John Malchow Joins Watchung School Board

Mountain Boulevard resident John Malchow, 22, was sworn into the Watchung Borough Board of Education, Tuesday.

Malchow, who has been following the board for some time, said he considerd running for a seat last year before he began his senior year at Rutgers, but decided to wait because board meetings conflicted with some classes.

But after graduating with bachelor's degrees in history and German earlier this month, he was ready to join the board.

"I primarily joined the board...because I was taught to emphasize public service more than anything else," Malchow said. "And I hope that I can contribute in whatever small way I can."

He said finance was "a hobby" but added he didn't know he would want to be involved in determining salaries at this time. He did say he would like to be involved in facilities and legislative committees of the board.

Malchow's appointment completes the term of DiRosa, which runs to the end of the year. He said he has a petition ready to file by the June 5 deadline to run in November for a full three-year term.

With Malchow's appointment, the board has filled one of two board vacancies—board member Shelly Milstein notified the board she will be moving out of the district Aug. 4. The board plans to appoint Tiffany Brigante at one of the upcoming meetings to fill the seat.

This article was edited to correct misspelled names.