Clearview Regional School District Superintendent John Horchak offered a brief look at the status of the school district heading into the 2024-’25 school year during a board of education meeting on Aug. 22.
He first updated the state of utilities and facilities of Clearview Middle and high schools, where a walk-through took place on Aug. 26.
“We want to make sure everybody knows what’s going on with the facilities improvements that were made,” Horchak explained. “There are newer and exciting things. I say exciting because there are a lot of intangibles that are behind the walls. Things you don’t see.
“Security systems, a lot of wire was pulled, both electric and telecommunications, those things you don’t see,” he added. “You just see the end product of things like the STEM lab, some of the lighting throughout the building – which makes a substantial impact.”
The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) lab was created by converting the middle school’s former wood shop classroom earlier this year.
“This addition would provide ample space to explore STEM,” said Horchak when he first announced the conversion last year. “The high school already has a robotics lab, so our middle-school students will have hands-on STEM experience to easily transition to our high school.”
Also among the additions is an area for the trainer’s room of the high school; equipment was moved there the day of the board meeting.
The board also noted that Clearview High School football’s opening game against Cherry Hill East would take place Thursday at 6 p.m. on the former’s home turf. The game will be the first played on a new turf field added earlier this year and will begin Clearview’s fall sports schedule.
Horchak also informed the board of a referee shortage in South Jersey.
“One of the problems schools are having throughout South Jersey, and I think the whole state, is referees,” he noted, attributing some of the problem to crowd behavior during games. “They’re having a very difficult time. For this week (of football), we opted for a Thursday, but we might end up having some Saturday games again.
“Schools are splitting (referees) back and forth … in multiple sports,” Horchak added, “because they’re having a difficult time securing officials. It’s just, unfortunately, because of the nature of what’s going on on the sidelines and the outbursts that we’ve seen.”
Horchak emphasized that issues have been caused not by players and coaches, but by fans in and out of the district. He called the problem “a reality check.”
The next board of ed meeting, originally scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 26, will instead take place on Thursday, Sept. 19, at 6:30 p.m.
