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com

Mt. Laurel
BOE adopts
budget

FREE

MAY 410, 2016

Senior
year big
for Backus

Indians improve record to 6-2

Average homeowner
will see $54.65 increase
in K-8 school taxes

Thrower looks to advance

to state championships,
challenge Lenape record
in discus before joining
the U.S. Marine Corps

By ZANE CLARK
The Sun
The Mt. Laurel Board of Education adopted the districts 20162017 school year budget at its
April 26 meeting.
Mt. Laurel residents with
homes assessed at the average
value of $237,600 will see a $54.65
increase for their local K-8 school
taxes next year.
The rise in rates will bring the
total local K-8 school taxes to
$2,525.69 for the average assessed
home.
In addition to all the districts
day-to-day operations included in
the
budget,
Superintendent
George Rafferty also highlighted
several other noteworthy items.
One upgrade in the budget is an
update to the districts Math Investigations program for grades
two to five. Although the program
has not been updated in several
years, its third generation was recently released and with that the
district decided it was time to upplease see CAPITAL, page 18

By MIKE MONOSTRA
The Sun

SEAN LAJOIE/The Sun

Tommy Gardiner and Jake Topolski look to turn a double play. Lenape High School baseball topped
Cherry Hill High School East last week by a score of 5-1. Ben Rodier picked up his third win of the
season as the Indians improved their record to 6-2. For more photos, please see page 17.

Lenape High School senior Ray

Backus has established himself
as one of the best track and field
throwers in Burlington County.
Last year,
he
finished
10th in the discus in the
South Jersey
Group IV sectional
meet
and has his
eyes set on advancing to the
Group IV state
championship
BACKUS
meet this season.
As a result, Backus got interest
from a number of colleges that
want him to join their team.
However, Backus wont be
going to college next year.
please see BACKUS, page 14

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

LRHSD BOE
Mt. Laurel residents will see
tax increase. PAGE 3

Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Classified . . . . . . . . . . . 2023
Editorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Police Report . . . . . . . . . . . 13

2 THE MT. LAUREL SUN MAY 410, 2016

tennis score
The following Lenape High
School boys tennis score was
submitted by varsity head coach
Tony Guerrera.
Cherry Hill East defeated
Lenape, 5-0, on April 27.
Singles:
First singles: Rahul Goculdas,
Cherry Hill East, defeated Jack
Lavin 6-4 6-3
Second singles: Adam Yu,
Cherry Hill East, defeated Marc

Ignarri 6-0 6-0

Third singles: Elan Boyarsky,
Cherry Hill East, defeated Jimmy
Li 6-4 6-3
Doubles:
First doubles: Jesse Dubrow
and Kevin Hu, Cherry Hill East,
defeated Kavi Munjal and Jeremy
Shpigel 6-4 6-4
Second doubles: Aaron Silverberg and Drew Meklinsky, Cherry
Hill East, defeated Brett Chow
and Allen Sha 6-3 6-3

softball score
The following Lenape High
School softball score was submitted by varsity head coach Eric
Krastek.
Lenape defeated Cherry Hill
East, 5-2, on April 27.

Devon Horner homered for the

Indians in the win. Courtney Carroll and Jess Chen both had doubles. Bria Scheets pitched a complete game for Lenape, earning
the win.

Email us at news@mtlaurelsun.com

MAY 410, 2016 THE MT. LAUREL SUN 3

Jacqueline "Jacki" Smoyer

The Smart Move

Regional school
taxes to increase
Average homeowner will see $4.03 increase
By SEAN LAJOIE
The Sun
After having its temporary
budget approved by the state Department of Education, the
Lenape Regional High School District Board of Education shared
its final edition at last weeks public hearing.
Mt. Laurel Township residents
will see a small increase in their
regional school tax bill for the
2016-17 year.
The tax levy will increase by
.15 cents, resulting in an increase
in regional school taxes of $4.03
on a home assessed at the township average of $237,600.
The total budget is $156.6 million, an increase of $2.6 million
from last year. Most of the budget
is funded with taxpayer money,
with $116.1 million expected to
come from taxpayers in the district's eight sending municipalities.
Board member David Stow em!

