The future plans of the soon-to-be constructed turf fields are detailed in a new shared services agreement between the borough and board of education.
The school board at the Thursday, April 18 meeting approved the agreement. Stadium Field is owned by the school district, while the borough operates Anniversary Field.
“The borough and the school district agree that artificial turf will be installed on both fields at a total projected construction cost for both fields in the estimated amount $948, 080.The borough agrees to contribute $258,090 of such cost. The school district will contribute $90,000 (from available capital funds) of such cost,” the agreement reads. “The remaining $600,000 is expected to be contributed by the private turf committee in the Borough. To the extent that the actual cost exceeds that amount, the parties will agree to the allocation of such excess costs prior to the award of any bid for such work.”
Costs are detailed in the agreement, with the borough paying $39,250 in engineering costs and the school district paying for permit costs and inspection, which amounts to $37,500.
The district will be responsible for maintenance and replacement costs and will also create a sinking fund of $59,000 per year for the replacement, Superintendent Dr. Richard Perry said.
The agreement is set to be in effect for 10 years.
Resident Mary Fagan said that she worried about the lack of public access mentioned in the agreement. Any resident is able to utilize the fields due to Green Acres rules, she said.
Board member Joe Ehrhardt agreed that access should be there and encouraged the board to take future action to say that access will not change with the turf installation.
“That is our plan,” Perry said. “Yes, we want to protect our investment… but we don’t want to shut off residents from doing what they’re already doing now.”
Fagan asked why the agreement didn’t call for eight years instead of 10, as the life of a turf field is less than 10 generally.
“We’re going to deal with the problems as they develop,” Board President Glenn Moramarco said.
The money will accumulate in the sinking fund for that use, he said.
View the full agreement draft at http://www.haddonfield.k12.nj.us/Home_Page_Attachments/FinalServicesAgreement.pdf.
Technology at middle school
In the second technology presentation in the spring series, Haddonfield Middle School’s Principal Gino Priolo gave a picture of the technological future at the school.
High quality curriculum should drive the technology, he said. Referencing a specific project, he mentioned an eighth-grade democracy project on finding ways to make student council better. Through the use of iPhones and iPads, students conducted interviews around the building to learn opinions in an efficient way.
“Technology itself may evolve and change,” but the framework remains the same, he said.
Education today
Perry gave a quick update on the goals of the district at the meeting.
“We want to remain the best,” he said.
The district is continuing to maintain a focus on courses, STEM initiatives and supplementing the Common Core Standards in the curriculum.
Additionally, professional development, alternative revenue sources, technology and school specific programs remain in the limelight, he said.
Awards and recognitions
More than 50 students, parents and staff were in attendance at the meeting to recognize several recent achievements in the district.
“I think this is the biggest crowd we’ve ever had,” Perry said. “We’re very happy to have you here.”
German students were recognized for proficiency in the language; student Megan Gaffney was awarded for her contributions to the Delaware Valley Regional Science Fair; and students from both Elizabeth Haddon Elementary and Central Elementary schools were mentioned for their parts in South Jersey Band.
Adding color and music to the meeting, students from Tatem Elementary School were recognized for tying for first place in The Landmark Games, an international program.
Learn more about the Landmark Games project by visiting http://www.kidlink.org/drupal/project/landmark.
Next meeting
The next meeting of the Haddonfield Board of Education is slated for Thursday, May 9 at 7:30 p.m. at the high school library.
