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Board hears aggressive timeline for referendum projects; district aims to open limited tuition-based full‑day kindergarten in Sept. 2025
Summary
District architects and administrators outlined an ambitious schedule to complete referendum and non‑referendum projects and said the district plans to begin two sections of tuition-based full‑day kindergarten (50 students) by September 2025 as a phased approach ahead of any permanent full free kindergarten roll‑out.
Haddonfield School District officials told the board they plan an aggressive construction and schedule push to complete key referendum projects sooner rather than later to reduce exposure to inflation and start phased program changes as early as September 2025.
District architect Ron Schwanke and staff outlined priorities the district hopes to advance in 2025, including ADA stadium seating, new finishes and seating in the high school auditorium, flooring replacement at multiple schools, a secure vestibule at Haddonfield Memorial High School and interior alterations tied to the referendum program. Non-referendum items discussed for near-term work included the turf field and installation of an elevator at the high school.
Schwanke and staff said the most significant upcoming summer project is a major renovation of the middle-school (Mills) auditorium that will add roughly 200 seats and requires asbestos abatement; the team expects work to start this summer and be complete by the following winter break, allowing the high-school auditorium work to begin in spring of the following year. The team noted that certain projects require multi‑month schematic design or surveys and therefore cannot be started immediately.
On programming, district leaders said they intend to launch two sections of full‑day kindergarten on a tuition, lottery‑based model in September 2025 — an interim, temporary expansion of access rather than the long‑term free full‑day kindergarten that will follow construction and state funding changes. The administration described the plan as a phased approach: initial sections (50 students total) would be filled by lottery and would be geographically balanced (example given: approximately 16 students from each of the district’s three elementary schools), with students returning to their home schools in first grade.
Staff described several logistical constraints the team is resolving, including classroom location, speech and special-education service space and scheduling for gym and other shared facilities. Board members praised the level of user‑input: the design team reported conducting end‑user meetings with teachers and staff (for example, a three‑hour meeting with auditorium users) to refine program needs.
The board and staff discussed implementation sequencing and the need to award construction and professional-service contracts (construction manager, architect of record) on an accelerated schedule in spring so work can take place during summer windows. Staff also said a separate building adjacent to the old board office will come online next fall and provide additional classroom space that will help expand kindergarten capacity beyond the initial two sections.
Board members noted the plan is ambitious and thanked staff for the outreach and effort; no final bond issuance or contract award was voted on during this part of the meeting, although the board later approved several business and finance resolutions, including RFP awards, as part of the consent agenda (see consent-approvals article).