phasized the lack of state aid

coming in to help take the burden
off the taxpayers.
Our state aid should not be
lower than it was in 2009, he
said.
Over the past 20 years, state
support of the LRHSD has decreased from nearly 40 percent of
the budget in 1994-95 to just 19.7
percent of the 2016-2017 budget.
Were grateful for the small increase in state funding for our
district, but as expenses increase,
it remains a challenge to meet the
educational needs of all of our
students within a manageable
budget, Superintendent Carol
Birnbohm said.
State aid increased by $67,820
this year, though this number
won't cover even half of the cost
the district will be spending to
bring in the two new special education staff positions.
The new special education
please see STATE, page 16
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4 MAY 410, 2016

golf
score
The following Lenape High
School golf score was submitted
by varsity head coach Chris Foley.
Lenape defeated Washington
Township, 157-165, on April 27.
Lenape: Doug Ergood, 37;
Adam
Hoversen,
39;
Joe
Nuneviller, 40; Leo Christou, 41.

Historical
Society plant
sale is May 6-7
Starting Friday, May 6, the Mt.
Laurel Historical Society will
hold its annual Mother's Day
Plant Sale at Farmers Hall, located at the intersection of
Moorestown-Mt. Laurel Road and
Hainesport-Mt. Laurel Road in
Mt. Laurel.
Hanging baskets, bedding
plants, geraniums and herbs will
be available for sale on Friday,
May 6 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and
Saturday May 7 from 10 a.m. to 5
p.m.
For further information, call
(856) 235-2334.

Please recycle
this newspaper.

Gary F. Woodend, MBA, JD

5-C N. Main Street Medford, NJ 08055
609-654-5489 or visit

www.WoodendLaw.com

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THE MT. LAUREL SUN MAY 410, 2016

in our opinion

Is Christies tax cap working?

108 Kings Highway East

Haddonfield, NJ 08033
856-427-0933

The data would say yes, at least on the surface; now its time for a next step
Dan McDonough Jr.

ay back in 2010, Gov.

Christie won a political battle, enacting a 2 percent cap
on municipal tax levies.
The law required towns to limit
their municipal budget increases to a
maximum of 2 percent, down from 4
percent, lest they be subject to public
vote.
As is the norm, legislators argued
over whether the law would have any
real effect on property taxes, or
whether it was just another way of angling and passing blame onto predecessors.
State data released recently would
say that Christies property tax reform
is indeed working.
While the average residential property tax bill rose to a record high of
$8,353 last year, it increased only 1.7
percent, when you factor out the two
troubling property value communities
of Atlantic City and Paterson.
The states Community Affairs De-

Your thoughts
Is Gov. Christies property tax reform
working? Or is it all just political smokeand-mirrors? Let your voice be heard
through a letter to the editor.

partment said the average homeowner

paid $468 more in property taxes last
year.
Were not ready to jump headfirst
into the Kool-Aid just yet, but we also
believe that at least a small part of the
leveling off in tax increases is because
of the property tax cap.
Residents of the Garden State still
pay the highest average real-estate
levies.
Christies property-tax reform was
never going to fix that problem in this
short of a time frame, but its a good
start thats showing progress already.
What the 2 percent cap does is keep
local governments in check, with a reasonable limit on increases. It forces

local councils, committees, commissions and school boards to take a second look at expenses and cut the excess
wherever possible. It forces these entities to investigate shared services and
share resources.
In a word, it forces accountability.
No council, committee, commission
or school board wants the fate of its
budget to rest in the hands of voters.
School boards disliked the practice
when it was a standard, and they
would all dislike it if it were to go to a
vote again.
Is Christies 2 percent cap the be-all,
end-all of property tax reform in New
Jersey? Probably not. But it is a step in
the right direction.
Now, its up to our state government the one we have now and the
next administration that will take office when Christies terms ends in
2018 to take the next step and fix our
states broken property tax system
once and for all.

