Haddonfield board elects Jamie Griffin president, approves reorganization slate

Jamie Griffin was elected president of the Haddonfield School District Board of Education during the board's Jan. 10 reorganization meeting, and the board approved its annual reorganization package, including appointments to compliance and policy coordinator roles and adoption of the meeting schedule that includes a May 1 special meeting for budget adoption.

The board took the oath of office for newly seated members and heard a reading of the board code of ethics. After nominations, board members cast roll-call votes to elect Griffin president and to approve a vice president nominee identified as Linda. The board then moved to approve a single motion that extended a long list of annual appointments, policies and administrative designations through the next organization meeting in January 2025, unless otherwise noted.

The reorganization motion covered statutory and administrative positions and routine governance items. The slate approved included appointment of a Section 504 coordinator under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), a public agency compliance officer, an affirmative action officer, liaisons for homeless children and youth and for Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP), an indoor-air-quality designee, an asbestos management officer, a custodian and alternate custodian of records, a purchasing agent and authorization to award contracts up to bid thresholds with a quoted threshold at 15% of the bid threshold, designated depository for district funds, authorization to sign warrants, maintenance of the district organizational chart, adoption of the teacher/principal/assistant-principal evaluation models and other routine policies and approvals listed in the reorganization packet. The board also approved Omni Group Inc. as third-party administrator for tax-shelter annuities; board members noted that Vanguard should appear as item No. 3 in the tax-shelter list and asked staff to correct that.

Discussion during the meeting focused on scheduling and logistics rather than policy debate. Board members asked that the calendar of meetings be checked against major holidays and noted an extra meeting was required for budget adoption because of timing conflicts with spring break and state aid availability — the budget-adoption meeting was scheduled for May 1. A speaker identified as the temporary chair read the board code of ethics aloud, including the pledge that board members "will uphold and enforce all laws, rules, and regulations of the state for education and court orders pertaining to schools." The board also discussed continuing professional-development expectations for members and making time in a committee-of-the-whole meeting for any member who takes additional training to report back to colleagues.

Votes at a glance: - Election of Jamie Griffin as board president — Roll-call vote recorded in the meeting; outcome: approved. - Election of Linda (vice president nominee) — Roll-call vote recorded in the meeting; outcome: approved. - Approval of reorganization motion (appointments, policies, meeting schedule, authorization items, and related annual approvals including Omni Group Inc. as third-party administrator for tax shelters) — Motion made and seconded; roll-call vote recorded in the meeting; outcome: approved.

The meeting concluded with routine housekeeping: members were reminded to return signed acknowledgments of the code of ethics, complete required training modules as applicable to their assigned levels, and staff agreed to distribute registration and training information by email. No ordinance, contract award, or budget amounts were adopted as part of this reorganization meeting; the budget-adoption vote was scheduled for the May 1 special meeting.