HOWELL – In accordance with the previously established schedule, the Howell Township Board of Education held their first monthly meeting of the new year on January 7. At this meeting, a new schedule was approved, policies were reviewed, and members of the board were sworn in to their respective positions.
Three board members who won the election in November were sworn in during the January meeting – two newcomers and one returning member. These three (Jennifer Okerson, Sara Moran, and Margaret ‘Maggie” Lazur) are now officially members of the Board of Education for the 2025 year.
In addition to the swearing in of new board officials, official board titles were appointed, including president and vice president.
Members of the board were given the right to nominate any select person to be appointed in these positions. Without hesitation, they decided to nominate members who have been established on the board previously.
“Last year, we had an excellent change of leadership. New policies and procedures were put in place, we revised our board bylaws, and none of this would have happened without the outstanding leadership of Cristy Mangano,” said board member Dr. Denise Lowe. “It is my honor and my pleasure to unconditionally recommend her for another year as board president.”
Following Lowe’s statement, there were no additional nominations for board president. Mangano was unanimously voted to serve for another year in the position.
For Vice President, Ira Thor was nominated by the board. He was, similar to Mangano, the only nomination received by the board for this position.
Thor was appointed president following a motion, with seven votes in favor and two abstentions from the board.
Once all board members were appointed to their new positions and sworn-in by oath, the meeting held a 20 minute presentation discussing the Annual Statutory Presentation, Discussion and Training of Board Member code of ethics.
This presentation explicitly stated the expectations and procedures that are expected of board members, as well as prohibited activities that could be considered conflicts of interest.
Some of the detailed expectations included the ‘four functions of a school board member.’ These functions are listed as providing proper maintenance over policy, planning, appraisal and communication, according to the presentation.
Some prohibited activities included inappropriate use of district-issued email, inappropriate comments on social media and unapproved spread of confidential information.
During open public comment, there were no complaints from residents of Howell, but rather many congratulatory comments directed to the members of the board.
“Congratulations to Miss Okerson, Mrs. Lazur and Dr. Moran,” said John Leggio, Mayor of Howell, in a public comment. “I think you’re going to do great things for us up here. The rest of the board members, thank you for volunteering your time to sit on this board and put the children first in this town. It’s a thankless job.”
The Howell Board of Education has meetings to discuss policies and agendas regarding the school district on a monthly basis. Each meeting is open to the public and held in the Howell Municipality building, usually on Tuesdays.
