Moorestown Board of Education Vice President, Brandon Pugh discusses what the district has been up to in October.
By BRANDON PUGH, Moorestown Board of Education vice president
In this column, Moorestown Board of Education Member Brandon Pugh provides monthly updates on what’s going on in the school district and on the BOE.
October has been a busy, yet productive month for the board and district. Highlights include the announcement of three student representatives to the board, approval of the terms of agreement for the Moorestown Administrators Association’s contract and the State of the District presentation among other updates.
At the Oct. 17 monthly meeting, the board announced three student representatives to the board. The representatives are Alex Karanjia, Emily O’Neil and Daniel Rohrbach. These students will attend the monthly board meetings, provide updates on school activities and serve as the “voice” of the student body. On a personal note, this has been a concept I have worked on for several years, so I appreciate the support of the board and administration in finalizing this.
The “State of the District 2017” presentation was given by Director of Curriculum & Instruction Carole Butler. Ms. Butler gave an overview of student performance on standardized tests, graduation rates and student achievement among other areas. Interestingly, Moorestown was the only school district in Burlington County in 2017 to have all graduating students meet graduation assessment requirements meaning state approval of student portfolios was not needed. Also, about 95 percent of the graduating class went on to college with others going directly into the workforce, the military and other schools. The full presentation with supporting data can be found at www.mtps.com.
For about the last six months, the board has negotiated a contract with the Moorestown Administrators Association (MAA), which represents the district’s principals and supervisors. The board’s negotiating team consisted of David Weinstein, Pete Palko and myself. The board approved the terms of agreement for the contract at the October meeting for a contract from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2020.
The board also announced that it developed three board goals during a planning retreat in May. The goals broadly pertain to curriculum, community engagement and board operations. Action steps are being developed, and specifics will be conveyed in the near future.
As a reminder, the 2017 election will be on Tuesday, Nov. 7. The candidates for full terms in ballot order are Kameron K. Rabenou, Tinamarie Nicolo‐Dorfner, Jack F. Fairchild, Peter Palko and Lauren Romano. Mark D. Villanueva is running unopposed for the two-year term to fill the seat vacated by Kathy Goldenberg. Both Mr. Palko and Mr. Villanueva currently serve on the board.
The next meeting of the Board of Education is on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in the William Allen Middle School Media Center. I hope you can attend a future meeting, and please do not hesitate to reach out if you need anything.
The views and content in this column do not necessarily represent those of the Moorestown Board of Education as a whole or any other individual member.
