School Board Adds Teacher to Central School Faculty

The Haddonfield Board of Education voted 5 to 3 Monday night to create a third fifth grade teaching position at Central Elementary School. The additional post is needed, said Superintendent Richard Perry, because of increased enrollment within the boundaries of the school.

Voting against creation of the new position were board president Steve Weinstein and members Dennis Kelleher and Joe Ehrhardt. Once the post was approved by the other five members of the board, however, all members approved the hiring of Perry’s recommendation, Lauren Farrell, at a salary of $52,200.

Before the vote on the new post, board members discussed the possibility of handling the staffing needs with a substitute teacher.

Class limits have been kept below the 27-pupil cap throughout the district by some voluntary transfers among the three elementary schools. “This is an issue that’s not going away,” Weinstein said. He suggested the board study the possible shifting of boundaries by several blocks for each school. Any boundary adjustment would affect only new residents, so students would not have to switch schools or attend schools different from their siblings, Weinstein proposed.

The school board also approved the hiring of 10 other faculty members, including four new full-time teachers to fill vacancies.

Perry filed a projected enrollment report for the 2011-2012 school year showing a total of 157 pupils in kindergarten classes, and a total enrollment of 1,111 at all three elementary schools.  The middle school enrollment for the year now is 552, and enrollment at the high school is 760.

Eighteen kindergarten slots are open in the Haddon and Tatem schools, according to Perry’s report. There is a class cap of 25.

Perry also reported a total of 34 tuition students for the coming year, with 12 out-of-district students registered for ninth grade.

The district’s total projected enrollment is 2,496, according to the superintendent’s report.

In other business, Weinstein said the deadline is Thursday at 4 p.m. to filing self-nominating documents for a vacancy on the 9-member board. The new member would replace Marsha Marshall, who resigned last month. 

Early next month, the school superintendent will review the applications and interview interested residents. If no decision is made by Oct. 1, the Camden County Executive Superintendent of Schools will fill the vacancy.

Information on the position is available on the school board’s website, www.haddonfield.k12.nj.us.

In addition to Farrell, the new fifth-grade teacher, new full-time teachers and their salaries for this year are: Brian Makinson, high school mathematics, $49,000; Dolores Reilly, high school English, $50,050, Arlene Iavicoli, high school food and nutrition, $50,600; and Molly Grimenstein, third-grade tacher at Elizabeth Haddon School.

Laura Norris will be a part-time teacher of orchestra  at the middle and high schools. The post has not been full-time for three years.

Perry said he received more than 1,500 applications for the teaching positions.