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Residents urge board to sustain inclusion work; taxpayer funding shortfall highlighted
Summary
Two members of the public praised the new board leadership and urged continued work on racial inclusion; another commenter urged the board to address a local school funding shortfall and to pursue intergovernmental solutions with the borough.
Several residents addressed the Collingswood Board of Education during the open public-comment period, urging continued focus on racial inclusion and identifying a local funding shortfall the commenter said is constraining district resources.
Alexandra Guidos Smith of 311 Lake View Drive congratulated the newly sworn board members and said she hoped "the board can continue with the work that the last session had left off," referencing student protests a year to a year-and-a-half earlier by students of color who she said "walked out because they were not feeling heard and listened to and understood." She praised district progress but urged the board not to reverse work on inclusion and said she looked forward to seeing the district maintain its trajectory.
Steve Sylves of 439 Haden Avenue thanked board members for serving and highlighted what he called a "substantial Gap in local tax revenue" that reduces the district's actual local tax receipts compared with what the state funding formula estimates. He said the shortfall has amounted to "millions" over time, affecting salaries and improvements, and urged the board to collaborate with borough commissioners on legal mechanisms such as pilot agreements or reallocating surplus and anticipated revenues to increase school funding, pointing to examples in other New Jersey municipalities.
No board response that changed policy was recorded during the meeting; the comments were noted for consideration and the board closed public comment before adjourning.
