School Redistricting Not Recommended For Cherry Hill; New Solution Proposed

CHERRY HILL, NJ — The Cherry Hill School District will consider expanding two schools after weighing whether to redistrict its elementary schools.

Several Cherry Hill elementary schools are expected to exceed capacity in the coming years. In recent months, district officials considered addressing overcrowding by redrawing the boundary lines that determine which elementary school each child attends.

However, the district recommended a different solution at last week's Board of Education meeting: expanding Clara Barton Elementary and Rosa International Middle School.

"The administration is not recommending boundary adjustments at this time," said George Guy, the district's director of elementary education.

Both schools are expected to exceed capacity by the 2028-29 school year, according to a demography study of the district.

Clara Barton Elementary School is projected to surpass its current capacity by more than 100 students in that span, while Rosa's enrollment is expected to surpass its capacity by about 50.

"Even though (Rosa) is not an elementary school, it is one of our 18 schools that we’re looking at in which overcrowding exists," Guy said.

The district also recommends monitoring enrollment trends at Horace Mann Elementary School, and conducting another demographic study in 2026-27. Guy noted that seven of Horace Mann's classrooms are offline, serving autistic students.

Expansions to Clara and Rosa, if approved, are projected to be ready in time for the 2028-29 school year. The projects aren't expected to impact taxpayers, since bond referendum interest earnings could fund them, Guy said.

Guy said parents expressed concerns about proposed redistricting during public-input sessions. Changing the boundary lines would have placed 11 percent of students (534 overall) at a different school. Most of them would come from the Clara Barton and James Johnson elementary schools.

The district also considered converting the Arthur Lewis Administration Building into an elementary school.

The Board of Education didn't vote on the proposals during last week's meeting. Community-input meetings are expected to resume next month, before the plan is finalized around June or July.

Watch Feb. 10's Cherry Hill Board of Education meeting below: