By John P. Schmidt
NEWS Correspondent
The Brooklawn Board of Education approved an interlocal service agreement between the BOE and the Borough of Brooklawn.
Board President Bruce Darrow said the district gave money to the Borough for shared services for the community center, ball fields, and other things.
\”The agreement is between us and the Borough, but it is really between us and the community,\” Darrow said. \”We\’re giving money back to the community.\”
Besides benefiting the district, this also helps the Borough with offsetting tax increases, he said.
In an interview, Brooklawn Mayor John Soubasis said the agreement solidifies the working relationship which the Borough has with the school district and the community, and has allowed the Borough to continue to work into the future to sustain the quality of life in the Borough.
\”We not only have to look at the children being effected, but most importantly all the taxpaying residents of the community. These are the kinds of things we have to do in the future to keep towns the size of ours strong and able to continue on,\” he said.
Besides approving the inter-local service agreement, the BOE accepted $117,716 in aid from No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
Superintendent Dr. John Kellmayer said the funding increased from last year.
\”The NCLB funding is based on the number of children receiving free and reduced price lunch,\” he said. \”The number of children receiving free and reduced priced lunch is up in Brooklawn.\”
The district also received funding for the 2008-09 Fiscal Year for School Choice. Currently the district has 79 students from out of the district. The total Choice Revenue for the fiscal year is $1,241,966.
Becoming a choice district has helped to save the district money and keep taxes down. The school district saves an average of $1,232 per home.
The BOE also approved a recommendation allowing for an additional 675 hours of library services.
The time was increased because to make up hours of a full-time librarian who retired a few years ago.
The additional hours were also approved last year, and are expected to increase next year also.
The Board also decided the future of longtime custodian John Waszewski.
Last month two eighth grade students, Mellissa Mackey and Meaghan Ryan, had addressed the board about the contract situation of Waszewski, and urged the Board to renew his contract, which was set to expire on June 30.
The BOE took no action on Waszewski\’s contract, and decided not to renew it.
Waszewski said, \”I just wanted to thank you all for the opportunity to work here.\”
The next meeting will be on August 21 in Borough Hall. The BOE will have a special meeting July 10 to award the contract to renovate the bathrooms at Alice Costello School.
Source: Gloucester City News, July 3, 2008
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