Hundreds packed DeMasi Middle School for the board’s latest meeting that lasted more than five hours on Jan. 26 into Jan. 27.
The word “circus” was mentioned several times by members of the public at the latest meeting of the Evesham BOE.
Hundreds packed DeMasi Middle School for a meeting that lasted more than five hours and saw the BOE restart discussions over whether the district should continue or reverse plans to close Evans Elementary School later this year.
Although the issue was once again up for a vote, no final decision was made, as a majority of the board voted to table the discussion until newer board members had more time to review relevant information.
Several board members who originally voted to close the school in March of last year due to declining enrollment statistics and projections across the district are no longer serving on the board.
Complicating the issue, board members Sandy Student and Nichole Stone were the two who brought forward and seconded the latest motion to reverse the district’s consolidation plan.
Earlier in the meeting, Stone and Student, along with board member William McGoey, had listened to multiple teachers and residents call for their resignation over their role in attending a controversial news conference held by Mayor Randy Brown on Jan. 12, where Brown claimed a female employee of the district had alleged to him that school district director of personnel Richard Dantinne Jr. had sexually harassed her and other district employees in 2015.
Dantinne has since named Stone, Student and McGoey in a defamation lawsuit, along with Brown and the township.
At the end of the BOE’s latest meeting, around 12:15 a.m. and after several closed session discussions, the board voted to accept a request to rescind Dantinne’s resignation, which he submitted to the district in December.
Board president JoAnne Harmon voted yes, along with board members Elaine Barbagiovanni, Jeff Bravo, Trish Everhart, Joseph Fisicaro, Jr. and Dennis Mehigan.
Student, Stone and McGoey abstained from the vote.
Several hours earlier, Evesham Township Education Association President Janet Kimenhour was the first member of the public to speak, saying she and her fellow teachers are “disgusted” at the actions of Stone, Student and McGoey, while also questioning their ability to respect the privacy of teachers moving forward.
“If our evaluations showed behavior such as these, we’d be held accountable. The ETEA will be here every month until politics are kept out of our schools,” Kimenhour said.
Marlton Elementary School PTA President Melissa Reeve said while board members disappointed her in the past, now several had proven to her they had no “ethics, morals or character” and should not be serving on the board.
Reeve said she was also in the process of filing ethics violations with the state.
“I’d like to take a quick second to define the word ‘confidential’ to you. It means entrusted with private or restricted information,” Reeve said.
With so many other issues being discussed that evening, Fisicaro questioned why Student would motion to vote on an issue as controversial as the closing of Evans.
Fisicaro also made references to the outside influence of a “purple raven,” referring to Brown’s opposition to the closure of Evans and his position as kicking coach for the Baltimore Ravens.
“Everything we have worked so hard for to try to make this district great, you plan to undo in one fell swoop,” Fisicaro said to Student. “You truly are a soldier. You truly are a soldier because you are doing the bidding oh so well.”
During his board comments, Student questioned district demographic studies predicting a continued decline in enrollment and said he wanted to explore other options for the district to save money.
He also said he believed the board voted to close Evans without hearing the interests of a majority of the township’s residents, many of whom could not fit into the single meeting last March when the board voted to close Evans.
“The very first time residents and taxpayers had a true voice in the process was probably Election Day of 2016,” Student said.
Shouts of “no” and “resign” could be heard several times during Student’s comments.
Many residents and teachers also spoke about the closure of Evans Elementary. Those in favor of closing Evans argued without the redistribution and money saved from consolidation, class sizes would continue to increase and programs would be cut.
Marlton Elementary School Principal Julio Feldman said his school has eight classroom spaces not being used.
“I’ve been in this business for 45 years. We have a brand new building and it’s underutilized,” Feldman said.
Evans parent Max Ingram, who has been a vocal opponent of closing the school, said he believed closing Evans would only be a temporary solution to the larger issue of spending levels in the district.
“I don’t think closing Evans is a way to address that issue … I still think that closing Evans is a Band-Aid,” Ingram said.
The next meeting of the Evesham Township School District Board of Education is scheduled for Feb. 23.
