Watchung Borough School District board swears in new members; Jennifer Agaro elected president, Manuel Gonzalez vice president

The Watchung Borough School District Board of Education on Jan. 6, 2025, administered oaths to newly elected members and elected Jennifer Agaro as board president and Manuel Gonzalez as vice president during its annual reorganization meeting.

The meeting, which the presiding officer said was being livestreamed and recorded, opened with the district mission statement and a reading of the Open Public Meetings Act notice. The presiding officer read the official results of the Nov. 5, 2024 school election and then administered the oath of office to Jessica Maddox and Dory Harvey. The presiding officer noted that Adam Craft’s swearing-in was delayed because of outstanding clearance paperwork and will occur at the next meeting; board member Gwen Thoron was absent and ethics training was scheduled for Jan. 23 when all members can attend.

In the reorganizational business, the floor opened for nominations for board president. By roll-call vote the board elected Jennifer Agaro as president; applause followed and Agaro said she was “very excited for the year to come” and thanked colleagues “for your confidence and trust.” Manuel Gonzalez was nominated and elected vice president by roll-call vote.

The board then moved to adopt the New Jersey School Board Members Code of Ethics. Board members read the code aloud in sequence and the motion passed on a roll-call vote. The board also approved a package of routine reorganization items (C–W) that, according to the motion, included continuing membership in the New Jersey School Boards Association; setting board meeting dates, times and official newspapers; adopting parliamentary procedures; designating depositories and authorized signatures; approving certain insurance plans and authorized procurement through state contracts; and other administrative designations and authorizations.

The presiding officer opened the meeting for public comment on agenda items and noted a second comment period later in the meeting; no members of the public spoke at either opportunity. A motion to adjourn passed by unanimous voice vote and the meeting concluded.

Officials present at the roll call included Agaro, Amadeo, Fras, Manuel Gonzalez, Harvey, Jet, Santos and Maddox (as recorded in the meeting roll call). The board scheduled ethics training for Jan. 23 to cover an absent member.

Notes: the presiding officer read election results from the district’s official returns during the meeting. The transcript includes specific vote totals for candidates as read aloud, but those figures appear inconsistent in the recording; official certified election results should be consulted for exact counts.