BOE president Joe Fisicaro Jr. told supporters of Teddy Bear Academy to keep fighting.
The Evesham Township School District isn’t going to let its Teddy Bear Academy daycare program go down without a fight.
The ETSD Board of Education used its meeting this week to authorize the board’s solicitor to “file an appeal and other appropriate actions in the matter of Under the Sun Learning versus Evesham Township Board of Education.”
The move drew cheers from parents, employees and other supporters of Teddy Bear Academy.
“Under the Sun Learning versus Evesham Township Board of Education” refers to the court case where Administrative Law Judge Solomon Metzger ruled this summer the ETSD BOE had exceeded its authority when the district opened its daycare program in the summer of 2014.
Under the Sun Learning Center of Marlton, another local child care facility, brought the case forward after Teddy Bear Academy opened by arguing state statute only permitted a board of education to provide child care services or sponsor an outside child care provider “before or after regular school hours for any school aged child who attends school in the district.”
Metzger agreed with that interpretation of state statue.
Since Teddy Bear Academy operates throughout the year, and accepts placements for children from inside and outside of the district, from as young as 6 weeks old though 4 years old, Metzger effectively ordered the closure of the program with his ruling.
Although the district was allowed to file exceptions with state Commissioner of Education Lamont Repollet, who had the authority to adopt, modify or reject the Metzger’s ruling, ultimately Repollet also upheld most of the ruling in a recently announced decision.
“The commissioner finds, however, the plain meaning of the statute permits use of school property for child care services only before or after school, for school aged children who attend the district’s schools,” read Repollet’s decision. “If the legislature intended for school districts to provide child care services to children below the school age — e.g., infants and toddlers from 6 weeks old through pre-Kindergarten — which are open to non-residents of the district and operated during regular school hours, the legislature would not have drafted such limiting language.”
However, unlike Metzger’s ruling that originally only gave the district just 30 days to close Teddy Bear Academy, Repollet’s decision does allow the district to keep the program operating to the end of this 2018–2019 school year to provide families time to make other arrangements regarding the care of their children.
Without speaking to privileged matters between himself and the board, ETSD Board of Education solicitor William Donio said the BOE believes the board faces a multifaceted fight in its attempt to keep Teddy Bear Academy open.
While a judicial component is one component of that fight, Donio said the board believes that is not the only component, which is why the board authorized him to use “any and all resources” to fight on behalf of Teddy Bear Academy.
“ I think the board’s resolution is to take any and all steps — legislative, judicial, what have you — and really try and keep this program open for the children, the parents, the families, the staff and the community,” Donio said.
BOE president Joe Fisicaro Jr. also spoke on the matter at this week’s BOE meeting, in which he told the supporters of Teddy Bear Academy in the audience to “keep fighting.”
“I’ll speak on behalf of the board when I say this — community matters. Community matters. We all matter.” Fisicaro said. “And when we as a group come together … it’s when you are with us and we’re standing united is when we’re at our strongest, so thank you for everything you have done.”
