School Board

A group including the management team of Oak Crest Day Camp and a township resident who in 2005 won “The Apprentice” television program has submitted an application with the state to open a charter school in Franklin. If approved, the Ailanthus Charter School would be the third in the township. The school would be targeted to students in Franklin and …

The Franklin High School Class of 2016 will graduate this June at the high school. With one dissenting vote, the Board of Education Feb. 25 voted to move the graduation ceremony from Sun National Bank Center in Trenton to Warrior Stadium or, in the case of bad weather, the FHS gym. Board member Richard Seamon cast the lone “no” vote. …

Opponents of a proposal to move the Franklin High School graduation to the school rather than stay at a Trenton arena let their voices be heard at the Jan. 28 Board of Education meeting. All but one of more than a dozen people who spoke on the topic urged the board to keep the graduation ceremony at the Sun National …

The Board of Education on Jan. 7 voted to reduce the number of public meetings it holds in 2016, a move the school board president said  would streamline the decision-making process and allow staff to focus on things other than meetings. But one board member objected to the change, saying it may not allow for thorough discussions of policy issues. Starting …

The Board of Education voted to retain its top leadership, and the three winners in the November election were sworn in to their seats at the Jan. 7 reorganization meeting. Included in the swearing in was newest board member Laurie Merris, who won the seat vacated by former board member Betty Whalen. Also sworn in were returning board members Margaret …

The 2014-2015 school year violence and vandalism report contained a mixed bag of results. On the one hand, reported violence, weapon and drug infractions and harassment, intimidation and bullying by students decreased in the district as a whole. But the percentage of students suspended increased in six of the district’s nine schools, and incidents of vandalism rose slightly from the …

Two incumbents and a newcomer won election to the Board of Education in the Nov. 3 election. Board members Richard Seamon and Margaret Steele and first-time member Laurie Merris will start their new terms in January 2016. Seamon was appointed to fill the unexpired term of former member Richard Arline when he left the state. Seamon is a former board …

School uniforms and banning the student use of electronics in classrooms were two of the topics touched upon Oct. 26 in a candidates’ forum with the four Board of Education contenders. The forum was sponsored by the Franklin Township PTO/PTSO Presidents’ Council and held at Franklin Middle School. There are three, 3-year school board seats up for grabs. Contending for …

(Update: School district steps in to clarify that Potosnak is the school board’s representative to the Chamber. See update at bottom of story.) The legitimacy of last Spring’s Franklin Township Chamber of Commerce executive board election has a surprising challenger: the Board of Education’s president. School board president Ed Potosnak claims that he was purposely denied his position’s traditional seat on the Chamber’s …

The Board of Education member who recently called for the resignation of the board president is now the subject of an online petition seeking her resignation. Township resident Erik Ransom on July 25 launched a petition on the Change.org site calling for the resignation of board member Pat Stanley. Stanley recently called on board president Ed Potosnak to resign because …