RCBC student artists showcase work at gallery

Nearly 40 Rowan College at Burlington
County student artists will showcase their
talent and creativity in art and design at
the new exhibition at the colleges Student
Art Gallery in downtown Mt. Holly.
More than 100 works of art, including
photography, drawing, painting, sculpture,
ceramics, mixed media, jewelry and graphic design, will be featured during RCBCs
17th Annual Student Art & Design Exhibition.

The exhibition will be displayed at the

Student Art Gallery, 1 High St., Mt. Holly,
through Saturday, June 11 during normal
gallery hours: Wednesdays, Fridays, and
the second Saturday of the month from
noon to 3 p.m., and Thursdays from 3 to 7
p.m.
The 17th Annual Student Art & Design
Exhibition was curated by Jessica Kane,
campus curator.
RCBCs Student Art Gallery is a part of

Email us at news@mtlaurelsun.com

RCBCs overall transformation plan to create a more modernized campus experience.

The plan calls for the college to create an
impressive arts presence in Mt. Holly by
moving the gallery to the front of the colleges Mt. Holly Center to improve foot traffic and the streetscape, and moving the fine
arts studio, graphic design and fashion design programs to Mt. Holly to join the existing culinary arts program.

chairman of elauwit media

Tim Ronaldson

Joe Eisele

executive editor

publisher

manaGinG editor

Kristen Dowd
senior associate editor Mike Monostra
mt. laurel editor Zane Clark
art director Stephanie Lippincott
advertisinG director Arlene Reyes
elauwit media Group
publisher emeritus
editor emeritus

Steve Miller
Alan Bauer

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CALENDAR

PAGE 8

WEDNESDAY MAY 4
Info Table: US Family Health Plan:
Adult. 10 a.m. at the Mt. Laurel
Library. Health Benefits Consultant Josephine Grey will be in the
lobby to answer questions about
US Family Health Plan for qualified military personnel.
Crochet Anyone?: Adult. 1 p.m. at
the Mt. Laurel Library. Learn to
crochet or crochet with new
friends. Join craft enthusiasts for
crocheting and conversation.
Novices and experts welcome.
Instruction available if needed.
No registration necessary. Please
bring personal knitting materials.
May The Fourth Be With You!:
Grades seven to 12. 5:30 p.m. at
the Mt. Laurel Library. Celebrate
Star Wars Day at the library.
Enjoy Star Wars themed snacks
while watching The Empire

Strikes Back, arguably the best

movie of the original trilogy, and
making Star Wars bookmarks.
Intro to Meditation: Young adult
Adult. 7 p.m. at Mt. Laurel Library.
Join an experienced meditation
instructor and achieve relaxation
of mind and body. Wear comfortable clothes, try not to eat a big
meal before class and bring a mat
or towel. Those who prefer not to
sit on the floor, may sit on a chair.
No registration needed.
Zoning Board meeting: 7 p.m. in the
courtroom at 100 Mt. Laurel
Road, Municipal Building, 100 Mt.
Laurel Road. Visit www.mountlaurel.com for more information
and to confirm meeting time.
Toastmasters Unity of Mt. Laurel
meeting: 7 to 8:30 p.m. on first,
third and fifth Wednesdays at Mt.
Laurel Community Center, 100
Mt. Laurel Road. For anyone

151 New Road, Marlton, NJ 08053

856-985-0412

interested in developing community and leadership skills. For

more
information,
contact
Shanese
Ann
Bello
at
Shanese@MrsBello.com or (609)
346-2314.
Rotary Club of Mt. Laurel meeting:
Noon at Laurel Creek Country
Club, 655 Old Centerton Road.
For more information, visit
www.mountlaurelrotary.org or
call (856) 234-7663.
Storytime: 11 a.m. every Wednesday
at Kids Play Lounge in Mt. Laurel.
Come hear a new story every
week and then stay and play the
rest of the day! Call (856) 2739500 or visit www.kidsplaylounge.com for more information.

