The Merchantville Board of Education is proud to announce that the Commissioner of Education has affirmed the Administrative Law Judge’s decision to sever its sending-receiving relationship with Pennsauken and enter into a new sending-receiving relationship with Haddon Heights. The Commissioner concurred with the ALJ’s findings of fact and conclusion of law, and adopted the Initial Decision as the final decision in this matter, finding that – absent a showing of substantial negative financial, educational or racial impact herein – the Commissioner is required to grant the request.
We are excited to work with Haddon Heights and to phase in our students into their high school. The students will be phased into Haddon Heights High School. The current graduating 8th graders (Merchantville Class of 2015) will be able to attend Haddon Heights High School under the send/receive agreement. However, students that are already attending Pennsauken HS or other high schools will not qualify to attend under the new send/receive agreement. Instead, every year for four years, a new class will be sent to Haddon Heights until all of our students are phased into Haddon Heights.
Both the Commissioner’s affirmation and the full Administrative Law Judge’s decision can be found posted on the school’s website. Receiving the judgment in favor of Merchantville is a huge step for the students of Merchantville. The administration will work closely with the Haddon Heights Administration to make a smooth transition to the new school. Haddon Heights continues to be excited to welcome our students with open arms. They are aware of the ruling and look forward to our current 8th grade class as Freshmen for the 2015-2016 school year. This is a positive ruling for our student and for the town of Merchantville. Steve Morrone - Merchantville School Board President , J. Scott Strong - Chief School Administrator