HOLMDEL — The Board of Education, in last week’s reorganization, split its votes on new board leaders, indicating a possible continued rift.
Also at last week’s meeting, former board Vice President Susan Howard was elected president and Rick Misiura vice president, both in 5-4 votes.
The three new board members, Elizabeth Allocco, Thomas Baumlin III, and Karen Strickland, were sworn in to three-year terms.
Howard, who was nominated by Misiura, was the only person nominated to the president’s position.
There were two candidates for vice president. Cathy Weber was nominated by Patrick Impreveduto and Misiura by Baumlin.
The rift became apparent as soon as the votes were cast for president and Weber cast an emphatic no vote.
Allocco, Baumlin, Howard, Misiura, and Strickland all voted for Howard to be president and Misiura to be vice president.
Impreveduto, Phyllis Pascucci, Nartin Pfleger and Weber voted against Howard and for Weber to become the vice president. No comments were made for or against the candidates, and no speeches were given after the votes were cast.
The voting lines have stayed the same as they were a month ago when a vote was taken to extend School Superintendent Leigh Byron’s contract for three years, except now the majority seems to have shifted, with the three new board members giving the majority to the president and vice president, at least for now.
When the former board voted 5-4 to renew Byron’s contract last month, Howard, Misiura, former board President Frank Pento, and former board member Brian McMullen voted against renewing the three-year contract. Jun-Min Liu, who had decided not to seek re-election, was the swing vote in Byron’s favor.
Byron’s initial contract, which went into effect 18 months ago, stipulated that if the board did not notify him by Jan. 15 that his contract would not be renewed, the original contract would automatically renew itself for three years. The new contract replaces the old one.
The board members who voted against the contract wanted it to be tabled, so that the new board could vote on the contract. Five days after the vote, Pento and McMullen decided not to seek re-election. Pento said that he could not lead the board when he did not believe in Byron. McMullen said that he was not seeking re-election because the past few months had taken a "terrible toll" on his personal and professional life.
The Holmdel Township Education Association, meanwhile, still has a vote of no confidence in Byron that was taken more than a year ago.