South River Board installs new members; Cynthia Urbanek elected president, Kevin Nielsen vice president

The South River Board of Education on Jan. 5 swore in newly elected trustees and elected Cynthia Urbanek as board president and Kevin Nielsen as vice president.

After Johnny Rosa, serving as temporary chair, administered the oaths of office to incoming members — including Raymond Beza, Kevin Nielsen, Cynthia Urbanek and Uche Anwudiwe — the board held nominations for its officers. Kevin Nielsen nominated Cynthia Urbanek for president; another member seconded the nomination and the board recorded affirmative responses and confirmed her election. Nielsen was later nominated and confirmed as vice president.

Board members offered brief remarks after the votes. Raymond Beza thanked residents for support and said he looked forward to working with the superintendent and board. Kevin Nielsen said he was honored to continue serving and praised the district team led by Superintendent (Dr.) Zercher. Susan Panek echoed those sentiments and thanked voters for supporting the district.

The board also reviewed committee chairs and liaisons following the reorganization. Committee leadership was recapped as reflected in the agenda, with athletics/extracurricular, buildings and grounds, finance, instruction, negotiations, human resources, policy and legislation, safety and risk management, residency, PTA liaison and the South River Public Library liaison named for the coming year.

The meeting concluded with the board returning the schedule of regular meetings and moving on to business items on the published agenda.