Special Budget Meeting to Take Place April 29 Among Moorestown BOE Updates

A lot has occurred in Moorestown schools and on the Board of Education since March’s Education Monthly Column was posted, including furthering a donation outreach effort, student recognition, and further budget discussion. 

As a side note, the NJ State Board of Education declared April 2014 as School Library Month, recognizing the valuable role that libraries and their staff play in public education.

At the April monthly meeting, the Board of Education and the Superintendent had the pleasure of recognizing two students. Jenna Castrati, a third grader at Baker School was recognized for being a national finalist in the Jif Creative Sandwich Contest. Alisha Desai, a second grader at South Valley came in second in a New Jersey Association of Gifted Children competition. 

District Business Administrator/Board Secretary Lynn Shugars provided an update on the board budget at the April 8 meeting. There were several changes from the last budget presented, including a lowering of student activity fees, elimination of a consultant, and greater revenue from extended day kindergarten, among other changes.

The full PowerPoint presentation is available online. We also discussed a meeting that Mrs. Goldenberg, Mr. Powell, Mr. Rehm, and I had with NJ Department of Education officials to discuss our low amounts of state aid, and we anticipate meetings with legislators going forward. 

The Moorestown Board of Education, MTPS staff, parents, and local businesses are working together towards a goal of raising $1 million to keep Moorestown schools the best they can be, and we need your help. Opportunities exist for individual donations, and sponsorship opportunities are available, which include naming rights of different locations. More information is available at www.mtps.com under “District Donation Letter,” or email MTPSFunding@mtps.com. Anyone interested in assisting with this effort is welcome.

On April 12, the Moorestown Special Education Advisory Committee had their 2014 “Pathways to Success” conference at the Upper Elementary School, which was well attended and featured national speakers. I had the pleasure of attending the conference. 

On May 14, the Home and School Association will hold a fundraiser at Rita’s Water Ice, so be sure to stop by. A portion of your profits will be donated.

As a reminder, due to snow days, Memorial Day weekend is shortened. An updated calendar for the remainder of this year and for 2014-2015 is available at www.mtps.com. 

There will be a special board budget meeting on Tuesday, April 29 at 7:30 pm, at the William Allen Middle School, in which the board will vote to finalize the 2014-15 budget. Since the school board elections were moved to November, the public will no longer have an opportunity to vote on the budget, meaning the board vote is final.

The next regular board of education meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 20 at 7:30 pm, in the William Allen Middle School media center. As always, do not hesitate to reach out to either the board as a whole, or myself, if you have any questions or need anything. I would be delighted to hear from you, and I hope to see you at a future meeting.

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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. 

About this column: 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.