BRICK – Brick Township Board of Education member Missy Parker has stepped down from her position, leaving an open seat to be filled.
Parker was elected to the board in 2020 and recently submitted her resignation to the district superintendent and her fellow board members.
During the August 16 Board of Education meeting, the board voted to accept Parker’s resignation. In a letter read at the meeting, Parker said the reason for her stepping down was that she and her family were moving to Georgia.
“It has been such an honor and privilege to serve the students of Brick with my fellow board members,” Parker wrote in the letter. “I will always look back fondly on my time here, and I wish the administration, board, staff and especially the students, the very best of luck in the future.”
At the meeting, Board President Stephanie Wohlrab announced Parker’s resignation and expressed how much she will be missed.
“It’s with mixed emotions that I provide public notice that our colleague and now-former BOE member, Missy Parker, has resigned from the Board of Education,” Wohlrab said. “I say mixed emotions because selfishly, the BOE will greatly miss her dedicated public service, as an integral part of the BOE team for the past two years. But I am happy for her and her family, as they start a new and exciting chapter in their lives.”
The now vacant seat will be filled by a vote of the remaining Board of Education members, Wohlrab said. Any Brick resident can apply to fill the unexpired term by sending in an updated resume to the district in order to be considered.
This seat will not be available in the upcoming election this fall. It instead will be filled for the remainder of the next year.
Current members Melita Gagliardi and Daisy Haffner have stated they are not seeking re-election, leaving two open seats on the board. School board races are supposed to be nonpartisan, so the candidates aren’t referred to by their political party. Instead, they are allowed to have a short slogan after their name. Candidates who are currently registered to run this November are: Frances DiBenedictis, “Our Children First”; Madeline Iannarone, “Our Children First”; Erin Wheeler, “Together for Brick”; and Maureen Molz, “Together for Brick.”
