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BOND REFERENDUM PAGE

Following the defeat of the 2018 Bond Referendum, we are redefining the path and the direction of the Bond. Our mission has not changed. Critical work (safety & security, infrastructure, and ongoing and preventative maintenance) must be completed in our schools. The safety and security of our children and staff is paramount and the needs of our schools are real and pressing. We are seeking community input as we craft a new bond for future consideration.

We held five open public forums in February and March 2019 to give their input on the next Bond Referendum. Each forum is now archived on our YouTube Channel.

Concurrent with the Community Forums, and open until midnight on March 27, 2019, were surveys regarding the bond offered to CHPS parents, CHPS staff and Cherry Hill community members without children in the Cherry Hill Public Schools.  An all-volunteer Ad Hoc Committee composed of CHPS parents, Cherry Hill Residents, a member of Town Council, and members of the Cherry Hill Board of Education beginning in April reviewed the information gathered from the public forums and survey responses.

Members of the Ad Hoc Committee worked from a charter they agreed to when they joined the committee. The Ad Hoc Committee developed a well-informed public perspective resulting in recommendations to the Board of Education for future bond referendum development. These recommendations were presented at the May 28, 2019 Board of Education Meeting and will be considered by the Board in conjunction with:

• Architectural/engineering expertise

• Current and future building needs

• Administrative recommendations

• State project guidelines

The Board then will develop a comprehensive future referendum that will address the district’s security, educational, systems and infrastructure needs in a cost effective, efficient manner.

Historical Perspective

During the past three years, the Board of Education has adopted sequential goals (see below) that have led the district to the referendum vote.

Board Goals – 2016-2017

4. Establish a strategic plan that identifies and categorizes the district’s needs through the development of “Cherry Hill Public Schools 2020: A clear vision for the future”

Within the 2016‐2017 academic year the following measurable actions will be addressed:

• Define the process, categorically, for creating the plan
• Undertake an examination of and complete a revision of the district’s mission and vision statements
• Maintain the focus of all work to be undertaken on the foundation of the student learning experience
• Definition and scope of work, directed by Board committees:
  • CHPS 2020 (Strategic Planning)
  • Facilities and Infrastructure (C&I, B&F)
    • Instructional, non-instructional, co-curricular, extra-curricular, athletic
  • Materials/supplies/services (C&I, B&F, P&L)
    • Instructional, non-instructional, co-curricular, extra-curricular, athletic
  • Staffing (C&I, HR, B&F)
    • Instructional, non-instructional, co-curricular, extra-curricular, athletic
  • Process and governance (C&I, B&F, P&L, HR)
    • Instructional, non-instructional, co-curricular, extra-curricular, athletic
  • Finance and Cost
    • Instructional, non-instructional, co-curricular, extra-curricular, athletic
  • Other
    • Instructional, non-instructional, co-curricular, extra-curricular, athletic

Adopted July 26, 2016

Board Goals – 2017-2018

4. Create an actionable plan, “Cherry Hill Public Schools 2020: A clear vision for the future,” to encompass items to be included in a referendum

Within the 2017‐2018 academic year the following measurable actions will be addressed:

• Identify capital projects
  • Short term and long term, prioritized and categorized on a need basis
• Define and advertise the process for the creation of the plan
• Follow and implement the timeline of events to be prepared for a referendum vote on September 25, 2018

Adopted July 25, 2017

Board Goals – 2018-2019

4. Create an actionable plan, “Bond 2018,” to continually update items included in the 2018 bond referendum

Within the 2018‐2019 academic year the following measurable actions will be addressed:

• Identify capital projects to be completed under the bond
  • Include timeline
  • Descriptions
  • Visual aids, including video, for each school
• Publicize the progress of the projects on a continual basis, on the district and school websites, on social media and through conventional news media

Adopted July 10, 2018

The development of these sequential goals publicly indicated, with an accountable measure of completion, the path that the Board of Education and the school district were traveling, culminating in the bond referendum vote as the previous outstanding debt in the district was retired.