Manchester School Board Bids Farewell Ahead Of Reorganization

MANCHESTER, NJ — The Manchester Township Board of Education welcomed two new members on Tuesday night at the board's reorganization meeting, Daniel Staples Sr., and Gayle Mount.

Ahead of that change, the board in December bid farewell to two departing members, Patrick Barry and Jackie Bermudez. Barry had chosen not to seek election to another term; Bermudez was defeated in the November election, when Staples and Mount were elected.

At the Dec. 18 school board meeting, Superintendent David Trethaway took a moment to thank Barry and Bermudez.

Barry had served on the board for three years, but had been involved with serving the district prior to being elected to the board.

"He was really an important part of the district before he became a board member," Trethaway said, noting that Barry had been a member and president of the high school's booster club and served on the Strategic Action Plan committee.

"He did a lot to provide opportunities for our student athletes, for our students in general, and for our sports programs. He was a tremendous resource," Trethaway said.

Barry helped to increase school spirit with booster club programs like tailgate parties, and he was instrumental in bringing a lot of improvements to the football field facilities.

"(He was) on the board for the right reasons. There are no political ambitions, he doesn’t have any agendas, political or otherwise, he’s here for the students, he’s here for the district and he always has been," Trethaway said. "When making decisions he uses a common sense approach. He listens to everything and the final answer is always based on how does it benefit the students, how does it benefit the parents, how does it benefit the staff, how does it benefit the district."

"You can always count on Pat to get things done, and if he can’t do it, he knows someone who can," he said. "Pat, the board, and particularly this superintendent, will miss your leadership and your decision-making, so thank you for your service."

Barry said he was glad to have been a part of a school community that does such great things for our kids. He also remarked that his children did so well in college because of the staff in Manchester. "It’s amazing to see the passion and how much you guys care for our kids."

Bermudez had served on the board for 10 years, serving as its president for the last year. She had been an active member of the band parents organization and served on the PTA.

"She just wanted to be involved and she was involved for the right reasons," Trethaway said. "She always emphasized that we want to provide opportunities for all students, something that she always stressed was all the students."

"When Mr. (Donald) Webster left the board, Jackie was voted president and not only did she assume the leadership as president of the Manchester Board of Education, she also served as president of the Ocean County board," he said. Bermudez was honored at the Ocean County-Monmouth County school board meeting for her service and leadership and received an award there. Trethaway said Bermudez completed extensive school board training and was "more informed on county and state topics like SEL (social-emotional learning) and more and more involved in opportunities for non-college bound students. She shared all that information here in Manchester."

"As president she demonstrated leadership for the board, the district and of course the superintendent," Trethaway said. "She has always been a positive advocate for our district and has all the qualities to look for in a board member - well informed, knowledgeable, makes decisions based on what is best for all the students in the district. You can’t ask for anything more and you will definitely be missed, so thank you Jackie."

In her final president's report, Bermudez said: "I did not become a board member because I thought I knew what was best for the district or felt that it needed to be better. I became a board member because I wanted to be a part of this wonderful school district and be involved. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this for the past 10 years."

Note: This article has been updated to reflect that the reorganization meeting was held Tuesday evening.

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