Local News - Mullica, Washington townships OK more shared school services
By MICHELLE LEE, Staff Writer | Posted: Wednesday, August 4, 2010 | 0 comments
Middle school students in Mullica and Washington townships will get to know each other better in the upcoming academic year as both school districts have approved a shared-services agreement.
In the agreement, sixth, seventh and eighth-graders from Green Bank Elementary School will attend....Continue Reading
Mullica Township Middle School. Two Washington Township teachers will team up with the Mullica Township teachers to provide middle school programs. The Washington Township school nurse will work six hours per week in Mullica Township to provide health services for the students, and a Washington Township secretary will assist the Mullica Township curriculum supervisor for eight hours per week.
No money will be exchanged and the Washington Township students - about 23 students - will be bused 10 miles to the Mullica middle school to join about 215 students, said Richard Goldberg, the superintendent for both school districts.
Goldberg said the shared services should run smoothly with integrated classes and the Washington Township students will have the opportunity to participate in Mullica's more extensive school activities. He noted that the Mullica and Washington kids have a history playing together on various sports teams and the students will eventually attend the same high school.
Kevin Dugan, the principal of Mullica Elementary School, and who also shares principal duties at Green Bank Elementary School, said he's excited the middle school will gain a social studies and science teacher. Dugan said the Mullica students benefit from having two new teachers , a smaller class size and the students could pick up other ideas and experiences from the newcomers. The Washington Township students will gain more exposure to different school clubs and cultural diversity. "We think it will benefit kids on both sides of the line," Dugan said.
Jeanne Fox-Ford, the Washington Township School Board president, said the arrangement will "be wonderful academically as well as socially for our students."
She said the student population at Green Bank Elementary School can be very small - there were only four seventh-graders this past year - and it's important to place the students in a larger academic setting where they have more opportunities to learn music, art, sports and even socialize through school clubs and other activities. "All of these things we were cutting from our budget - we didn't want to lose that programming, and we saw an opportunity to keep that moving forward," Fox-Ford said.
The Mullica School Board approved the agreement at the July 20 meeting and the Washington Township School Board approved it on June 28.
This isn't the first time the Mullica and Washington township school districts have shared resources.
In 2007, the school districts approved a three-year agreement to share administrative and business office staff, and Washington Township paid Mullica for its child study team and cafeteria services. The Washington Township school district paid Mullica about $147,500 for the service, which reduced Washington Township's administrative costs about $50,000 per year, Goldberg said. Mullica realized about $100,000 to apply to its budget after salaries for personnel and other expenses to fulfill the contract.
Last December, Washington Township and Mullica Township renewed their shared administrative and business agreements through June 2013.
Contact Michelle Lee: 609-272-7256 MLee@pressofac.com
