MANCHESTER – The Manchester Board of Education looks a little different for 2019.
Long-time board member and president Donald Webster Jr. lost his seat in the November general elections. Out of six candidates running for two seats, voters chose incumbent Christopher Nolan and newcomer Bryan H. Jenner. Both were sworn in at the Board’s annual reorganization meeting Jan. 3.
Deborah Pease, reelected to the Lakehurst Board of Education in November, was also sworn in as the representative to Manchester.
The Board installed Jackie Bermudez as president, and Kenneth Pate as vice president. Pate had served as the board’s vice president since 2009 and had served for 21 years, but lost his reelection bid back in 2016 to Patrick Barry. He was elected back to the board in 2017.
The full board includes Bermudez, Pate, Nolan, Jenner, Pease, Barry, Jennifer Hudak and Melanie Biscardi.
The Board, back in December, honored Webster, who had served 22 years. In addition to his work on the Board, he served as president of the New Jersey School Boards Association from 2015-2017, and as vice president for finance before that. He achieved the highest certification as a board of education member, the “certified board leader,” and also holds a “master board member” certification. Webster is a retired financial manager, and had three children who graduated from Manchester schools.
Superintendent of Schools David Trethaway said Webster had “made a difference in our schools and our community.”
The Manchester Board of Education public meetings start 7:30 p.m. in the Ridgeway Elementary School media center, 2861 Ridgeway Road. The meeting dates are: Jan. 16, Feb. 20, March 20, April 17, May 8, June 12, July 24, Aug. 21, Sept. 18, Oct. 16, Nov. 20 and Dec. 18.
