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Pennsauken school board elects JoAnn Young president, approves ethics code and $25,000 preschool grant
Summary
At its Jan. 6 reorganization meeting the Pennsauken Township Board of Education sworn in newly elected members, chose JoAnn Young as board president and Diane Johnson as vice president, approved a code of ethics and the 2025 meeting calendar, and accepted a $25,000 preschool-conversion grant.
The Pennsauken Township Board of Education convened its reorganization meeting at 7 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2025, at Pennsauken High School in Room 327. Board Secretary John Ogunkanmi declared the meeting legal and called the roll before the board proceeded with swearing in newly elected members and electing its leadership.
JoAnn Young was elected board president after nominations from Lisa Eckel and Osvaldo Alves; the motion to elect Young was moved by Lisa Eckel and seconded by Osvaldo Alves and carried by roll call. Diane Johnson was elected vice president; she was nominated by Jeffrey Carey and Osvaldo Alves, and the motion to elect her was moved by Carey and seconded by Alves.
The board received and approved a proposed Code of Ethics for School Board Members, citing N.J.S.A. 18A:12-24.1, which outlines standards such as making decisions in the educational welfare of children, maintaining confidentiality where appropriate, and avoiding conflicts of interest. As part of routine reorganization business, board members also approved the board’s 2025 business-meeting calendar, listing monthly meeting dates from July through December 2025 and confirming meetings will be held at Pennsauken High School, Room 327.
The board approved its committee structure and authorized the board president to appoint members and representatives to state and local organizations, including the New Jersey School Boards Association and Camden County School Boards Association. The committees listed for 2025 include District Business and Operations; Communications; Negotiations; Policy; Education; Superintendent Evaluation; and Superintendent Search.
The board accepted a $25,000 grant for an ECPA/ELLI Conversion to Preschool Aid (PEA) project. The amount for that grant was listed on the agenda and approved as part of agenda items 1–6, which were moved, seconded and carried as a block by motion of Mr. McDevitt and seconded by Mrs. Matos.
The board opened and closed a public comment period; no members of the public spoke. The board read the standard executive-session resolution referencing N.J.S.A. 10:4-12 and indicated no executive session would be convened at this meeting.
In "Good of the Order," President Young shared the timeline and process for the district’s superintendent search and asked board members for input on committee assignments. Vice President Johnson recommended moving future executive sessions to the school's media room to accommodate closed-session needs. The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m. on a motion by Matthew McDevitt, seconded by Jeffrey Carey.
Next steps: the board will proceed with superintendent search-related committee work and follow its approved 2025 meeting calendar; no votes on personnel or contracts took place at this meeting.