THURSDAY MAY 5
Beautiful Butterflies: Grades K to
4. 7 p.m. at the Mt. Laurel Library.

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Participants will explore this fascinating and beautiful group of

insects with live specimens and
hands-on activities. Presented by
the Rancocas Nature Center.
Masonville-Rancocas UMC FamilyFriendly Roller Skating: 6 to 8
p.m. at the International Sports
center, 1 Hovtech Blvd. Bring
neighbors and friends and join
the church for a great night of
family-friendly fun. Admissions
are $5 per person, with skate
rental about $5. Hosted by
Masonville-Rancocas
United
Methodist Church. Any questions,
please call the church office at
(856) 234-0941.

SATURDAY MAY 7
Lego League: Grades K-four. 10:30
a.m. at the Mt. Laurel Library.
Registration required. Join us for
this month's meeting of the
librarys Lego League. Each
month the library gathers together and build around a specific
theme. This group is not sponsored by the Lego Group.

SUNDAY MAY 8
New Covenant Presbyterian
Church: Sunday worship 11 a.m. to
noon. Adult Bible study 9:30 to
10:30 a.m. Coffee and fellowship
after the church service each
third Sunday. Church is at 240
Creek Road, Rancocas Woods,
Mount Laurel.

MONDAY MAY 9
Baby and Toddler Story time: Up to
age 3. 10:30 a.m. at the Mt. Laurel

MAY 410, 2016

Library. Come to this event for
fun for the little ones. Join the
library for stories, songs, fingerplays and musical instruments
for all. Best suited for babies and
toddlers up to 3 years old. Siblings are welcome. No registration.
Crochet Anyone?: Adult. 7 p.m. at
the Mt. Laurel Library. Learn to
crochet or crochet with new
friends. Join craft enthusiasts for
crocheting and conversation.
Novices and experts welcome.
Instruction available if needed.
No registration necessary. Please
bring personal knitting materials.
Friends of the Mt. Laurel Library
meeting: 7 p.m. on the second
Monday of the month at the
library. For more information, visit www.mtlaurel.lib.nj.us or call
(856) 234-7319.

TUESDAY MAY 10
Preschool story time: Ages 3
through 6. 10:30 a.m. and 1:30
p.m. at the Mt. Laurel Library.
Join the library for a fun-filled
session of stories, songs, finger
plays, and an art activity. Best
suited for ages 3-6 years. Siblings
are welcome. No registration.
Mt. Laurel Historical Society meeting: 7:30 p.m. at Farmers Hall,
intersection of Hainesport Mt. Laurel Road and Moorestown Mt. Laurel Road. For more information, call
President Fran Daily at (856) 2352334.
Mt. Laurel I BNI Chapter meeting:
7:30 to 9 a.m. at Marcos Restaurant at Indian Spring C.C., 115 S.
Elmwood Drive.

MAY 410, 2016 THE MT. LAUREL SUN 9

YMCA seeks donors

for blood drive May 8
The YMCA of Burlington and
Camden Counties will be hosting
an upcoming blood drive.
The need for blood is constant.
According to the American Red
Cross, someone in the U.S. needs
blood every two seconds. However, if every current donor donated
one more time a year, there would
not be a blood shortage.
While giving blood is a simple
thing to do, it can make a huge

difference in the lives of others.

One donation can potentially save
three lives. Help the Y give the ultimate gift of blood to the American Red Cross on Sunday, May
8, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 59 Centerton Road, Mt. Laurel. A valid
ID is required to donate.
For more information or to register, please contact the Mt. Laurel YMCA Welcome Center at
(856) 231-9622, ext. 212.

on campus
Taylor Aguiar of Mt. Laurel recently received the Honors College Citation in a ceremony at the
Memorial Chapel on the University of Marylands College Park
campus.

The citation signifies the successful completion of honors

course work that includes honors
seminars, special honors versions of introductory courses and
a first year colloquium.

