Small saying goodbye to Board of Ed to serve on Township Council

By KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer

WOODBRIDGE — After nine years serving on the Board of Education, Brian Small is moving on.

Small was elected to the Township Council during the November election and will be sworn in on Jan. 1.

He is leaving his post on the Board of Education on Dec. 31. His term on the Board of Education ends in November 2016.

Small, at a board meeting on Dec. 17, said it was an honor and privilege to serve the residents of Woodbridge Township as a board member under a number of superintendents.

“I would especially like to thank Superintendent [Robert] Zega … thanks to your leadership our district is back to solid ground,” he said, adding that the success of the superintendent relies greatly on the central administration team.

Small thanked board members past and present.

“We faced a lot of tough issues and had to make some tough decisions for the good of the whole district, not just special interest groups,” he said.

Small said he is looking forward to working with the Township Council and Mayor John E. McCormac.

“The mayor and council are large advocates of the board and I look forward to strengthening the relationship,” he said.

Board President John Golden said Small asked him to run for a board seat with him five years ago.

“I was very honored to be your running mate … you taught me a lot,” he said. “You are going to be sorely missed. Our loss is definitely the township’s gain.”

Board member Eileen Zullo thanked Small for thinking of her when a seat on the board became vacant.

“Because of your support, I find myself in this seat,” she said.

Board member Ezio Tamburello said they are all better board members because of Small and said he was a tireless advocate for the Woodbridge Township School District.

Board member Brian Molnar echoed the sentiments of other board members and said Small was instrumental in implementing a security plan for the district.

Board member Jonathan Triebwasser thanked Small for his honesty and integrity and Board member Frank DellaPietro III said there was no doubt Small would make an excellent councilman.

Zega thanked Small for his support and wished Small the best of luck.

Brian Geoffroy, president of the Woodbridge Township Education Association, thanked Small for his dedication and service over the past nine years.

“We faced many difficult situations,” he said. “The nature of our positions, it is easy to become adversarial … thanks to the leadership of Small, we had mutual respect [for one another] and the district was much better off for that.”

Over the years, Small served as board president and served as chairman to many committees. This year, he chaired the Personnel & Grievance Committee, the Ad Hoc Committee, Athletics & Extracurricular Committee, Building & Grounds Committee, and Security & School Safety Committee.