Want To Serve On The School Board? Now's Your Chance

Anyone interested in serving on the school board?

The School Board Advisory Committee is inviting all residents interested in serving on the Board of Education to obtain an application packet at the Township Clerk's Office or on the municipal website.

The School Board Advisory Committee has extended the deadline for applications by one week until Friday, March 2 at noon.

The three-year terms of both Board President Shelly Lombard and board member Leslie Larson are coming to an end. Both have expressed an interest in being reappointed for another term.

"We will conduct a transparent selection process to ensure that the viewpoints, interests, and concerns of the entire township are considered," said Mayor Jerry Fried who first convened the committee in 2010.

Wil Adkins, Treasurer of the Board of Trustees of the Montclair Public Library and President of the Executive Board of the Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence, will serve as chairman of the committee for the second year. Adkins said he is looking forward to the process and said he is committed to ensuring that all those interested in applying for the Board of Education receive equal and unbiased consideration.

“I was proud to serve as a member of the inaugural School Board Advisory Committee and to lead it as chairman last year. While the current members of the board whose terms are expiring are interested in being reappointed, I hope that other residents who have interest and passion in education step forward as well for consideration,” said Adkins.

Rejoining the committee in 2012 will be Wendy Sabin who served in 2010 and who replace Jill Nadison. Also returning to serve will be Secretary Michael D. Byrne, Jean Armstrong, Julie Cerf, Stephanie Fitzgerald, Gail Prusslin, and Kellia Sweatt.

Each member of the Township Council appoints one person to the eight-member
committee while Fried appoints two.

"State law requires me as the mayor to make appointments to the School Board, but it's critical that varying viewpoints are represented," Fried said. "That’s why I have been so delighted by the performance and work of this committee in helping me weigh candidates.”

Fried said that the 2012 committee is a well-balanced blend of parents, former PTA representatives, former board members, school volunteers, and alumni of the school system. "As it has in the past, this group will recommend a pool of highly qualified applicants to me that will ensure that the Board of Education remains representative of the entire community," he said.

The process is expected to unfold as follows:

—Applicants should complete the standard Township Volunteer Form included in
the application packet and return it with a resume and cover letter to the Township Clerk. Members of the Advisory Committee will not accept these applications; they should only be submitted to the Township Clerk or her staff and time-stamped accordingly;

—Those who applied for the Board of Education in the past but who were not selected will be contacted to see if they would like to be considered in 2012;

—All applicants will subsequently receive a questionnaire to complete and
return to the Township Clerk be e-mail. All applicants will receive the
questionnaire at the same time and have the same period of time to complete it;

—The clerk will then catalogue the answers and distribute them to committee
members who will score the answers blindly; and, finally,

—The committee will invite finalists to interview in person before voting on a pool of recommended applicants for the mayor to choose from.

—The committee hopes to have the process completed by March 18, 2012.