Haddonfield school district plans to press charges against students who vandalized its stadium

After attending a country club graduation party, Haddonfield Memorial High School students returned to their alma mater for a party on the athletic field, trashing the facilities and causing $2,500 in damages, officials say.

About 150 partygoers converged on the school grounds June 22, minutes after leaving a commencement gathering at nearby Tavistock Country Club, said Superintendent Charles Klaus. Earlier that day, about 220 seniors graduated from the school.

Beer bottles and cans, along with vomit, were found on the football field the next day, Klaus said in a report to the school board. Field restrooms were also vandalized, he said.

”It’s disappointing. It’s sad, disheartening,” Klaus told the board. “It feels like a bit of betrayal.”

The incident, first reported by the Haddonfield Sun, was caught on surveillance, which showed about 150 people on the field, some who remained until the wee hours, Klaus said. Joggers who use the stadium’s track found some of the partygoers still at the stadium when they arrived at 6 a.m., he said.

Officials were notified when eighth graders later arrived at the school for rehearsal for their promotion ceremony, he said.

The district plans to turn the surveillance video over to police, along with the names of students it could identify, Klaus said. The district plans to press charges against those found responsible, he said.

”They trespassed and vandalized,” the superintendent said.

Klaus said the district notified parents of seniors about the incident by email. A few students acknowledged that they were at the stadium, apologized, and offered to help, he said.

Klaus was out of the office Friday and could not be reached for comment. Police Chief Jason Cutler said about 70 students have been identified in the surveillance. The investigation is continuing and no charges have been filed, he said.

Mayor Colleen Bianco Bezich said she was troubled by the latest incident involving the community and one of the top school districts in South Jersey.

”We’ve had a difficult spring in terms of behavior. It’s really difficult to stomach,“ she said Friday. “As the mayor, it’s really disappointing.”

Swastikas were found last spring spray-painted outside a Quaker cemetery in Haddonfield. The school district apologized in June after a white high school baseball player made monkey sounds when an opposing Black pitcher was on the mound.

Klaus has said the district plans to explore ways to change the school’s culture and may beef up security at the stadium after hours.