The following letter was published in the Haddon Herald on April 6, 2006.  It was submitted by Toni Pergolin, Chief Operating Officer, Bancroft Neurohealth Title:  The Bancroft Move is a big decision To the editor: As an organization that has called Haddonfield home for more than 123 years, I thought I should update you on where we've been and the direction in which we are headed. Last year, we began discussions about the possibility of selling our land in Haddonfield to meet our future needs.  To better understand our options, a request for proposal was issued.  Although we would prefer to stay in Haddonfield, our goal in considering relocation was to build a state-of-the-art campus for the hundreds of children who attend our school each day.  The response from interested parties confirmed that we own a valuable piece of property that was desirable for age-restricted housing, in particular.  In addition, a large component of land was being considered for donation to the borough. It has become clear that in order to acheive our goal, we would need to build a school from the ground-up -- something we can only accomplish if we sell our land.  The decision to sell the property will only be made once we get through our fact-finding mission.  We must find a suitable piece of land, while pursuing the necessary approvals from the state and others to make sure we can move our programs to another site.  This process could easily take the better part of a year and ultimately, three to five years before we are able to move, once we make that decision. As some of you may know, we were faced with some fiscal difficulties last fall that forced us to evaluate everything we were doing.  These circumstances made it necessary for us to enter into merger and partnership discussions with similar providers to ensure that our services could continue without disruption.  At that time, we asked the borough to postpone the meeting related to redevelopment for one reason:  we were busy working to secure the future for our programs and services for the children and adults we serve -- many with severe disabilities who have few other options for care. When issues around affordable housing arose, we needed to file an objection to protect our property, which was necessary in order to continue to serve these children.  As a not-for-profit human service organization responsible for the education, care, and welfare of over 1,000 children and adults with significant disabilities, we simply had no other choice. As discussions surrounding Redevelopment continue, we must once again file an objection.  It is our responsibility to protect our most important asset -- the key to our future -- our land. We recently communicated with our staff and family members the news that after taking a long, hard look at our programs, streamlining and consolidating some services, we are able to remain independent.  We are no longer in discussions with any organization concerning partnerships or mergers.  This is great news for us. Although we've gone through some trying times, we have never lost our focus, which is on the children and adults in our programs.  Our mission has not changed, nor our direction as a leader in helping people with developmental disabilities, autism, brain injuries, and other neurological impairments lead productive, quality lives. At the same time, we are committed to working with our elected officials and people of Haddonfield.  In the meantime, however, we are not making any rash decisions.  Such a major decision concerning the future of our programs and services will only be made after considerable deliberation.  We ask for your patience and understanding as we work together to find solutions that will work not only for Bancroft, but for the people of Haddonfield -- the place we have called home since 1883. Toni Pergolin Chief Operating Officer, Bancroft Neurohealth