[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6179807,"mediaKeyId","5123402-7ed95032adcd3d4175f915da9523895a","parentId",5123402,"title","Voorhees opens Early Childhood Development Center after $18 million project; kitchen change, shared services noted","audioSeconds",406,"startMs",1214000,"endMs",1620000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5123402-7ed95032adcd3d4175f915da9523895a&start=1214&end=1620","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5123402-7ed95032adcd3d4175f915da9523895a/thumbnail_1214000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6179807/New-Jersey/Voorhees-opens-Early-Childhood-Development-Center-after-18-million-project-kitchen-change-shared-services-noted","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6179807-3b3c71ce798c6d056749a343612a703a/orig.mp4?Expires=1770970267&Signature=QFWgp8xOY4eZHzXDyWYQix83c6gpvEp4fkRnEXRh~H6SVFNlyvFH369qWyrbfDUBOa6isfHqypjoVht64KXJObcyDulVDYGOAoOL48mT3NZpo1ofGt-2pCOVc4hP21z0nLmjPe7Qx4tndQYl3NqIJu6Vqu0LzNHQAXYkw1rgoo0tjMOXUPo-NufOkOEphnGnqQbBsAPiGo6wLQ13V8jgER2ajzZAcp9ZJ9FZxm5d1pGCjfR5LecuOYmdtEZuArTQpt9K58jEOU2GStty7PgS2E1SmwZtalryqnZwP8umH~FdgrRDV7lwaTsg7L-OFu~JfRsIPdvh-BQY8GUOBS94ow__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Voorhees Township Board of Education","date","2025-06-10T13:05:31Z","article","Voorhees Township School District opened the Voorhees Early Childhood Development Center for preschool students on June 2, 2025, district officials said during the board meeting. The district closed on a converted building in Gibbsboro and completed renovations so the facility could accept its first students.

District officials said the project’s funding combined $12 million from the district’s capital reserve and a $6 million Preschool Facilities Expansion Grant. “$18,000,000 dollar funding for this project was made up of $12,000,000 from capital reserve and $6,000,000 from the preschool facilities expansion grant,” the board secretary said.

The district purchased the former commercial building at 250 Haddonfield Berlin Road in Gibbsboro after a multi-step approval process that included state review and three Gibbsboro planning-board hearings required because the site’s use changed from a skating rink and medical office to a preschool. The board secretary said the building was added to the district’s long-range facilities plan with an architect’s estimated cost of $18,000,000 and that state approval and planning-board approvals preceded the April 2024 closing.

Construction work was awarded to Wetherby Construction and Renovation Corp. The original construction contract was reported at $14,598,000; three change orders and an allowance increased the total contract value to $15,244,003.76. District staff explained that the contract included a $300,000 allowance for unforeseen items and that one of the larger scope changes was converting a planned warming kitchen into a full-service kitchen to serve the building’s projected enrollment and meal needs. The board secretary said that if the kitchen modification were excluded, the change-order portion would be $72,007.85, or less than 1% of the contract.

Officials described the kitchen decision as driven by meal logistics and projected enrollment: the ECDC will house about 285 preschool seats when fully enrolled and the district expects to provide breakfast and lunch at the site once counts next October qualify the program for meal funding. For the current year, lunches are being prepared at Signal Hill while the full kitchen is completed; the district estimated kitchen finish in July 2025.

The board secretary said 93 students attended in the first week after opening and that preschool registration for 2025–26 was “overwhelming.” The district described classroom sizing and a design requirement that each preschool classroom be over 900 square feet; the renovated building contains 24 classrooms. A smaller full-size kitchen with an attached walk-in freezer placed outside the building was chosen to maximize classroom space.

Several operations items tied to the project were noted on the agenda. The district will add one school resource officer to the existing shared-services agreement with the Voorhees Township Police Department; Gibbsboro will share 21% of that cost because Gibbsboro’s enrollment at the site is five classrooms versus Voorhees’ 19 classrooms. The district also described a shared-service agreement with Camden County for solar-powered advanced school warning beacons on Route 561 (Haddonfield Berlin Road); the county requires the agreement because the signs sit in the county right-of-way, the district said. The district will own and maintain the signs and said their cost was already included in the construction contract.

Board members and administrators showed before-and-after photos of the renovation at the meeting and described classroom configurations as unique because the work was a renovation rather than new construction. Officials emphasized the partnership with Gibbsboro officials during permitting and the traffic-study work required to establish parent drop-off and bus flows.

No bond referendum was required for the project, the board secretary said. The board approved the building-and-grounds agenda items at the meeting by unanimous vote.

Clarifying details presented in the meeting: the construction contract award (Wetherby Construction and Renovation Corp.), the original contract amount ($14,598,000), an allowance of $300,000, three change orders increasing the contract to $15,244,003.76, a $6,000,000 state preschool facilities grant and $12,000,000 from district capital reserve (totaling $18,000,000), first-week enrollment of 93 students, projected preschool universe of approximately 500 students over five years, and a shared-service SRO cost split where Gibbsboro will pay 21%.