Email us at news@mtlaurelsun.com

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MAY 410, 2016 THE MT. LAUREL SUN 11

Cheerleading open
practices approach
Mt. Laurel Cheerleading Association is holding open practices
on May 9, 12, 17 at Larchmont Elementary School.
Practices are open to those
who will be ages 3 to 14 as of Aug.
31.
Practices for those in grades
Pre-K to second are from 6:30 to
7:30 p.m.
Practices for those in grades
three and up are from 6:30 to 8
p.m.
Open practices are a great time
to come see what the Mt. Laurel
Cheerleading Association is all
about.

All current and potential

cheerleaders are invited to attend
open practices.
New and beginning cheerleaders are welcome.
Visit www.mtlaurelcheer.com
for more information.
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Coloring must be done by using colored pencils, watercolors and/or crayons. Entries must be received by 5 p.m. on May 9, 2016, and cannot be returned.
Ages 1-17 Entries will be judged by Sun Newspaper staff and will be based on overall coloring.
Three winners will be notified by phone/email and posted on Sun Newspapers' social media sites.
Winners will receive 4-pack to Sahara Sams. Prizes will be mailed to the address listed on the entry form.
Mail to: Elauwit Media, 108 Kings Hwy. East, 3rd Floor, Haddonfield, NJ 08033

MAY 410, 2016 THE MT. LAUREL SUN 13

Officers use Narcan to revive overdose victim

The following reports are on
file with the Mt. Laurel Police:
At 11:07 p.m. on April 21, Mt.
Laurel Police conducted a motor
vehicle stop on Fellowship Road near Route
73. During the stop, officers arrested a male,
age 48, of Voorhees. He
was charged with driving while intoxicated and released pending a court hearing.

less than 50 grams of marijuana

and released pending a court
hearing.
At 8:23 p.m. on April 20, Mt.
Laurel Police responded to the report of an
unresponsive person
in a vehicle in the
parking lot of 200
Larchmont Blvd. The
arriving officer quickly determined that the 23-year-old male
from Mount Holly had overdosed
on heroin. The officer administered Narcan and revived the victim. He was transported to the
hospital by Mt. Laurel EMS for
further treatment.

police
report

At 10:17 p.m. on April 20, Mt.

Laurel Police located a suspicious
occupied vehicle in Spencer Park,
Ramblewood Parkway. During the
investigation, officers arrested a
male, age 26, of Mt. Laurel. He
was charged with possession of

At 12:30 a.m. on April 20, Mt.

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Laurel Police conducted a motor

vehicle stop on Route 73 near 295.
During the stop, officers arrested
a female, age 23, of Clifton
Heights, Pa., after she provided a
false name to officers to avoid a
traffic summons. She was
charged with hindering her own

apprehension and released pending a court hearing.

Please recycle
this newspaper.

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14 THE MT. LAUREL SUN MAY 410, 2016

Backus sets new personal best in discus at Jack Armstrong Invitational

BACKUS
Continued from page 1
Instead, Backus has decided to
enlist in the United States Marine
Corps. Backus will leave New Jersey for boot camp on July 25 and
plans to be a thrower for the Marine Corps track team.
I firmly believe you should
find any way you can to serve
your country, whether its being a
police officer, firefighter, enlist in
the military or even become a

teacher and help out, Backus

said. Just do something that will
give back to your community.
Backus said he planned to join
the Marines at some point in the
near future, but felt it made the
most sense to do it right after
high school.
I figured I can join the
Marines, he said. I can get the
education I want for however
long I want for however many degrees I want and I can still throw
for their team and still continue
my track career.
Before joining the Marine

Corps, Backus has some unfinished business to take care of at

Lenape. In the 2015 spring season
and 2015-16 winter season, Backus
just barely missed a spot in the
Group IV championships. Last
spring, his throw of 136 feet in the
discus was good enough for 10th
place in sectionals, but not
enough to get him in the top-six to
advance to the state meet.
Junior year, I had a real
chance and I flubbed it, Backus
said. This year, it was more of a
push to see how far we could go
this season and finish out my sen-

ior year with a bang.

