Menu

Hammonton Town School District board meeting, Aug 13, 2026

27 min · 2 public speakers

Chronic absenteeism ▶ 7:16Phones in school ▶ 13:30Reading and test scores ▶ 3:58

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 27 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Board approves finance items 1 through 52 19:03

  • The board heard a presentation on 2026 English language proficiency testing results and a staff report on the district's plan to address chronic absenteeism. 4:30
  • A district staff member announced that school officially opens Tuesday, September 1st, and described a new state law barring personal internet-enabled devices during the school day. 13:30
  • The board approved personnel items 53 through 91, except number 88, and then program, student and miscellaneous items 92 through 106. 20:40

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (11)
  1. Opening and roll call 2:55
    • The open public meetings statement was read, followed by roll call and the Pledge of Allegiance. 2:59
  2. English language proficiency testing results 3:58
    • A presenter shared the 2026 ACCESS testing results, which measure listening, speaking, reading and writing across 6 proficiency levels. 4:30
    • The presenter said students exit the program when scoring a 4.5 or greater on the overall score. 5:15
    • The presenter said that in grades 2 through 5, 56 students were developing, 35 were expanding and 1 student was reaching. 5:20
  3. Chronic absenteeism plan of action 7:16
    • A presenter said chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more days of school for any reason, and New Jersey schools must devise a corrective action plan if 10% or more of students are chronically absent. 7:56
    • The presenter said interventions include a phone call from the attendance office, a letter home or a meeting with parents, counselors and the administration. 10:15
    • The presenter reviewed attendance rates by school, including a 95% rate at one elementary school for the past 3 years. 12:19
  4. Back-to-school dates and device law 13:30
    • A district staff member said the parent portal would open tomorrow at 3 PM and school officially opens on Tuesday, September 1st. 13:30
    • The staff member said a new state law bars students from using personal internet-enabled devices, including cell phones, smartwatches, smart glasses and wireless earbuds, during the school day. 16:00
    • The staff member said devices must be stored in lockers at the middle and high schools and in cubbies at the younger grades. 16:14
  5. Board member comments 17:08
    • A speaker announced a preseason meeting for all fall sports at the high school on Wednesday, August 19th. 17:43
    • John Thomas thanked the assembly for inviting John Thomas and other school board presidents to discuss the problem with the funding formula. 18:18
    • John Thomas also mentioned consolidation and the Choice Program and said the discussions are continuing. 18:35
  6. Cell phone policy and public comment 19:03
    • A speaker said the cell phone policy is a bell-to-bell policy and that a flyer would be put out in the community. 19:03
    • No one spoke during the first public comment period. 19:03
  7. Finance items 19:03
  8. Personnel items 20:40
    • A motion was made on personnel items 53 through 91, with number 88 not offered for consideration at the request of the administration. 20:40
    • The motion carried. ~21:37
  9. Program, student and miscellaneous items 21:37
    • A motion was made on program, student and miscellaneous items 92 through 106. 21:37
    • The motion carried. ~22:14
  10. Second public comment 22:55
    • Speakers at public comment thanked the board and administration for the opportunity to join the district. 23:10
    • A speaker said a foundation held its 27th annual awards ceremony on July 15th and awarded $48,000 in scholarships. 24:28
  11. Adjournment 26:25
    • A motion to adjourn was made and seconded. 26:30
    • The motion carried. ~26:36

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

Other meetings

Other meetings of this board

Video: posted by the district as “Hammonton BOE Meeting: August 13, 2026”