The Eastern Regional Board of Education has approved its budget for the 2023-’24 school year.
The move was announced by board Administrator Kenneth Verrill at a recent meeting. Updates and details will be available next week.
Eastern High School showcased a commercial shot by a group of 10 seniors, with the help of teacher Jeff Holmes, for the Shop Voorhees Initiative, an effort to encourage local shopping by residents in the township. May is Small Business Month in Voorhees.
Holmes is Eastern’s media teacher, and he has helped students over the years develop their film skills.
“We’ve been developing the program and it’s really growing,” he said. “Media 2 (course) students can earn college credits for the course. We’re entering into a variety of competitions and festivals.”
The board of education also honored Eastern senior Saachi Tyagi as the April Scholar of the Month. She is an avid AP student and athlete involved in a number of extracurricular activities. Tyagi will continue her education at the University of Pittsburgh.
Superintendent Robert Cloutier also reminded the public about the May 16 board meeting, during which there will be a ceremony to honor former longtime board President Robert DeCicco. Eastern will name its media center for him.
Cloutier also updated the board on HVAC installations.
“Over the spring break, we had some tremendous progress with HVAC and solar projects,” he noted. “The solar is really moving fast. (As for) HVAC, we are now up to seven classrooms with their own air conditioners.
“Some of the rooftop units were replaced,” Cloutier added, “but most importantly, the auditorium has a brand new system … “
Verrill announced that Eastern has gone from Tier 1 to Tier 2 in cybersecurity, the highest rating a school can receive.
“This is effective now,” he said. “Ironically, our coverage reaches back all the way to 2019. Kudos to the IT team for their efforts. We’re the first district of 96 to move from Tier 1 to Tier 2.”