Last February, Backus came
close again to states, this time in
the shot put. This time, Backus
finished in eighth place with a
throw of 42-feet, 6.5-inches.
Backus finished just 5.5 inches behind sixth place, and he was
again denied a spot at the state
championships.
It wasnt even the fact that I
was a couple inches away from
making it to states, Backus said.
If I made a halfway decent toss, I
would have gotten into states automatically. I lost it at the end.

This spring, Backus has made

huge strides to improve his performance, especially in the discus. At the Jack Armstrong Invitational in Abington, Pa., on April
23, Backus set a new personal best
with a throw of 145-feet, 4-inches.
The throw is the best of any athlete from the Olympic Conference
so far this season.
Keith Giberson, the throwing
coach for the Lenape boys track
and field team, said Backus has
put in a lot of work both during
please see TEAM, page 15

MAY 410, 2016 THE MT. LAUREL SUN 15

Team is focus for Backus, too

TEAM
Continued from page 14
and outside of the season to improve.
(During the summer) I saw
him with three or four other guys,
four times a week, putting in the
extra time or extra homework he
needed to do outside the two
hours of practice we have,
Giberson said. He does a lot of
work outside of practice time.
Giberson saw Backus talent
during his sophomore season.
One hundred feet is this magical mark that you can get the average kid to reach over the course
of a few years, Giberson said.
At the end of his sophomore
year, he was at 120 (feet). At that
point, I saw that he had the mechanics where I could polish him
up and he could do a lot better.
Despite not picking up discus
until high school, Backus got a
chance to throw at sectionals for
the first time as a sophomore.

Even since then, he has been motivated to get past that hurdle and
compete at states.
Advancing to states isnt the
only goal for Backus. He is also
trying to break the Lenape school
record for discus. The current
record of 164-feet, 7-inches was
set by Ray Stinsman in 2010.
Hes got all the pieces to the
puzzle, Giberson said. Its just
finding that one throw where it
all comes together in the right
time and the right place.
Giberson is working with
Backus on a few small technical
improvements to try to get him to
the 164-foot mark.
One other goal Backus has is
team-focused. He wants to help
Lenape score as many points as
possible in the throwing competitions to help the team at meets.
When I got into it, our throws
team would put up some points,
but they wouldnt put up a lot, he
said. Now were starting to put
up 10, 15 points. Were starting to
show that were something to be
reckoned with.

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State aid increased by $67,820

STATE
Continued from page 3
teacher and support staff member are required by incoming
ninth-grade students Individual
Education Plans.
LRHSD graduation rates are
among the highest in the state at
95.5 percent for the class of 2015,
with 92.5 percent of graduates
continuing their education in
more than 286 four-year and twoyear colleges and universities.
The district gives students the
opportunity to get a head start on
their college education by offering the College Acceleration Program, with 1,245 students participating in 2015-16 and earning college credits through Rowan College at Burlington County.
Our students will earn nearly
8,500 college credits this year

alone, Birnbohm said. This program, offered at no additional

cost to the district or taxpayers,
gives students a jump on continuing education and, equally important, helps offset college costs for
students and their families.
Other LRHSD cost-saving initiatives range from shared services agreements with the sending
districts to per pupil administrative costs that are significantly
lower than other regional districts. This school year, the average per student administrative
cost of $1,506 is $476 below the
state-mandated regional limit of
$1,982 per student.
The LRHSD also benefits from
fundraising efforts and donations
from a range of community and
alumni groups. In addition, the
district receives corporate and
foundation grant funding, which
recently included grants from
Lockheed Martin in the amount

Send us your Mt. Laurel news

Have a news tip? Want to send us a press release or photos? Shoot
an interesting video? Drop us an email at news@mtlaurelsun.com.
Fax us at (856) 427-0934. Call the editor at (856) 427-0933.

of $31,200 for two school years.

