The Tabernacle School District Board of Education meeting saw newcomers sworn in to the board last week.
New board members Gail Corey and Megan Chamberlain were both sworn in on Jan. 5 at the BOE reorganization meeting, along with board president Victoria Shoemaker and board member Julia Sailer. Shoemaker was reappointed as board president, and Antony Laudicina will serve as vice president.
In the November election, five people ran for three open seats. Shoemaker received 26.28 percent of the votes, Chamberlain received 24.22 percent of the votes and Corey received 18.05 percent of the votes. With 17.9 percent of the votes, previous board member John Bulina was not re-elected. Former BOE vice president Geneva Moore, who received 13.61 percent of the votes, passed away before the election.
Sailer was also reelected to her position for a one year, unexpired term.
Chamberlain and Corey are happy to serve.
“It is very humbling to be entrusted with everybody’s child’s education,” Chamberlain said.
“Running against such good people, it felt good to have the public’s support,” Corey said.
Corey comes to the board having been in education for approximately 30 years. She started as a science teacher before becoming a director of curriculum and instruction and, ultimately, an elementary school principal. Her grandchildren now go to Tabernacle schools.
“I think my past experience in education and administration is an asset,” Corey said. “My philosophy is to put the kids first.”
Chamberlain has raised four kids through the Tabernacle School District and is a hands-on parent. She has been involved in almost 99 percent of school activities, she said with a laugh, and is the vice president of the Tabernacle PTA.
“I have first hand knowledge of what goes on in the schools,” Chamberlain said.
Both hope to bring different things to the table as board members.
“I want to make sure (we) provide the best programs,” Corey said.
“My hopes and goals are to bring back continuity, transparency and open communication so we can get everyone back into a place where everyone is happy again,” Chamberlain said.
In other news:
- Dates for the BOE meetings for 2017 were approved. Meetings are Jan. 17, Feb. 21, March 13, April 24, May 15, June 12, July 17, Aug. 21, Sept. 18, Oct. 16, Nov. 20 and Dec. 18. There was some discussion on adding or changing dates, but no changes were made that night.
- At the end of the reorganization meeting, the new board members received Ethics Training from the New Jersey School Boards Association.
