little funding to support continued growth in our system,” Weinstein said. “We will not get any money from the state, and we cannot continue to tax our residents at the levels necessary to fund programs, to maintain aged buildings and provide the modern technology necessary for a 21st century top-ranked school system. We need to become more aggressive in searching out alternative revenue sources.”
Board Member Cheryl Laney said the district’s upgraded and streamlined curriculum serves as one of its main strengths.
Transitions between the elementary, middle, and high school are more seamless now than in the past, she said.
The high quality of faculty and staff that the district enjoys helps support the strong curriculum.
The relationship between the district and local universities has served recently as a strength as well, she said.
The relationships allow high school students to have an enriched curriculum, she said.
One of the greatest weaknesses in the district, Laney said, is the district’s lack of technology.
“The greatest weakness in our district is due to budgetary restraints, our use of technology in our classrooms is far below similar districts,” Laney said.
Candidate Christopher Basner chose not to participate in this week’s question.
The Board of Education elections will be held on Tuesday, April 20.