Letter to the Editor: BOE Makes Pitch for Bancroft

Letter to the Editor from the Haddonfield Board of Education: 

To the Haddonfield Community,

Re: Bancroft

Everyone is well-aware of the debate over the future of the Bancroft site. The Commissioners should be applauded for all of their efforts to try to determine what is best for the town with this large tract of land. For a place like Haddonfield, this is not an easy decision and the fact that the process has brought about disagreement and debate is  reflective of how much all we all care about our town. The Board of Education has been appreciative of the support for a new field and additional parking.

While the Bancroft process has been unfolding, some of you are aware that the school district has been pursuing a number of ideas for revenue generation that would provide funding to maintain our quality programs. Over the past few years, our budget focus has understandably been on cutting expenses and minimizing tax increases. That focus needs to continue but if we are to remain the best district in the area, we also need to look to the future.

One of the primary jobs of a board of education is to plan for the students of tomorrow. The quality education we provide today is the legacy of past board members and leaders and our job is to do no less for the next few generations of students. In a recent meeting with the borough planners, the BOE expressed interest in acquiring the Bancroft site, hopefully through a collaborative partnership with the borough and all the advocates for the site.  There is one key fact: once this land is gone, it is gone. If we acquire the land, we can accommodate open space, recreation, athletics, historic preservation, expanded parking, a library, higher education and facilities that will bring our schools into the 21^st century. 

School districts have been struggling to survive due to deep cuts in state funding, tight budgetary caps, and mandated fiscal constraints that don’t appear to be ending any time soon. Acquiring the Bancroft property for the school district will create options for initiatives that can ultimately generate revenue for our schools. Our school district and our students are the “heart” of our community. It is the community’s responsibility to ensure a continued legacy of educational excellence and maintain our outstanding school district well into the 21^st century.

The district is currently in the initial investigation stages with a number of ideas that would be substantially aided if growth space was available. Among the possibilities is a new technology center—possibly in conjunction with the library initiative. A joint high school-community library, which would help solve the long-standing issues with the current borough library and provide the high school and community with a technologically modern facility, should be investigated. A new technology center would allow the district to develop distance learning and on-line capabilities that could enhance our current offerings and be marketed to other school districts; e.g., our highly ranked AP courses, our professional development for teachers, and our growing college/university credit programs with Drexel University. Such a facility could also have physical classroom space to supplement the high school, provide additional classrooms for preschool, or expand special education programs, as well as be available for the community to use beyond what is available in the Borough Hall.

Over the past few years, the board has engaged a Community Budget Advisory Committee, a Community Advisory Alternative Revenue Committee, and a Rutgers MBA Study to develop ideas on how to build revenue through our academic strengths to offset current restrictions and pressures limiting our growth. Our current tuition initiative is but the first step. We have also had preliminary discussions with a number of key players who might assist in developing some unique opportunities. Realizing most of these concepts will clearly require new facilities; the Bancroft property is a critical component. The board discussed its view that this land would be very valuable to the district in the development of future plans for program and revenue growth, thus, lowering the pressure for tax increases or cutting programs.

Another focus for this property involves one or more athletic fields that would be available for both school athletics and the community. Notwithstanding its strong athletic programs, Haddonfield has the smallest areas devoted to athletics in the Colonial Conference. Lullworth Hall, a historic building should be looked at for use by the district. Additional parking for the high school is also sorely needed, both for daytime and evening/weekend use, and would alleviate a good deal of the neighborhood parking issues which now occur daily. In planning a 21st-century campus, passive open space should also be a priority. To have land available for all these possibilities would likely require all of the property, not just the portion between the high school and Hopkins Lane.

Of great concern, of course, is the cost to acquire the land and develop these ideas. Ten or 15 years ago, the district would have proposed a bond issue to pay for it. Even if that was possible, we recognize that as a public use, there would be limited ratable growth or future tax revenue. But now is the time to see if we can pool opportunities—proponents of the library, open space, recreation and turf field as well as the borough and school district all need to come together to find the right combination of funding sources. We urge the planners to give serious consideration to devoting the entire property to these and related public uses that will take into account the long-term needs of the community and our children’s future.

Thank you.

Steve Weinstein & Rich Perry

President and Superintendent, on behalf of the Haddonfield Board of Education and the current and future students of the Haddonfield schools