The grants are funding the incorporation of a comprehensive
STEM program, Project Lead the
Way, into the current course of
study.
This year, individual and community group donations reached
a total of $2.55 million contributed to the district since the
2007-2008 school year, Birnbohm
said. Our parents, alumni and
community members are active
in the district and integral to our
students success. Their financial
support complements their involvement, making it possible for
us to provide our students and the
community with improved athletic facilities, new equipment and
life-changing experiences.
Budget information, including
tax impacts for each sending district, is posted on the Lenape Regional High School District website, www.lrhsd.org. For more information, contact Business Administrator James Hager at (609)
268-2000
ext.
5536
or
jhager@lrhsd.org. District officials will hold their next Board of
Education meeting on Wednesday, May 11 at the administration
building in Shamong at 7:30 p.m.

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MAY 410, 2016 THE MT. LAUREL SUN 17

Lenape tops Cherry Hill East, 5-1

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Lenape High School topped Cherry

Hill High School East last week, 5-1.
Ben Rodier, below, picked up his
third win of the season as the Indians improved their record to 6-2.
Clockwise from above: Ben Harris
steps into a pitch at the plate. Mike
Doulong makes a sliding catch in
left field to save a run. AJ Pena
fields a groundball cleanly and delivers a strike to first.

Be social.
Like us on
Facebook!

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mtlaurelsun

The Sun isn't

just in print. Like
us on Facebook
for additional
photos, stories
and tidbits of
information
about your town.

Send us your Mt. Laurel news

Drop us an email at news@mtlaurelsun.com.
Fax us at (856) 427-0934. Call the editor at (856) 427-0933.

18 THE MT. LAUREL SUN MAY 410, 2016

Capital improvements
include new roof, painting
CAPITAL
Continued from page 1
grade. Upgrades to other grade
levels are planned for future
budgets.
Another item in the budget is
the materials needed for the Next
Generation Science Standards for
grades six to eight. Multiple
states, including New Jersey, have
adopted new science standards
that go into effect in September.
Money has also been budgeted
for the district to upgrade reading
comprehension assessments, Science Technology Engineering
Math materials and materials for
the districts Journeys literacy
program.
Were going to be continuing a
lot of initiatives that have been
started and moving forward that
can be completed and implemented in our schools, Rafferty said.
The budget also includes certain technology upgrades, including the purchase of additional
Chromebook laptops for students
and the continued installation of
projectors in classroom ceilings.
For teachers who did not have
their computers upgraded with
the districts last budget, this

Please recycle
this newspaper.

budget will see that those teachers get computer upgrades as

well.
With the 2016-2017 school year
budget, the BOE also saw an increase in state aid money of
about $90,000, bringing the total
money received in state aid to $4.4
million.
However, as school business administrator Robert Wachter Jr.
noted, the $4.4 million figure was
still below the $5.8 million the district received in state aid in the
2009-2010 school year before cuts
took place throughout the state
the following year.
Were about $1.3 million less
than what we were in 2009-2010,
yet were still able to maintain
everything that we have and
move forward, Wachter said.
Wachter also outlined multiple
capital improvements included in
the budget, a roof replacement
project at Hartford School, a
drainage project for the front of
Springville School, painting at
Larchmont,
Hartford,
Springville, Hillside and Parkway
schools, carpet to tile work at
Springville and closet and casework at Parkway.
As George stated, were still
continuing with our curriculum
and a lot of our investments in
technology, but this budget is also
supporting some major capital
improvements, and were excited
about that, Wachter said.

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Y O U

PAGE 20

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T O

K N O W

All ads are based on a 5 line ad, 15-18 characters per line. Additional lines: $9, Bold/Reverse Type: $9 Add color to any box ad for $20. Deadline: Wednesday - 5pm for the following week.
All classified ads must be prepaid. Your Classified ad will run in all 9 of The Sun newspapers each week! Be sure to check your ad the first day it appears.
We will not be responsible for more than one incorrect insertion, so call us immediately with any errors in your ad. No refunds are given, only advertising credit.

H O W

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