Four school board members who were re-elected in the November general election were sworn into office and took their seats on the Lawrence Township Public Schools Board of Education.
At the annual reorganization meeting that was held on Jan. 7, Business Administrator Thomas Eldridge administered the oath of office to Dana Drake, Jo Ann Groeger, Joyce Scott and Kevin Van Hise at the school board’s Jan. 7 meeting.
Groeger, Scott and Van Hise are serving three-year terms, while Drake is filling out an unexpired two-year term. She was appointed to fill a vacancy and then chose to run for re-election to fill out the term.
The fully reconstituted school board then turned its attention to electing its officers. Van Hise was elected to be the school board president and Drake was chosen to be the school board vice president. The term is for one year.
And following tradition, each school board member read out loud a paragraph from the Code of Ethics for New Jersey school board members.
“This is just a great reminder of what we are doing up here,” Van Hise said of the practice of reading the Code of Ethics.
Superintendent of Schools Ross Kasun noted that January is School Board Recognition Month, as Eldridge Park School Principal Kathy Robbins readied several students to make a short presentation to the school board.
Robbins said the New Jersey School Boards Association initiated School Board Recognition Month in 2002. The point is to honor the local dedicated school board members who, statewide, oversee the education of 1.4 million children in 581 public school districts.
The 5,000 or so school board members represent the largest group of public officials in New Jersey, and they play an essential role in the lives of the students, Robbins said.
“You do this for no pay. You give so much to all of us,” Robbins said, wrapping up the presentation for New Jersey School Board Recognition Month.