The Cherry Hill School District spent the last several months learning from the failed December 2018 bond referendum. At the most recent meeting of the Cherry Hill Board of Education, members of the Bond Referendum Ad Hoc Committee presented their recommendations to the board.
The committee presented six recommendations to strengthen trust and garner support from the community. These included leading with full transparency; narrating the full story for the public; presenting a united front as a board; organizing all public documents so they are easy to share and locate; maximizing “we” messaging; and tying everything to the district strategic plan/what is best for the students.
Judith Wilson, an independent education consultant who served as the committee’s facilitator, explained how they arrived at their recommendations. She said in February and March, the district held five public forums that were open to the community. In April, the district held three open forums for high school students.
Over the course of the last four months, parents, residents and all district employees were invited to take electronic surveys, which resulted in approximately 1,900 responses. The board also posted a call for to the community for residents to serve on the ad hoc committee, and 28 residents responded. The board allowed all 28 volunteers to serve.
These members were charged with analyzing the data from the forums, surveys, facilities reports and enrollment data. They met over the course of three meetings to compile their recommendations.
“This very large community must be able to rally around one call to address these issues for the common good of the entire community and the future,” Wilson said.
The committee also brought forth its short-term and long-term recommendations. Short-term recommendations included points such as addressing the health and safety issues, simplifying the ballot question, keeping the proposal under $200 million and an array of other ideas. The committee’s long-term recommendations emphasized seeking alternate funding sources, more comprehensive annual maintenance and prioritizing timelines to address needs vs. wants.
Wilson said, despite the robust discussion, inevitability not every member of the committee left in favor of all of the recommendations. Several members of the committee voiced their concerns at the board meeting.
Committee member Jennifer Brumbaugh said, in her eyes, the recommendations do not reflect the group’s discussions. She said she never heard the $200 million figure discussed at any of the meetings, and over the course of their discussions, the committee emphasized only addressing the top priorities with this bond. She said she thought they were looking at something closer to a $52 million bond.
“We wanted a small bond in 2020,” Brumbaugh said.
Andrew Behrend expressed similar disappointment about the $200 million figure.
“A $200 million bond is going to go down in flames,” Behrend said.
Behrend said the district has neglected maintenance on its buildings. He said right now the focus should be putting a short-term, minimum bond out to the public, so that they can address the district’s health and safety concerns.
Lisa Saidel, the board’s vice president, said she heard the $200 million figure thrown out at one of the forums.
“Personally, I took that as sort of anecdotal – meaning we want a small bond,” Saidel said.
Committee member Kevin Muessig said he thought the recommendations were a valid representation of the feedback they received from the forums and surveys. He appealed to the public to trust the district’s board members and administrators as they look ahead.
“We need to trust our officials and we can’t micromanage them,” Muessig said.
Superintendent Joseph Meloche thanked the committee members for their service. He said they never expected a unanimous perspective, and he’s grateful for the members’ time and feedback. Meloche said he anticipates the district will continue to work with the committee moving forward.
The next meeting of the Cherry Hill Board of Education will take place on June 25 at 7 p.m. in the Malberg Administration Building board room. To view the committee’s full report, visit www.chclc.org/bond-referendum.
