The final market value of the Bancroft property is $15.1 million, according to Harry Renwick, of Renwick and Associates at the Thursday, Oct. 4 Board of Education meeting in Haddonfield.
Renwick is a licensed real estate appraiser who specializes in property acquisition.
The appraisal findings of the 19.22-acre lot off of Kings Highway followed the appraisal process under uniform standards, said Renwick.
An appraiser follows the process of any typical buyer in the marketplace, he said.
On this lot, the highest and best use was found to be for institutional use, as detailed in the self-contained appraisal report.
The full report is planned to be posted on the Haddonfield School District’s website and there is to be an additional special meeting of the Board of Education held on Tuesday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. at the middle school library to discuss the Bancroft Property Agreement of Sale.
The legally permitted uses are taken into account during the appraisal. This year, the zoning for the property is R2 and Residential.
According to the report, permitted uses include, “Single-family detached dwellings; public parks, playgrounds or recreational areas; and municipal buildings or uses. Minimum lot size is 20,000 square feet having minimum frontage and width of 125 feet.”
No change in that zoning is to be anticipated, the report adds.
The area analysis is an important step in the appraisal process, said Renwick.
Buyers typically do not look at one house and buy it, he said. Instead, they look at the community, alternative properties available for sale, the adjustment process of comparison and ultimately work toward one acceptable property.
Trends change in the market, Renwick said, making it difficult to compare this appraisal to the one done in 2005.
“There’s been a trend in the expansion of institutional use within the state of New Jersey,” he said.
According to Superintendent Dr. Richard Perry, the appraisal was one part of the complex process.
Officials have been meeting with engineers, architects and other professional service agencies to gather all of the information needed to send an application to the Department of Education in order to have the bond referendum on Jan. 22, 2013.
“Deadlines are tight,” Perry said. “This is all part of participating in a bond referendum.”
Student achievements
Commendations were given at the meeting to three district students.
Matthew Troiani, a junior at Haddonfield Memorial High School, placed first place in bass for the All-State Orchestra.
Students Joshua Lloret and Kathryn Kurtz were awarded as part of the 2012–2013 National Hispanic Recognition Program.
Teacher evaluations
The district has been awarded a Teacher Effectiveness Evaluation Cohort 2A gant in the amount of $85,968 through Sept. 30, 2013 to participate in the EE4NJ Pilot Program.
“It is a very intensive initiative,” Perry said during his report. “It does take a lot of time.”
Administrators will be going into classes several times a week for iPad assessments and learning as they go in the complex pilot program.
The grant, he said, is an opportunity to improve professional development and to act as role models for the state.
New Jersey Department of Education Implementation Manager Robert Fisicaro presented to the Board at the meeting.
The goal of the program, he said, is to place to the highest quality educators in front of each student throughout the state.
“No one is closest to students more than teachers,” he said.
Observation and evaluation are ways to improve education, Fisicaro added.
The lessons, he said, will not be found in Trenton.
“These lessons are going to be found in our schools, our best schools, like Haddonfield,” he said.
All districts in the state will be required to implement an evaluation system in the 2013–2014 school year.
“We’re providing funds for the district to pilot this teacher evaluation system during the current year,” he said.
In the current code, tenured teachers have one classroom observation per year. That will be upped to four observations under the new system. Non-tenured teachers will be raised from three observations to five each year.
