Northern Burlington County Regional School District elects Figgs president, Armanente vice president; accepts 2024–25 audit

Northern Burlington County Regional School District officials met in their reorganization and regular session where board members were sworn in, officers were elected and routine governance items were approved.

At the reorganization meeting the board read the required public‑notice filings and stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. Election results were read into the minutes for township seats, including results for North Hanover and Chesterfield. New and returning members were administered the oath of office.

A nomination for Michael Figgs to serve as board president was moved and seconded; Figgs was approved by voice vote and the gavel was passed to him. Frank Armanente was nominated and approved as vice president by voice vote.

The board then considered a slate of required professional and statutory appointments (Section 3) — including legal counsel, special‑education counsel, bond counsel, auditor, engineers, financial advisor and various statutory compliance officers — and approved the appointments after administration reported no substantive changes from the prior year. The administration noted it had received responses to a recent RFP for a mechanical engineer and that other appointments were largely unchanged.

During consideration of Section 4 the board discussed a change to the meeting schedule: administrators proposed eliminating separate “work sessions” and instead holding longer, consolidated regular meetings (including adding a second regular meeting in August) to reduce confusion about which meetings would include actionable votes and to align better with state budget and submission deadlines. Board members endorsed the approach and Section 4 (official newspapers, depositories, investment resolution, chart of accounts re‑adoption) passed by roll call.

Miss Williams, the district business administrator, reported on district business including recognition from the Joint Insurance Fund (a $4,000 safety incentive award) and noted that the district would accept the 2024–25 audit. Mr. Gorski of Holt McNally and Associates presented the audit to the finance committee; the administration told the board there were no audit recommendations for 2024–25 and the board accepted the audit.

The meeting moved through its consent agenda (minutes, financial and treasurer reports, budget transfers, cafeteria report, and other routine items). On the roll‑call vote the consent agenda passed; however, two board members recorded abstentions on item 5.02 (the minutes). The board also approved personnel, student and program items, including substitutes and home instruction services.

Administrators announced upcoming dates: the board retreat on Tuesday, Jan. 27 at 6:30 p.m., during which Justin Wright of the New Jersey School Boards Association will present annual ethics training and an overview of NJSBA policy resources. The district also announced the Northern Burlington Hall of Fame induction for April 24, 2026, and several student and athletic recognitions, including the boys baseball state champions.

The board confirmed there would be no executive session that evening and adjourned the meeting.

Notes on sourcing and attribution: quotes and procedural motions used in this report are drawn from the public meeting transcript. Where the transcript included inconsistent name spellings or minor typographical errors, this article uses standardized, verified agency and program names (for example, 'Northern Burlington County Regional School District' as the district name; 'Holt McNally and Associates' for the auditor) to avoid propagating transcription mistakes. If a motion or vote was recorded without a named mover or seconder in the transcript, the article reports the motion and outcome without inventing a mover/seconder.