Pleasantville Board of Education swears in members and elects Roebel president

At its Jan. 2, 2025 reorganization meeting, the Pleasantville Board of Education administered oaths to newly elected members and elected Miss Roebel as board president.

The meeting opened with a reading of the legal notice required for reorganization sessions and a report of election results. A speaker read vote totals reported at the meeting: Charmaine Jones (2,932 votes), George Rowell (2,524), Theo Borders (1,995) and Martin Gibson (2,375) for a two-year term. The report was given as part of the reorganization proceedings.

The board then administered the statutory oath of office to incoming and returning members. Meeting remarks included recitations of statutory qualifications and disqualification language referenced in the oath procedure and citations read aloud during the meeting (for example, chapter 231 of the Laws of 1975 and the school-law provision cited in the meeting as N.J.S. 18A:12-1).

Nominations for board president were called. Following the roll call, Miss Roebel was declared elected president; the meeting transcript records members answering in the affirmative during the roll call (including Ms. Gray, Miss Jones Higgins, Miss King, Miss Mello and Miss Rowell) and the presiding official congratulated Miss Roebel. In remarks after her election, Roebel thanked colleagues and said she would “do my very best” and provided contact information for board members to reach her.

Why it matters: Reorganization meetings formally install elected trustees, establish board leadership and set the administrative framework for the year. The board’s officer selection determines committee assignments and serves as the starting point for the district’s governance for 2025.

What’s next: The board will circulate a revised meeting calendar and other organizational materials through the board secretary.