Prosecutor, Collingswood officials to hold public forum July 26 on Call 911 policy

Collingswood school officials, borough leaders, and the Camden County Prosecutor's Office will hold a public meeting July 26 to discuss "recent issues involving the schools and the Camden County Prosecutor's Office," the borough announced Monday.

The meeting, set for 7 p.m. in the Collingswood Senior Community Center, comes after weeks of parent outcry over a new district policy under which schools reported 22 incidents of sometimes minor student misconduct to local police between May 25 and the end of school on June 17.

School district officials and law enforcement said they were following a new directive from the Prosecutor's Office to report nearly every incident of student misbehavior, but the Prosecutor's Office denied issuing any such instructions.

After a meeting last week, all parties accepted some responsibility for the policy, which has been reversed.

Borough officials said last week that they were planning a public meeting, but did not expect Prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo to attend. But Colalillo said Monday that she herself will represent her office.

"I hope that at the end of the meeting, parents of the children in the Collingswood School District will have the answers they want," she said. "I want the parents to be comfortable that their children will be protected."

Parents have been calling for a meeting for weeks, including through a petition launched last week that has gained 71 signatures. At a meeting on Thursday, parents emphasized the importance of the prosecutor's attendance at the meeting, expressing concern that if she did not attend, other officials would shift blame for the policy onto her office.

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