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Students and community push back on Camden campus integration; district calls it cross‑enrollment
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Summary
Students, parents and alumni packed the Camden City Advisory Board meeting to oppose what they described as a proposed 'merge' of four campus schools, citing fears about erased school identities, scheduling chaos and discrimination; the superintendent said no schools will close next year and outlined a phased cross‑enrollment plan.
Dozens of students, parents and alumni criticized a district plan described locally as a "merge" of Camden's four campus schools, saying the changes risk erasing long‑standing magnet school identities and traditions and would not be implemented without robust stakeholder input.
"I worry about how it will affect Camden High students," said a Camden High senior who identified herself as Nykins during public comment, raising concerns about discrimination and the mental‑health impacts of placing students together with adults and peers who see them as "lesser." Multiple student board representatives from Creative Arts, Brynn Medical Arts and Big Picture urged that names, diplomas and school legacies be preserved.
Parents and alumni echoed those themes. "No school will be closed," the superintendent later told the meeting, but parents said early district postings and social media created fear that diplomas and school names could be replaced by a single campus label.
Speakers asked specific operational questions about scheduling, majors, and whether students who have completed program prerequisites would keep priority for advanced classes. "If a student is in the program and has been progressing, that student has priority for those classrooms," the superintendent said in response, adding that only introductory courses would realistically be open campus‑wide where teacher schedules allow.
Students said communication failures and last‑minute social media posts fueled protests and a walkout earlier in the day. Several asked the board to convene formal stakeholder meetings and to publish clear, written guarantees about diplomas, class ranking and graduation requirements before any change is implemented.
The board did not vote on structural changes during the meeting. Instead, members and the superintendent emphasized a phased approach: maintain current school structures next year while planning an "aligned schedule" and further engagement with students, families and staff.
The meeting closed with a motion to enter closed session for negotiations and investigations; the motion carried and the board reconvened to approve the April agenda items before adjourning at 9:40 p.m.
