The Cherry Hill board of education meeting on June 27 was the last for Superintendent Dr. Joseph Meloche as he embarks on a new career with the Rose Tree Media School District in Pennsylvania.
Meloche thanked a number of individuals and organizations with whom he worked over the years – and ended with his family.
“The only regret that I have in the job that I’ve done here in Cherry Hill is that I did not spend more time with them, or make more time with them, as things occurred, because so often, there were demands that came along with the work,” Meloche acknowledged.
“I’m very thankful to those five ladies, who they are,” he added, referring to his wife and four daughters. “ …. I’m better at everything I do because of them. They help me maintain perspective and understand what’s important each and every day.”
Public Information Officer Barbara Wilson handed the outgoing superintendent the crystalline tower given to retiring administrators, with an inscription that reads, “Making a difference: awarded to Joseph Meloche for your dedicated years of outstanding service and commitment. Thank you for everything you have done. You truly make a difference.”
During the meeting’s public comment, many parents with rising fifth graders from Bret Harte Elementary spoke out against the high number of students in its classes and pushed to have that reassessed. They also want more sections with a smaller number of students per class and a return to redistricting conversations.
Parents also cited their children’s need for therapy to deal with anxiety and stress, to help them focus and to avoid the emotions at home that come when they struggle to keep up with academics.
“The chaos of a large classroom is a bad learning environment,” said Cindy Goldberg, mother of a rising fifth grader at Harte. “Large class sizes are a recipe for disaster. It’s stress that sets (students) up for (a) noisy, overwhelming and difficult-to-manage space noncompatible with learning.”
Meloche addressed those issues in his closing remarks.
“It is an ongoing discussion,” he pointed out. “The team, which involves central office administrators, building principals and folks in registration, will continue to monitor the enrollment at the elementary levels throughout the course of the month of July. If there are updates or things scheduled to change, that information will come directly out from the building principals.”
Business Administrator Lynn Shugars updated bond referendum projects and noted that the board has decided to delay upgrades for the stadium and lights at Cherry Hill East until after football season – or around late October – because the necessary steel structures will not be available before that.
“This is for the site work to install the bleachers and to improve accessibilities out to the site,” Shugars explained. “This also includes the installation of lights, visitor’s bleachers, press box, fencing – those types of things.”
The meeting began when board member Dr. Ben Rood addressed an email sent to him regarding his attire at a previous board session, for which he wore a dress. The email requested that he “keep his mental and sexual illness to himself.”
“Two weeks ago, I wore an item of clothing that is not typically associated with a masculine presenting person, so some might perceive it as a mix of gender expression,” Rood related. “I did that as a symbolic gesture, although I do occasionally mix my attire in a mix of gender expression. But in this particular case, I did so in solidarity of it being Pride Month, and in solidarity with our LGBTQ youth.
“ … Because there are people in our community and children in our district that identify in all kinds of ways across the gender spectrum, I chose to support them in a way that I felt was relevant to my own normal expression,” he added.
“All I really want to come from this is, I want the children of our district to know that no matter who you are, this board member has your back.”
In other news, former teacher and coach Nihn Nguyen was appointed as Beck Middle School’s new assistant principal.
The next board of education meeting will take place on Tuesday, July 11 at 6:30 p.m. at Carusi Middle School.
