January 10, 1997|By Stephanie Brenowitz and Angela Couloumbis, INQUIRER CORRESPONDENTS
Nearly five years after turning down Merchantville’s request to send its high school students to Haddonfield instead of Pennsauken, the state Board of Education has announced it will hear Merchantville’s appeal in March. The Merchantville school board has been trying to move its high school students to Haddonfield since 1982. It was stopped from doing so in 1992 when the state Commissioner of Education said it would cause Pennsauken to lose too many white students and upset the high school’s racial balance.
Merchantville parents said they wanted to move their children to Haddonfield because they felt the school, which is ranked third in the state, would better serve the needs of its small high school population. Pennsauken officials were opposed.
Merchantville officials were happy yesterday with the state board’s decision to hear their appeal. But reaction in Haddonfield, which originally supported the move, is likely to be more mixed this time around.
When Merchantville made its request years ago, Haddonfield was trying to attract outside students to its under-subscribed high school. But now that its lower grades are burgeoning, Haddonfield is anticipating a larger student body down the line, and some parents and board members may oppose Merchantville’s interest in moving about 100 students to their district.
While Haddonfield’s high school has room for about 400 more students, the district is considering using some high school classrooms for other grades to alleviate overcrowding in the lower grades.
Still, officials in Merchantville were optimistic that the Board of Education would reverse itself once it reviewed the situation.
Mike Sullivan, president of Merchantville’s school board, said more than half of the high school students in his town choose to go to other public or private schools rather than attend Pennsauken.
“Pennsauken does a fine job, but if most of the electorate chooses to go elsewhere, then we’re not meeting their needs,” Sullivan said.
In Pennsauken, officials said prior to a school board meeting last night that they were relieved the long-standing question soon would be put to rest. Superintendent Harold Kurtz said he anticipates the state will uphold the earlier ruling by the commissioner in favor of keeping the status quo.
“It’s about time,” Kurtz said. “It’s been in the hands of the state for over four years. We look forward to the decision and hope (it is) in our favor.”
