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NOVEMBER 9-15, 2011
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Special to The Sun
Above, an artists rendering of what the South Annex of the Moorestown Friends School will look
like once renovations are completed there in 2012. The annex is located on the schools Greenleaf
property, which was purchased several years ago. Its all part of the schools aggressive, $6 mil-
lion capital campaign.
Friends School of the future
Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Editorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Virgin Mary
Iconic Lourdes statue under-
going make over. PAGE 12
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE
PAID
BELLMAWR, NJ
PERMIT NO. 1239
BY KEVIN CANESSA JR.
The Moorestown Sun
For 20 years, Rich ODonnell
patrolled the streets of
Moorestown, many of which
were as a sergeant. He was the
face of the police department on
the streets, the man who would
come to scenes to make sure
everything was in proper order.
Now, two years after his retire-
ment from the force, ODonnell
has taken on a completely differ-
ent role as the townships resi-
dency-enforcement officer. And
his hiring, designed to save tax-
payer money (its expensive to
educate children these days) by
keeping out-of-district students
out of local schools, has already
paid off.
I started on March 1, and
worked last school year through
June 15, ODonnell said. In
that short time, we turned in 10
students.
While the term turned in
may seem overly official, what it
really means is those 10 students
officially withdrew from
Moorestown schools, and they re-
turned to their home districts.
This saved the district in more
than $100,000 in tuition, accord-
ing to records.
At present, parents of stu-
dents who are asked to leave the
district arent charged with any
crime, though they could be in
the future.
If a parent believes a child is
wrongfully being asked to leave
the district, theres an appeals
process. Parents would be re-
quired to go before a state court
to argue the appeal. Yet in most
cases, ODonnell says, when an
out-of-districter is caught, par-
ents generally realize their mis-
take and pull the kids out of
Moorestown schools.
So just why did the school dis-
trict decide it was time to take
action and hire a residency offi-
cer?
ODonnell says some on the
school board realized the prob-
lem was growing. And, he says,
its not that school officials didnt
immediately get that there was a
problem with out-of-towners, it
simply wasnt a priority then
but it is now.
The superintendent and the
board knew there were other pro-
grams in other districts like ours
now, ODonnell said. Most of
the programs were run by re-
tired police officers. When the
district realized it was being
overrun with out-of-district stu-
dents, they knew it was time for
action.
And that action was to hire
ODonnell.
So just how does he find stu-
dents who shouldnt be in the dis-
trict schools?
Logically, ODonnell couldnt
reveal too much, so as not to give
away too many ideas of what he
looks for to find the improperly
please see ADDRESS, page 3
Keeping the
public schools
private
Rich ODonnell has been hired as the
townships residency-enforcement
officer to save taxpayer money
BY KEVIN CANESSA JR.
The Moorestown Sun
Moorestown Friends School
is one of the oldest three-tiered
schools in America (lower, mid-
dle and high school all under
one roof), having been founded
in 1785. And its also been on the
same plot of land longer than
just about any other school in
the nation. But with that notion
comes yet another its been a
long really long time since
the schools physical plant has
expanded. In fact, the last time
it expanded, the current head of
school was a student there.
Richard Nixon was president
back then. Or was it LBJ?
You get the point.
But thats all changing now,
thanks to a $6 million capital
campaign that will bring eight
new modern yet unique class-
rooms and two state-of-the-art
science labs, one of which will
house the schools notorious ro-
botics lab.
The campaign has already
raised $5 million, Head of
School Larry Van Meter said.
And he says he expects the final
$1 million to be easily attain-
able, thanks to the generosity of
family, friends and alumni of
the prestigious private Quaker-
based school.
Were very fortunate to have
very generous parents and
alumni and were fortunate to
have maintained that relation-
ship over the years, Van Meter
said. Were very confident
well raise the final $1 million
by the close of 2012.
The plant upgrades are hap-
pening in two locations. On the
contiguous Greenleaf property,
which the school purchased a
few years ago, there will be
eight new classrooms and a cho-
rus room in a converted, 1960s
building that was originally
constructed to be a nursing
home. It will open up close to
Friends School revamp
please see FRIENDS, page 7
NOVEMBER 9-15, 2011 THE MOORESTOWN SUN 3
enrolled students. But he did
offer some common-sense ideas
as to how hes tipped off.
We checked the list of 40 affi-
davit students with relatives in
the district, ODonnell said. (Af-
fidavit students are those whose
families signed affidavits swear-
ing a child lives with a relative,
not a parent or legal guardian, a
minimum of four of the seven
days of the week, thus legally es-
tablishing a permanent domicile
or residency in the district).
And then theres returned mail.
At times, parents make up ad-
dresses that dont exist or they
simply dont live at addresses
they give.
ODonnell also says hell be re-
lying on anonymous tips from
the public to find other violators.
More on that in a bit.
Now you may be wondering:
Why do parents do this in the
first place? Whats the need for
sending a child to a public school
in another district when, well, all
students are guaranteed a free,
public education in their home
towns?
ODonnell says its likely a
matter of economics. Parents
want their children to get a bet-
ter education in a district with a
better reputation as is the case
in Moorestown and they simply
cannot afford tuition at a
Catholic or private school or
the tuition it would cost to send a
child, legally, to an out-of-district
public school.
The economic problem is
huge, said ODonnell, who in ad-
dition to serving on the
Moorestown Police Department
for two decades also spent a few
years on Lumbertons force.
The bottom line: saving tax-
payers cash
ODonnell wants all residents
to realize the money he will ulti-
mately save them as taxpayers
will far outweigh the cost of his
nine-month-a-year salary.
This is an enforcement tool,
ODonnell said. Its meant to be
positive. The cost-savings out-
weighs the cost of my investiga-
tions.
ODonnell also wants resi-
dents to feel comfortable report-
ing potential residency viola-
tions. All tips, he says, are strict-
ly confidential no one should
ever feel there would be any sort
of repercussions as a result of
filing a residency report.
We want residents to feel
comfortable contacting us, O-
Donnell said. Everything,
everything is confidential.
Editors note: To contact O-
Donnell with a confidential dis-
trict residency tip, call him at his
office directly at 778-6600, ext.
18159 or send him a message by e-
mail at rodonnell@mtps.com.
Visit us online at www.moorestownsun.com.
ADDRESS
Continued from page 1
Residency
investigator
4 THE MOORESTOWN SUN NOVEMBER 9-15, 2011
Woodbury
856-251-0500
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Roofing
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Garage SaIe
Christmas Bazaar
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303 Bank Avenue
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CLASSIFIED THE MOORESTOWN SUN NOVEMBER 9-15, 2011 25
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