HOWELL – The members of the Howell K-8 School District Board of Education have appointed Laurence Gurman to fill an open seat on the panel during 2020.
In the Nov. 5 election for three three-year terms on the board, incumbents Cristy Mangano, Mark Bonjavanni and Gurman, along with newcomer Joseph Tate, sought the terms. Mangano, Bonjavanni and Tate won the three available seats.
Following his victory, Tate informed district administrators he would not be able to serve on the board. His announcement created an opening on the board beginning in January.
Howell residents were invited to apply to be appointed and William Brown, Heather Iurato, John Hughes, Jim Piccinich, Sandra Prisco and Gurman submitted letters of interest. All of the candidates were interviewed in public by the board on Dec. 11.
During the interviews, Piccinich said he has always aspired to serve on a school board.
“I just did not have the time and financial well-being. At this point in my life I think I am ready to serve and offer my services to the community, the board and mostly the students,” Piccinich said.
Hughes said he wanted to be a board member because he believes in public service.
“I have a degree in political science. I chose that area because of the idea of giving back to the community,” Hughes said. “I think public schools are the backbone of the community and I would like to be part of that.”
Iurato said she has been involved in education, first as a public school teacher, then by working in the day care field, and currently she works for the state as a child care center inspector. She said she and her family moved to Howell last year and the draw was the schools.
“Knowing I was drawn here for the reputation, I would like to be part of the team,” Iurato said.
Gurman, who has served on the school board for 12 years, said he wanted to be a board member because he could not think of anything more rewarding than making a difference in children’s lives.
“Education is opportunity,” Gurman said.
Prisco said she would like to be a board member because of her sense of community. She said she and her husband never had that sense of community before moving to Howell.
“Even in the two short years I have been in Howell, the sense of community, the sense of the way we were family is instantly felt … the way we were welcomed into the schools as well as in the neighborhood, and into the community. The feeling of wanting to participate in that community is something that definitely inspired me,” Prisco said.
Brown said he would like to be a board member because he would like to make a difference in the community. He said he believes the board is moving in a good direction and that a lot of the parents and students are happy.
“The students are very educated and I would like to continue to do that by using our technology and different ideas from different people, and I feel I have a lot to bring to the table with that,” Brown said.
Following the interviews with the candidates, the board members adjourned to executive (closed) session. After about 40 minutes the board members reconvened in public session and announced their unanimous decision to appoint Gurman to the one-year term for 2020.
In November 2020, the final two years (2021 and 2022) of the term Tate won will be on the ballot. At that time, Gurman or any other qualified resident may run to serve the final two years of that term.