Boards

The Camden Board of Education will eliminate more than 100 positions in the 2013-14 school year, officials said at Tuesday night's meeting. In front of more than 100 people, most district employees, the board announced that the cuts would include about 32 teaching positions and 35 supervisory positions such as vice principals, department heads, and supervisors. The district has about 2,700 full-time employees. Since the board approved a $326.5 million operating budget for 2013-14 earlier this year, it was estimated that about 100 positions would be eliminated, but it was not clear until Tuesday which positions would be cut. The budget, which included the cuts, is about $10 million more than the current school year's budget.

MAYOR NUTTER appointed Julia Chapman, legislative director for the first two years of his administration, to chair the Zoning Board of Adjustment yesterday. Chapman, Nutter's longtime chief of staff during his City Council days, will replace Lynette Brown-Sow, who became chairwoman of the Philadelphia Housing Authority on Friday. "Throughout my many years of public service, I have been keenly aware of the critical role the Zoning Board of Adjustment plays in balancing neighborhood preservation and the economic growth of the city while insuring the integrity of the zoning code," Chapman said in a statement.

Quilts for Kids, a Fairless Hills charity that makes quilts for children with life-threatening illnesses or who have suffered abuse, named Michael J. Kline treasurer. He is a partner at Citrin Cooperman, Philadelphia.   Brian J. Hoffman has been named to the board of Select Greater Philadelphia, the economic-development arm of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. He is a partner at Citrin Cooperman, Philadelphia.   Visit Bucks County, a tourism-promotion agency, named Ron Gilbert to its board.

Beginning May 6, Small Business will once again have its own standalone section. Look forward to more compelling articles by Diane Mastrull about the region's innovators and entrepreneurs, more insights from columnist Mike Armstrong , and more of our popular features People in the News and On the Boards . In addition, the section will include the Monday comics, puzzles, and TV listings.

Federal officials handed over control of the Philadelphia Housing Authority to a new local board Friday, ending Washington's two-year receivership of the beleaguered agency. In a public meeting at PHA headquarters in Center City, the Department of Housing and Urban Development transferred power to a new nine-member board of commissioners selected by Mayor Nutter and approved by City Council. "The reestablishment of local control with a new governance structure means real accountability," Nutter said in a statement.

In an effort to get another Latino on the Camden Board of Education, Mayor Dana L. Redd turned to City Council President Frank Moran for recommendations for the latest openings. Moran has been cultivating a pool of young Latino leaders. Last year, he backed Felicia Reyes-Morton for the school board, and she was one of two members who stood by the mayor last month in support of the state takeover of the school district. So, at Moran's suggestion, Redd last week appointed 33-year-old Jennifer Martinez, a city business owner.

The Washington Township school board and teachers' union reached a tentative agreement early Wednesday to settle a nearly three-year contract dispute. Negotiations continued well after Tuesday's board meeting, with the sides hashing out an agreement at 4:30 a.m. The contract between the Washington Township Education Association, which represents 850 teachers and secretaries, and the Board of Education expired on June 30, 2010. Neither side released details of the settlement. Both the union and board still need to ratify it. At issue was whether part of the board's $5.8 million budget surplus and $6 million in savings from staff attrition since 2010 could be spent on teacher salaries.

The Wissahickon school board approved an elementary redistricting plan Monday night, realigning boundaries to deal with declining enrollment. The vote came and went with no comment from the board, ending several months of vitriol and a long series of public-input sessions. The debate peaked in January, when the board voted to close Ambler's Mattison Avenue Elementary, the district's smallest campus and the only one serving kindergarten through fourth grade. Parents pleaded to save the school, which is within walking distance for most families and has had moderate success serving a large population of English-language learners.