Egg Harbor Township board swears in three members; Tamika Gilbert Floyd elected president, Michael Price vice president

At its Jan. 9, 2025 meeting, the Egg Harbor Township School District Board of Education administered oaths of office to newly elected board members and elected its leadership for the year.

Christy Bird, Luis Delabarca and Nicholas Seppi were sworn in during the meeting; the oath language and statutory qualifications were read aloud prior to congratulations from attendees. The agenda noted John Risley, county commissioner and chairman, would administer one of the oaths.

The board opened nominations for president. Tamika Gilbert Floyd was nominated and, following a roll-call vote, was elected board president with six votes. Michael Price was nominated for vice president and was approved in a unanimous roll-call vote of nine affirmative votes as the sole nominee.

The board moved and approved grouped consent items (listed on the agenda as 9.1–9.10 and 10.1–10.4). Board member Byrd announced she would abstain from items 9.1–9.10 because she said she had not received the agenda prior to the meeting; the roll-call results recorded the remaining members voting in favor.

Board leadership also asked members to review a copy of the code of ethics and bylaws ahead of an upcoming retreat and requested that members email their committee preferences by the stated deadline. The board read its public-comment guidelines aloud, reminding speakers that public comment is limited to three minutes per person and directing those with litigation-, student- or personnel-related questions to speak with the superintendent after the meeting.

During public comment, resident Pete Castellano (111 White Oak Drive, Egg Harbor Township) offered New Year greetings, congratulated the newly sworn and elected board members and said he was available to assist the board in the coming year: “I just wanna wish everyone a happy New Year … I wanna congratulate the newly sworn in board members,” Castellano said.

Several board members offered brief remarks of thanks and recognition of past service and expressed optimism about the work ahead. A motion to adjourn was made and carried; board members gathered informally for a group photograph afterward.

Votes at a glance - Election of board president: Tamika Gilbert Floyd — elected (6 votes in favor; roll-call vote recorded). - Election of vice president: Michael Price — elected (9 votes in favor; sole nominee). - Consent items 9.1–9.10: motion approved; Missus Byrd abstained from 9.1–9.10 citing not having received the agenda; remaining voting members voted yes. - Consent items 10.1–10.4: motion approved by roll call (yes votes recorded; one abstention on prior block noted).

What this means Leadership choices set the board’s internal agenda and committee assignments for the coming year. The board directed members to review bylaws and the code of ethics at an upcoming retreat and asked members to submit committee preferences, signaling the board will soon organize committee assignments and representatives.

Next steps The board will proceed with committee assignments based on member submissions and will review the code of ethics/bylaws during the scheduled retreat. Matters flagged as litigation, student or personnel issues will be handled outside public session and callers were directed to follow up with the superintendent for those items.