The district said additional related agenda items (change order 20.3 and finance item 18.26) were included for board approval; those items were approved as part of the buildings-and-grounds consent votes.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","June 9, 2025 Voorhees BOE Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","Voorhees Township School District opened the Voorhees Early Childhood Development Center on June 2, 2025, converting a Gibbsboro commercial building into a preschool after a multi-stage approval and renovation process funded with $12 million in district capital reserve and a $6 million state grant.","taxTitle","Voorhees Township School District, School Districts, New Jersey","taxId",60866,"location","New Jersey","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6179797,"Board committee tables vote on policy 0164.1 after member concerns it would limit open dialogue",1173,2387000,3560000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5123402-7ed95032adcd3d4175f915da9523895a&start=2387&end=3560","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5123402-7ed95032adcd3d4175f915da9523895a/thumbnail_2387000.jpg","/articles/6179797/New-Jersey/Board-committee-tables-vote-on-policy-01641-after-member-concerns-it-would-limit-open-dialogue","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6179797-9a9533c4a3ab96cbd6c9a0ed1f99191d/orig.mp4?Expires=1770970267&Signature=LKg5vYkG5k27Mxsfzx7FKnEHbQF7m6eL~zjKfPedjJpAFOPHiIWcOH6blp4uCl4X3w-tf-9slacCDDkRfUiPWhYegMXVtjFPQpogc2VQKCfFRjpbxBy2lfMY--yUZLWKWIbqf4UayOr64RasixmYuttVh9npZ9kk1xBwvbn85~RLawuJIVXDj~Q37R~UmfSXqiPz2L39~qjBC4f2FUlz3-r0NgtnQlPr~HHdkhxjnziw0kAKV9jF~p1HodUlNrV9QeNaX1p2Un1xMlCucaTXvun~tam3qYTlQX8UZz1UxidzxHiccrJUBeTNtVqafvZlikHmvl4Z2BTiZ5on-Ts4Kw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The board’s policy committee recommended that the full Voorhees Township School District Board of Education postpone a second‑read vote on proposed revisions to policy 0164.1, which governs conduct of board members during public meetings.

Policy committee chair Branch Stewart told the board the committee met June 3 and recommended tabling the matter until after the July break to allow time for additional consideration and revisions. “As such, the participating committee members recommend that the full board vote the full the 4 excuse me, recommended the full board table this evening's vote on this policy until after the board's July break,” Branch Stewart said.

Board member Verdi strongly objected to the policy’s current language and the committee process. “My voice and opinion is not welcome in the policy committee,” Verdi said. She described the existing draft as likely to “stifle essential open and robust dialogue” and urged the board and the committee to reject policy 0164.1 as written.

Committee materials and the chair’s report indicate the committee debated substantive tweaks to 0164.1 based on feedback from the May board meeting and that the committee will revisit the policy after the break. The board did not take a final vote on the policy at the meeting; the committee’s recommendation to table was reported during committee reports and will return to the board agenda after summer break for further consideration.

The public-record committee report also said the policy committee plans to revisit the district strategic plan after the July break and is exploring ways to increase stakeholder engagement in policy work. No formal amendments to policy 0164.1 were adopted at the meeting.","The policy committee recommended tabling a second‑read vote on proposed revisions to policy 0164.1 (conduct of board members during public meetings) until after the July break. Board member Verdi said the policy in its current form \"stifles essential open and robust dialogue\" and that her voice is unwelcome in committee deliberations.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6179802,"Board approves two-year extension of superintendent’s contract through 2026–27",132,2140000,2272000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5123402-7ed95032adcd3d4175f915da9523895a&start=2140&end=2272","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5123402-7ed95032adcd3d4175f915da9523895a/thumbnail_2140000.jpg","/articles/6179802/New-Jersey/Board-approves-two-year-extension-of-superintendents-contract-through-202627","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6179802-db9d59da48595e9739db1b0823171549/orig.mp4?Expires=1770970267&Signature=edBHdCJRZexSQXhiAnYf7adRHuMz9K969dy740w9A5EMVJNEMq~ovAMqBHhedwC3v1CRUieM2hlMtgodEVXdM4PyE~o8tK1NP6iz~Jym4dYcPemtndxSklYwmrQRRiN7VwfxyHdGMNEzn2OwTD9oMmrp6dY9NwoYr-oNZnuJfvt77u5JD-fNisYYS5O77s4BZ1nR3KFvMPP0ULlLJg2Km0D8Vn-IjetW5t4DviGU4ieSo7XvOT3dKNdfS6uqVcm-20Yk23yCCblW8K94~bMrUyhR17mvCyl-JbgQRmousCR8qivIXyUXdIbttej~E1r98uF7zezuSPfIkcxgk4d-AA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Voorhees Township School District Board of Education voted unanimously to extend Superintendent Dr. Neely Hackett’s contract by two years, converting a three-year contract to a five-year contract that runs through the 2026–27 school year.

At a public hearing required by state law, the board solicitor outlined the process and the proposed amendment. “Under the education laws in New Jersey, superintendent contracts can only be 3, 4, or 5 years,” the board solicitor said, and the amendment before the board would “extend Dr. Hackett’s current 3‑year contract to a 5‑year contract. All of the terms and conditions remain the same. The increment year over year remains the same, which is 2.5%.”

The public hearing was opened for comment; no members of the public spoke on the amendment. A motion to approve the two-year extension, as approved by the Executive County Superintendent for Camden County, was moved and seconded and passed on a unanimous roll-call vote.

The board’s action was taken as part of the meeting’s consent business; the board solicitor said the hearing and the vote followed the required public-notice process for superintendent-contract amendments. No other modifications to pay structure or contract terms were reported in the meeting materials or comments.","The Voorhees Township School District board voted unanimously to extend Superintendent Dr. Neely Hackett’s contract from three to five years with the same annual increment structure (2.5%). The extension was presented at a public hearing and the county executive superintendent’s approval was noted.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Voorhees opens Early Childhood Development Center after $18 million project; kitchen change, shared services noted

Board committee tables vote on policy 0164.1 after member concerns it would limit open dialogue

Board approves two-year extension of superintendent’s contract through 2026–27