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Hainesport board approves contracts, hires and costly special-education placements
Summary
At its Sept. 23 meeting the Hainesport Township Board of Education approved multiple contracts and curricular changes, confirmed hires and personnel actions, and authorized several out-of-district special-education placements that include annual per-student costs in excess of $48,000; public comment praised staff and raised a bus-safety concern.
The Hainesport Township Board of Education on Sept. 23 approved a suite of routine and program actions, including contracts for student services, curricular adoption, personnel changes and several out-of-district special-education placements with annually budgeted per-student costs.
The board approved a contract with Empower AAC for augmentative and alternative communication consultation services and ratified an amended contract with ESS Northeast, LLC covering substitute staffing rates for the 2025–26 school year. The board also authorized submission of a $2,230 FOCUS Grant and retroactively approved Savvas as the district’s science curricular program for 2025–26. A contract with Gail Santamaria to provide social-work services to the preschool program was ratified.
Finance Chair Larry Brandolph highlighted multiple out-of-district placements the board authorized for the coming school year. Examples listed in the agenda include Student ID #12547 to Garfield Park Academy at $68,533.20 for 180 days and several placements to BCSSSD (Burlington County Special Services) with per-student annual costs reported between $48,414.00 and $61,959.00; one placement included a one-to-one teacher assistant at $50,240.00. The agenda lists those placements and per-student costs; the board approved them by roll call.
Human Resources Chair Jason Cardonick said the board accepted the resignation of Kim Orfe as the boys’ soccer coach and approved Eric Spinelli as the coach for the 2025–26 season. The board also approved a variety of professional-development enrollments and additional summer hours for staff; examples on the agenda include an Allison Tate registration costing $106 and a multi-week program for Julia Wolfrom listed at $1,650. The board approved a stipend for Anthony Procopio for additional administrative duties overseeing the Child Study Team for 2025–26.
Student Services/Community Relations Chair Bianca Cuniglio presented committee items including updates to multiple policies and regulations (agenda items include P1636.01, P1648.15, P2422 and others), approval of a bake-sale fundraiser for the MD (BASE) class, guest-speaker visits and the creation of a new musical theater club. Those items were approved as presented.
During the public-comment period Cheryl Smith thanked staff and the PTO, saying staff were “happy to be back in the building” and praising the district’s Back-to-School Night. Resident Tom Fox asked the board to address ongoing issues with Bus 7 and requested that bus-related concerns be resolved.
Board procedural items on the agenda included routine approvals of the Aug. 19 meeting minutes and the superintendent’s reports (HIB report, Code of Conduct, enrollment and nurse’s report). The board passed motions to open and close public comment and adjourned the meeting at 7:26 p.m.
The agenda includes detailed itemization of costs, contracts and personnel actions; where the agenda presents a specific dollar amount or item number the board-approved record lists that figure (for example, the Garfield Park Academy placement at $68,533.20). Where the agenda shows grouped roll-call tables the published text reports that motions carried but does not present a single-line consolidated yes/no tally for each item in the narrative portion of the agenda.
