HOWELL – Board of Education members said that it was unlikely that they would merge with other districts during their most recent meeting.
Governor Mikie Sherrill has discussed school mergers from time to time. While not mentioning Howell in particular, Sherrill has been on record proposing that non-consolidated districts might have to be merged with other districts in order to save administrative costs.
It was brought up at the meeting by the board so that they could quell some concerns the public was having over it. The board pointed out that if they were going to attempt to merge any school district with Howell, it would be Farmingdale’s school district and even that was very unlikely.
On top of that, they said that a vote would be called for the locals to decide whether or not their district gets merged with another, so local approval would be needed for such an action. They also disputed the governor’s claim that merging districts saves administrative costs, saying that this is not guaranteed and relies on effective planning to do so.
The board also used this meeting to fill a vacant spot among their ranks that was left when former board member Dr. Sara Moran relocated with her family, thus leaving an open spot.
Several candidates showed up to the meeting to present to the board why they should be selected to join their ranks. After everyone who wanted to be considered for the role gave their presentation, the board retreated into executive session and deliberated on who they should pick to fill the vacancy.
After the board reemerged from the executive meeting, they announced that Cristy Mangano was selected to fill the empty seat due to her experience. Mangano will serve one year to finish out the rest of Moran’s term. She will then have to run for office again if she chooses to.
Mangano has served on the board before in several different roles, including being the board’s president for a time. She has spent over nine years on the board. Her experience with Howell’s board in particular likely gave her a leg up over the other candidates.
In addition to appointing a new board member, the board also used the meeting to give its semi-annual Public Hearing on Violence and Vandalism, and Harassment/Intimidation and Bullying Report. This report includes the statistical figures used to track the various incidents that go on inside of the schools. According to the presentation, there were 28 total incidents reported in the first segment of the school year that lasted from the beginning of September 2025 to the end of December 2025. Those 28 incidents are the lump sum of all the incidents across all 12 schools in the district.
Two 8th grade students from Howell Middle School North’s band opened the meeting by playing the national anthem.
The next Howell Township Board of Education meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 18, at 6:30 p.m. in the main meeting room at the Howell municipal building.
