A freshman-led push to restore computer science classes and a public challenge to the district’s new grading floor dominated the Collingswood Board of Education’s March meeting on Monday, underscoring continuing strains over course offerings, technology, and student retention.
Collingswood High School student Maxwell Mullin used the public comment portion of the meeting to advocate for reinstating computer science courses that were removed from the 2026-27 program of studies, presenting a petition with more than 100 signatures in support.
The district serves 613 high school students. Student representative Christopher Schimanski told the board that, based on the petition signature count, a substantial percentage of the student body has expressed interest in computer science.
The debate builds on weeks of scrutiny of the district’s academic programs and policies, including the computer science cuts and a 50-point grading floor, both raised by students at earlier meetings. Those issues were first detailed in Collingswood High School Drops All Computer Science Classes for 2026–27, Freshman Leads Petition to Restore Them, and Collingswood Students Question Unified Schools Initiative and Course Changes at Board Meeting
Students Tie Computer Science to Jobs and State Law
During public comment, Mullin told board members that computer skills are now basic prerequisites for many jobs and argued that course cuts will leave classmates at a disadvantage.
“Computers and phones are essential to everyday life, but are also essential to getting a job,” Mullin said. “Nowadays, it’s been very difficult to get a job with the economy recently, and having a coding language or computer science experience on your resume can help out a ton in getting a job.”
Mullin also cited the New Jersey Statute, 18A:7C-1.1, which addresses computer science instruction in public schools and high school graduation requirements.
The bill states, “No later than the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year, each public school enrolling students in grades nine through 12, other than a county vocational school district, shall offer a course in computer science.”
Guidance counselor Kylie Smith provided recent enrollment data for the high school’s computer science program. She said 64 students were enrolled in computer science courses in the 2024-25 school year, and 52 had registered for 2025-26 before the class was canceled.
Schimanski told the board he understands the district is working under budget constraints, but said clear student demand exists. He asked members to consider reapplying for grant funds to offset computer science operating costs, as the district has done in the past.
Schimanski also pointed to federal labor data to argue that computer science opens paths to higher-paying jobs. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, an entry-level computer programmer makes approximately $98,670 per year. The bureau also projects that overall employment in computer and information technology jobs will grow much faster than average from 2024 to 2034, with roughly 317,700 openings each year.
The removal of computer science from the course catalog, and the loss of the teacher who previously taught those classes, were first reported this month in Collingswood High School Drops All Computer Science Classes for 2026–27, Freshman Leads Petition to Restore Them
Counselors Dispute Role in Grading Floor Decision
High school counselors Smith, LaToya Goodall, and Kevin Adams used the public comment period to dispute earlier statements that they had authored the district’s grading floor policy.
The board last month discussed a grading change that creates a floor of 50 for student report card grades. Students and parents have raised concerns that the policy is confusing and could mask academic struggles. Those questions surfaced publicly at the February meeting, documented in Collingswood Students Question Unified Schools Initiative and Course Changes at Board Meeting
Smith told the board the counseling office wanted to clarify the record.
“To make sure that we are fully supporting the students at the high school, we want to make sure that the information given is accurate regarding the grading policy,” Smith said. “It was stated last month that the grading floor policy and the program of studies was intially created by the counseling office and proposed to the district administration. However, that is not accurate.”
Smith said administrators had asked counselors to draft a proposal, but their version would have applied a grading floor only for the first half of a course.
“That proposal was rejected,” Smith said.