MANCHESTER – The Manchester Township Board of Education welcomed back an incumbent, new members, and a new vice president.
Newcomer Pat Barry, who defeated incumbent James Kenneth Pate, was sworn in with Jackie Bermudez and Lakehurst representative Dean Hetzel by board attorney Thomas Monahan at the January 4 reorganization meeting.
Longtime board president Donald Webster kept his position. The board appointed Bermudez as vice president, a seat that Pate had held.
“The things we did right last year were the roll out for the block scheduling at the high school, and in addition, we continued to work to finish up our facilities improvement,” Webster told The Manchester Times. “That was a big deal for us because we were at a very critical point as far as our HVAC equipment and some of our roofs, so I think those were the two big accomplishments.
“Going forward, we’ll continue to work on our student achievement as we always do. I’m looking forward to working with Mr. Barry and Jackie Bermudez and the rest of the board for the coming year,” Webster said.
This will be Bermudez’s first time serving as vice president.
“I’m hoping to learn more about my role as the vice president, and what I can do to support Don in his role, and just getting the board to work as a team, and keeping it like that,” Bermudez said when asked her goals for the coming year as vice president.
Board members, in addition to Webster, Bermudez, Barry and Hetzel, are Jennifer Hudak, Christopher Nolan, Jacqueline Paolillo and Mary Walter.
The board meets the third Wednesday of each month. Executive sessions start at 7 p.m., with regular business meetings at 7:30 in the Ridgeway Elementary School Media Room. The board will meet on January 18, February 15, March 15, April 19, May 10, June 21, July 26, August 23, September 20, October 18, November 15 and December 20.
The school is located at 2861 Ridgeway Road.
