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Teacher concerns prompt board to table 2025–26 calendar item; board member speaks out on governance
Summary
A Signal Hill teacher and VTEA president raised staff concerns about the proposed 2025–26 school calendar; after board debate a motion to table curriculum item 16.5 (the calendar) passed. A board member used public comment to criticize attempts to silence dissent and pledged to continue asking questions about district decisions.
The Voorhees Township Board of Education tabled a curriculum agenda item tied to the 2025–26 school calendar after a Signal Hill teacher raised staff concerns during public comment and board members debated the issue.
Trish Saka, a third‑grade teacher at Signal Hill and president of the Voorhees Teachers Education Association (VTEA), urged the board to review the calendar closely before approving it. ‘‘I just want to make sure that before you vote on the calendar tonight that you have all had the opportunity to look it over and that as a board … you have considered the effects on the staff and the community,’’ Saka told the board. She said teachers were concerned about returning in August, loss of personal planning time, and the removal of certain early‑dismissal or half‑day planning opportunities.
Board members debated whether to approve curriculum items 16.1–16.7 as a group. A request to pull item 16.5 (the calendar) for separate consideration was made and ultimately the board voted to table 16.5 so the administration and board could gather more information. The motion to table carried on a roll call vote with board members indicating yes (including Miss Kedover, Miss Munyon, Mr. Rosen, Mr. Rosner, Miss Rutter, Miss Stewart, Miss Verdi and Miss Watson); the chair announced ‘‘Motion carries to the table.’’
During the meeting a board member used public remarks to criticize what they described as efforts to silence dissenting voices on the board, saying ‘‘I will not sit here and allow my voice to be silenced’’ and quoting the aphorism, ‘‘Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.’’ That speaker said they would continue to ask questions about decisions including cuts to after‑school tutoring, rising project costs, and transparency around meeting recordings; the speaker identified those remarks as their personal views.
The remainder of the curriculum slate (items 16.1–16.4 and 16.6–16.7) was approved by the board after the calendar item was pulled. Other consent items across policy, personnel, transportation, buildings & grounds and finance were approved later in the meeting, typically by unanimous vote.
No final decision on the 2025–26 calendar was recorded at the meeting; the item was tabled for further review and will return to a future agenda when the board and administration have more information.
