BOE Members To Be Sworn In Wednesday

Two incumbents and one newcomer and will take their seats on Manchester's Board of Education when the body reorganizes this week. 

Mary Walter and Steve Placido will be sworn in for another term, while Jennifer Hudak will begin her first term at the special meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Ridgeway Elementary School's media center. Each member will serve for three years.

The three candidates ran in an uncontested race, as board member Gary Rhodes, who served since 1996, decided not to seek another term.

According to the Ocean County Board of Elections, the vote tallies were: 2,552 for , 2,496 for  and 2,634 for . Write-in candidates received 112 votes.

Walter has served on the board since 1996 and has been board president for 10 years. Placido has been on the board since 1995.

When the board reorganizes, Walter will step down as board president, an announcement she made last month. 

"I just feel like its time for another person to do it," Walter said following the April 13 board meeting. "It's time for a change."

Rhodes' departure from the board was met with "sincere regrets," Walter said in a statement. 

"Gary has always been fully supportive of the students of Manchester Township," the statement read. "That has been evident in his approval of resolutions to both maintain and improve the integrity of our school programs, his advocacy of changes in school law to benefit schoolchildren and his donation of items that could be beneficial to our schools."

Alison Werner, who served as the Lakehurst representative to Manchester's board, has left her post. 

According to the superintendent's office, April Chillemi will take over as the Lakehurst representative, a position she has previously held.

According to Walter's statement, Werner "has contributed to the focus and goals of our board."

"We are going to miss Alison's participation, but we are also looking forward to building a positive relationship with the representative that Lakehurst will choose to send to us."

The board will soon have to discuss its with the Manchester Township Council. A public meeting with both bodies is tentatively scheduled for next week, according to the school district.