By Frank Mustac, Contributor
Officials recognized two members of the Hopewell Valley Regional School District Board of the Education who will not be returning to the board next year.
Bruce Gunther and Gordon Lewis each received a plaque commemorating their service during the Dec. 12 school board meeting. Earlier this year, neither board member chose to run for reelection in November, and both are leaving the board on their own accord.
During his single term on the school board from 2014-16, Mr. Gunther represented Hopewell Township, and served on the board’s educational program committee and personnel committee, and as liaison to Stony Brook Elementary School.
In addition to his work on the board, Mr. Gunther served as a member of the NJ School Boards Association as a representative for Mercer County.
Mr. Gunther has lived in the Brandon Farms section of Hopewell Valley since 1994. He retired from the Trenton School District in 2005 after 35 years of service. His first 10 years were as a high school English teacher and his last 25 were as a school psychologist.
“You’re going to be missed,” Lisa Wolff, the school board president, told Mr. Gunther, adding that he was able to provide the board with a unique “insight” garnered from to his professional and personal experiences.
Mr. Gunther said he enjoyed his time on the board as he offered a few remarks of his own.
“I am going to miss this board, but I leave it with a great deal of joy, because I’ve never seen a district, teachers, a superintendent, board members, a board president and a board that was so effective doing what they are being charged to do,” he said. “I think what this district does, and what everybody does in it is just outstanding.”
Mr. Gunther said he and his wife, who is also retired, will be doing some traveling very soon – first to Florida and then on a cruise. The couple will return to Hopewell Valley briefly before leaving for a trip to Europe.
“I’m going to be busy, and I’m going to be enjoying myself,” Mr. Gunther quipped.
Turning to Mr. Lewis, the board president said that “the secret” about him is that he is very good at explaining issues clearly.
“One of the greatest things that Gordon brought to the board was a way of articulating what we had to say, the messaging that we had to say,” Ms. Wolff said. “He could simplify it so everyone could understand.”
His communication skills were especially valuable, she said, at the time both she and Mr. Lewis began on the board of education six years ago, when “significant infighting” among members was taking place.
During his two terms on the board, Mr. Lewis served as chairman of the technology committee, as well as a member of the alternate resources committee and the educational program committee. He was Hopewell Borough’s lone representative on the regional board of education, and he served as board liaison to Hopewell Borough Council and Timberlane Middle School.
A resident of Hopewell Borough, Mr. Lewis has lived in Hopewell Valley since 2001.
In 1991, Mr. Lewis and his wife founded a children’s language school in Berlin, Germany where he taught English at the elementary grade levels and in summer camps in Germany. In 1999, the school was purchased by Berlitz International.
In 2001, Mr. Lewis was appointed director of instructor training and development for Berlitz Kids. In 2004, he was named director of curriculum and academics for Kaplan. He is currently employed by Laureate Education as the executive director of English programs.
Mr. Lewis co-authored of the book “Games for Children,” and is author of “The Internet and Young Learners.”
He also delivered some remarks during the school board meeting.
“Over the four or five years since that rather rocky start, I think this board and this administration have accomplished amazing things,” he said. “Given the situation that our school district is not huge, it is not in a city, etcetera, we’ve been innovative, I think.”
“It’s a good time for me to leave the school board after six years. My children are out of the district, the referendum has passed, the technology plan is (in place), and there have been a ton of accomplishments,” Mr. Lewis said. “I can leave this board and say this was a very, very good run.”
