Tuesday, December 4, 2012
The borough's joint insurance fund attorney settled the 2010 lawsuit, but a similar lawsuit against the school board is still continuing.
A 2010 lawsuit filed against the borough for allegedly not offering stationhouse adjustments, or reducing a charge for underage possession or use of alcohol to a citation, has been settled, according to borough officials. The settlement will pay a total of $45,000 to three plaintiffs in the suit who were charged with underage drinking and not offered the adjustment, which is in line with a directive from the state attorney general on such matters. The plaintiff's names were not immediately mentioned and their attorney, Matthew Wolf, said he couldn't comment on the case because of a confidentiality agreement. The settlement money will be paid out of the borough's joint insurance fund (JIF). Haddonfield and dozens of other municipalities pay…
Friday, August 24, 2012
The board of education also discussed the 24/7 disciplinary policy, recently declared an overreach by a judge.
Haddonfield's board of education on Thursday approved three professional services contracts for work on the acquisition of the Bancroft property. Board President Steve Weinstein said the contracts, while hiring firms to work on the project, were not dependent on the passage of a public referendum in January. Capital Financial Services, Inc. of Mount Laurel; Garrison Architects of Marlton; and Remington & Vernick Engineers of Haddonfield were all approved to provide services on the Bancroft project. Weinstein noted that all three firms have worked with the borough or school board previously. The no-bid contracts were possible because they're for professional services, Weinstein said. The borough and the board approved a letter of intent …
Friday, August 10, 2012
In another blow to the school district, an administrative law judge says Haddonfield's rules for off-campus behavior go too far.
Haddonfield’s controversial 24/7 policy that punishes students for off-campus misconduct overreaches and must be revised, an administrative law judge has ruled. While the state commissioner of education has the final say on whether the policy must be changed, an attorney representing students punished under the 24/7 rules said he’s confident Haddonfield’s school board will have to comply. “The commissioner already upheld the Ramapo decision, and this decision is based on Ramapo,” Matthew Wolf said of an Appellate Court decision to strike down Ramapo schools’ 24/7 policy, which closely mirrored Haddonfield’s. “The school district has already suspended the policy. Now they have no choice but to amend it,” added Wolf, who represents three …
Thursday, August 9, 2012
The accusation stems from the borough's support of the school board's 24/7 discipline policy. "The evidence doesn't support it," a commissioner retorts.
A lawyer suing the Haddonfield school board for a 24/7 discipline policy that was triggered by the arrests of students, often for first offenses for alcohol or drug possession, says borough police used "vigilante justice" in not releasing the teens to their parents. Matthew Wolf says a reprimand from the Camden County prosecutor in 2010 was needed to stop the policy. He said Haddonfield police should have offered teens with first offenses for alcohol or drug possession a "station-house adjustment." The station-house adjustment releases the teens to their parents and does not file a charge or court summons against them. The formal charge by police triggered the 24/7 school discipline policy that often led to the student being denied …
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
One member voted against the Bancroft approval without releasing appraisal details.
The Haddonfield Board of Education on Tuesday approved a letter of intent to purchase the nearly 19-acre Bancroft parcel adjacent to Haddonfield Memorial High School. The borough Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the letter of intent last week. The letter now launches a 45-day process for the borough and the school board to appraise the property and draft an agreement of sale with Bancroft, a center for the developmentally disabled and acquired brain injuries But the BOE vote was not unanimous. At the end of a long public comment session, school board member Joe Ehrhardt recommended the board not move forward on its approval until both the appraiser and the public be given the information in an appraisal commissioned by the BOE …
Friday, July 27, 2012
The Haddonfield school district faces a payout of tens of thousands of dollars in a lawsuit against it.
The Haddonfield school district's 24/7 student discipline policy could be in jeopardy after a state Appellate Court ruling this week struck down a similar policy in Ramapo, Bergen County. That's the conclusion of a board of education attorney and a lawyer suing the school board over the policy. The dueling lawyers disagree, however, about whether Tuesday's court ruling could lead to a settlement of a federal lawsuit on behalf students who claim the policy harmed them. That suit could achieve a class-action status to cover up to 86 students who were denied opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities, such as sports or band, after running afoul of the law, mostly for petty alcohol or drug offenses. Haddonfield school officials…
Amy Shaw
8:23 pm on Friday, December 7, 2012
I totally agree. The BOE completely overstepped their authority when they passed the 24/7 policy. If a kid is caught drinking, etc. on school property, at a school event, on a class trip, etc., then the BOE has every right to discipline. But to say that they have the authority to discipline for anything a kid does that is not related to school or on school property is just beyond their scope. I, … more ›