BOE Shelves Plan to Rent Classrooms from United Methodist Church

The Haddonfield school district has shelved a plan to rent classroom space from the United Methodist Church to ease overcrowding at Tatem Elementary school.

The new plan is to locate one class of preschool students in each of the borough’s three elementary schools, which will reduce Tatem’s population by up to 60 students. Tatem, located  on Glover Avenue, hosted the district-wide preschool program for three and four year olds. That population, added to a total that was 200 more than each of the other two elementary schools in the borough.

Superintendent of Schools Richard Perry said the new plan would save money and provide more time to address the situation.

“We figured out a way to move one into each elementary school and support services,” Perry said Monday. “When we balanced that versus what we had to do to open school in September at the Methodist Church, we thought this was a better direction to go right now.”

Perry said parents were notified on Monday about the new plan. He and the school board had announced intentions to move the preschool program to the Methodist Church on Warwick Road at a board meeting last month.

Perry said the church has newly constructed classrooms that were built in anticipation of an expanded preschool program there. But the school district’s use of part of the new facility would require retrofitting to make the space work.

“The more time we got into discussions with the Methodist Church the more details we thought of and more time needed to work them out,” Perry said Monday. “We think it’s better not to rush it.”

Tatem Elementary School currently has 526 students; Central Elementary has 366 and Elizabeth Haddon 322. Perry said overcrowding at Tatem Elementary School squeezed classroom space and caused the loss of computer and music rooms, an art room shared with music and child care, loss of counseling office, traffic issues during dropping off and picking up students, and parking issues.

The preschool program for the next school year is expected to grow to as many as 83 students. The new plan will reduce Tatem’s population by up to 60 students, Perry said. It will also save the district more than $30,000 of an estimated cost of more than $50,000 to move into the Methodist Church.

Perry said discussions are continuing with the church and an expansion there may occur in the future, but not likely in the next school year.