Schools

Berkeley School District To Hold Open House For New Pitching/Hitting Facility


Fifth and sixth-graders in the Berkeley Township school district will have a chance to use the recently purchases new batting cages, Superintendent James D. Roselli said on the district's Facebook page Monday.

Students in the elementary school district have gym classes once every six days, he has said.

Roselli has also scheduled an open house at 7 p.m. on March 20 at the Berkeley Township Elementary School at 10 Emory Avenue for the public to view the batting cages.

Roselli made no mention of the "special program" for the fifth and sixth-graders in a phone interview with Patch on March 7.

Roselli said then that buying the cages and hiring a person to supervise the cages would open up batting cage space for local travel teams in Berkeley and other municipalities and possibly generate revenue for the district.

The district would charge one rate for Berkeley teams and another rate for out-of-town teams, he said then.

Roselli has refused to speak to Patch since the first story ran. He called a Patch reporter on Saturday to say the story was "full of misinformation," but declined to offer any corrections.

He threatened the reporter with legal action and said he would "take everything you own."

Sources have said the district is spending $25,000 on the cages.

Here is the message posted on the district's Facebook page on Monday:

MESSAGE FROM DR. JAMES D. ROSELLI, SUPERINTENDENT
OPEN HOUSE FOR INDOOR PITCHING/HITTING FACILITY
Thursday, March 20, 2014 7:00 p.m.
Berkeley Township Elementary School

In anticipation of baseball season, the Berkeley Township School District will be offering a special program to all fifth and sixth grade students during their physical education classes through the use of an indoor pitching/hitting program. We hope to generate as much interest in this new program as we have generated in our recently adopted archery program. As always, our goal is to provide students with new opportunities in an effort to encourage physical fitness and possibly spark interest in a sport or activity they have never tried.

On Thursday, March 20, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. the Berkeley Township School District will host an open house to showcase our indoor pitching/hitting facility. This event will take place at the Berkeley Township Elementary School at 10 Emory Avenue, Bayville, New Jersey. The indoor pitching/hitting facility can be used for both baseball and softball. It will be available for rental by both residents and non-residents beginning on Monday, March 24, 2014. Rental times will be Monday through Friday from 4:00 p.m. through 9:00 p.m. More information, including rates for Berkeley teams, residents, and out of town teams will be provided at the open house. All are welcome to attend!



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