Today, October 18th, 2022, the Cherry Hill Board of Education (BOE) will hold an Action Meeting. The meeting is specially scheduled for this date due to scheduling conflicts with the Board’s typical meetings on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month; Tonight’s meeting is unusually on the third Tuesday in October.

At the meeting, the Board will discuss multiple important policies and current issue-related topics. First, multiple reports, updates, and presentations will be heard. There will be time for updates from student representatives about the happenings at High Schools East and West. Then, the Board will hear a presentation from District Security Director Anthony Saporito who will provide an annual update on violence and vandalism policies and issues in the public school district. A presentation will also be made regarding the goals of each building throughout the district.

After the formal presentations conclude, the meeting will still have a long way to go. Unlike most BOE Action Meetings, members of the Board will not only vote on policy matters, but will also discuss them; this will be the only meeting in October, so the work of a typical, separate Work Session meeting must be included. As such, the Board will hear updates from committee chairs and administrators about their work. From there, BOE members will discuss and vote on a number of policy matters, from typical approvals of human resources matters to full policy changes.

Notably, one policy up for vote tonight is a proposed revised district dress code. If passed on first reading, the inclusive, new policy will move forward to potentially be implemented later this school year. Under this dress code revision, students would have more flexibility in what they can wear, with less punitive measures taken against students for what have become typical styles of dress among students.

Overall, tonight’s meeting will be a significant one. From multiple important presentations to a key policy vote, the Board has a lot to consider. As always, community members can attend the meeting in person at 45 Ranoldo Terrace in Cherry Hill. They can also find out how to digitally attend the meeting through Zoom at https://www.chclc.org/Domain/967.