The Moorestown board of education has officially accepted the resignation of Superintendent Michael Volpe, who will be replaced on an interim basis by Joseph Bollendorf.
“It’s not my goal to come in here in five months and to turn the cart upside down,” said Bollendorf, who will fill the position through June 30. “If along the way, if my experience can bring something to the table, can add to what it is you’re already doing, then that’s what I hope to accomplish.”
Board President Maurice Weeks addressed Volpe’s resignation during his remarks at a recent board meeting.
“He will be moving on to our friends in Hillsborough (Township) and leading that district, and if you do even a bit of what you were able to do here, they’re in for a wonderful experience,” Weeks told Volpe.
“We really appreciate everything you were able to do with us,” he added. “Obviously it goes without saying that we would’ve loved to have more of it.”
Volpe’s monthly meeting report included a simple gesture he encourages students to make for their teachers this holiday season.
“In our post-pandemic world, less and less people are going into education as a career for a variety of reasons,” he noted. “This has led to some of our staffing challenges that we currently have and will continue to have in the future.”
“This fact makes it even more important to appreciate our educators that we do have here in Moorestown,” Volpe added. “Not necessarily with physical, tangible gifts, but with a note of thanks, ongoing understanding and a mutual respect.”
Earlier in the board meeting, Weeks addressed board members Dr. Sandra Alberti and Vice President Dr. Mark Snyder, who are both finishing their tenure at Moorestown schools.
“My initial impression, I don’t always get them right, but I was pretty right with you,” said Weeks of Alberti. “You’re an amazing, knowledgeable, educator with just an unending depth of experience and passion for the work in education that you do, and the work you do here on the board.”
“It’s been a thrill to get to work with you and be alongside you, and see somebody who actually, potentially, has more passion for this than I do.”
“When other members of the board approached me and suggested that maybe (I) should think about leadership on the board, I think one of the main considerations was that it would be in some sort of tandem or partnership with you Mark,” Weeks told Snyder.
“I think the only way I could’ve gotten through it was doing that with you and having you as a partner.”
Alberti and Snyder addressed the board and township residents.
“I greatly appreciate the time I spent with board members,” Alberti noted. “ … I think we’re all in very good shape going forward, and I just appreciate the opportunity to do my time.”
“I think that it is really important for us as an educational community, to have and develop and focus on shared goals at a very high level,” Snyder said. “I think that it’s imperative, while we might have differences – whether they be in prioritizing certain things or on particular paths to get there – everybody is moving in the same direction and there are shared goals to point to.”
The retirements of Deanna Knobloch, Wendy Adamczyk, Joann Kolwicz and Susan Littman-Nichols were also recognized at the meeting. And later in the session, William Allen Middle School teacher Kim Martin praised the high-school staff for hosting the Veterans Day assembly last month.
“We returned to an in-person ceremony in the MAC gym,” Martin said. “The band and the Madrigals performed as well, and all the veterans were invited to a reception after the ceremony to meet and speak with the students.”
