Union Township Board elects Palma president, approves governance resolutions and evaluation contracts

The Union Township Board of Education elected Lou Palma as board president and Nicole Rasavage as vice president during its Jan. 5, 2026, reorganization meeting at Union Township Elementary School.

Board Secretary Eva Preuett called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. and administered the oath of office to newly elected board members John Malone, Lisette Esteves Lagoa and Ralph Lenzi. The board then took nominations; Heather Eberstein and Christine Robitaille moved to nominate Lou Palma for president, and the motion carried by roll call (8 yes, 1 abstain). Heather Eberstein moved to nominate Nicole Rasavage for vice president; that vote carried (7 yes, 2 abstain).

The board approved a reorganization consent agenda covering a series of governance items, including formal adoption of the New Jersey School Boards Association Code of Ethics and readoption of the district policy manual. The board designated Citizens Bank as the district depository and set authorized signatories for various accounts. As part of those actions the board adopted procedures for electronic funds transfers consistent with Local Finance Notice #2018-13 and adopted Robert’s Rules of Order as the board’s parliamentary authority.

The board also appointed delegates and subcommittee memberships. Appointments named Nicole Rasavage as the district delegate to the Hunterdon County Educational Services Commission, Ralph Lenzi to the Hunterdon County School Boards Association, and Lou Palma as the New Jersey School Boards Association delegate with Lisette Esteves Lagoa as alternate; John Malone was named township committee liaison and Heather Eberstein the Polytech/Votech liaison. Subcommittee rosters for negotiations, policy and personnel, facilities and finance, education/special education and superintendent search were approved as presented.

The board adopted an annual meeting calendar and designated The Star-Ledger as the primary newspaper with several alternates. The reorganization resolution also states that, effective March 1, 2026, legal notices and board meeting dates will be posted on the district website; the resolution ties that change to compliance with revised state code.

During the public comment period, resident Caitlin Piontek suggested changes to committee structure and asked the board to consider creating a new special education subcommittee; the transcript records discussion about that topic but no formal motion to create a new standing committee was made.

On other business the board approved a professional contract with Jay D. Kuris, MD to provide psychiatric evaluation services through Dec. 31, 2025 at $1,950 per evaluation (motion passed 9–0 as recorded). The board later approved a contract with Alexander Road Associates for psychiatric evaluation services at $880 per evaluation for the 2025–2026 school year; that vote was recorded as passing, with the tally recorded in the minutes.

The meeting concluded and the public session was adjourned at 8:28 p.m.

The board packet lists the district’s 2024–2027 strategic plan, "The Bridge to Brilliance," and the meeting minutes indicate the board reserved the right to go into closed session during the year.