By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
MONTGOMERY — In the wake of the resignations of its president and vice president last week, the Montgomery Township Board of Education elected school board members Humberto Goldoni and Christine Witt to fill those positions at a special meeting Tuesday night.
Mr. Goldoni was elected to serve as the board president and Ms. Witt was elected to serve as the board vice president. They were the unanimous choices of the six school board members present — themselves, plus board members Dharmesh Doshi, Nicholas Hladick, Dale Huff and Amy Miller. Board member Sandra Donnay was absent.
School district officials also set in motion the process to replace former school board members Adelle Kirk-Csontos and Judy Humza, the board’s president and vice president, who resigned unexpectedly at the board’s Aug. 18 meeting. Their three-year terms on the school board would have expired in December.
Interested candidates for the two vacancies should submit a letter of interest and a resume to Business Administrator Annette M. Wells at the Montgomery Township Board of Education office at 1014 Route 601 (next to Montgomery High School) by Sept. 11.
The school board will review the applications and then interview the candidates in public at the board’s Sept. 15 meeting. The board will meet in closed session to discuss the applicants and then come out to make the appointments. The appointees will serve until the school board reorganizes in January 2016.
To serve on the school board, an applicant must be a U.S. citizen and must have lived in Montgomery Township for at least one year. An applicant must be able to read and write, and to be registered to vote. An applicant cannot serve as the mayor or be a member of the governing body.
Meanwhile, at the special meeting Tuesday, the school board formally accepted the resignations of Ms. Kirk-Csontos and Ms. Humza. Last week, Ms. Humza wrote in an email that she resigned because “it has become increasingly difficult to be an effective Board of Education member under continued contentious Board of Education meetings.”
Several residents who spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting Tuesday night also alluded to the perceived contentiousness of the school board meetings — including the Aug. 18 meeting, at which Ms. Kirk-Csontos and Ms. Humza resigned.
Mr. Goldoni, in accepting his election as school board president, said it was an honor to be chosen to lead the board through a very difficult time. He acknowledged that there could be differences of opinion among board members, but urged them to treat each other with respect.
Ms. Witt echoed Mr. Goldoni’s comments, adding that she hoped the board could move forward and that everyone could work together.
