Eighth-grade graduations set for Toms River arena

BY REBECCA MORTON
Staff Writer

MARLBORO - Graduation ceremonies for the Marlboro K-8 School District's two middle schools will be held in Toms River in June 2008.

A location for next year's middle schools graduation ceremonies was discussed at the July 17 Board of Education meeting.

The Collins Arena at Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, is where graduation ceremonies for the Marlboro Middle School and the Marlboro Memorial Middle School have been held in the past. However, due to the unavailability of the arena on certain dates in June 2008, as well as the arena's possible renovation at that time, Marlboro school officials decided to look elsewhere.

Superintendent of Schools David Abbott discussed possible locations for the graduation ceremonies. He said the PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, was a contender, but reported that the facility had a cost that was higher than originally expected.

Abbott suggested using the Poland Spring Arena at the Ritacco Center, Toms River. He said the arena is about 45 minutes from Marlboro and right off the Garden State Parkway.

A question was raised about the volume of traffic on a Friday in June heading south on the Garden State Parkway.

Abbott said the graduation ceremonies will be held at 10 a.m. and at 1 p.m. which should allow families returning to Marlboro to be heading north on the parkway by the time shore-bound traffic is heading south.

Board member Cynthia Green asked about the possibility of using the football field at Marlboro High School for the graduation ceremonies.

Abbott told the board the football field was an option, but he said if the weather was bad the ceremonies would be moved inside the high school and each graduate would be limited to two guest tickets.

Board President Terry Spilken agreed with Abbott's suggestion to use the Ritacco Center in Toms River. He said graduation could be hot and uncomfortable outside at the high school football field.

Spilken also said it would be terrible if bad weather occurred that day and family members who had traveled to see someone graduate were told they could not attend the ceremonies due to a limit on the number of people the high school auditorium can accommodate.

He noted that the need to use the Toms River arena would only be for one year, since the Collins Arena at Brookdale should be available in June 2009.

At the end of the discussion the board members voted to accept Abbott's recommendation to use the Ritacco Center for the June 2008 middle schools graduation.

Also at the meeting, the board accepted a donation of 190 copies of the novel "32259205 - The Story of One Soldier's Journey Through World War II" to the Marlboro Middle School. The books were donated by the author, Marlboro's township historian Nathan Handlin. The board thanked Handlin for his contributions to the schools over the years.

Stacy Schiller, a seventh-grade social studies teacher at the Marlboro Middle School, was recognized by the board as one of eight recipients in New Jersey of the 2007 Honey and Maurice Axelrod Award. The award recognizes outstanding educational and community leaders who fight prejudice and discrimination through education about the Holocaust and genocide.

In other business, the board accepted the retirement of Mary Kwietniak, a teacher of the handicapped at the Robertsville School. Kwietniak worked in the district for 33 years. Board members wished her good health and happiness in her retirement.

Resignations were accepted from Erica Schwerdt, a teacher at the Asher Holmes School; Adrienne Roland, a Spanish teacher at the Marlboro Middle School; and Nicole Sapienza, a teacher at the Asher Holmes School.

The board awarded a bid to Puff Inc. of Charlottesville, Va., for work on the roof at the Marlboro Elementary School. According to Sharon Witchel, public information officer for the board, the current roof was put on the school in 1983. The sections to be replaced are over the gymnasium and cafeteria. The contract amount is $135,600.

Witchel said the roof repair is part of the district's normal maintenance schedule. She said the roofs are regularly inspected using infrared scanning. The areas over the Marlboro Elementary School gymnasium and cafeteria were recommended for replacement this year.

The addition of Dance Dance Revolution to the curriculum of physical education classes was not discussed at the July 17 meeting. The issue is expected to be put up for a vote at the board's Aug. 21.