Saddle River board elects new president and vice president, adopts ethics code and routine governance items

The Saddle River Board of Education opened its organizational meeting with a compliance statement under the New Jersey Open Public Meeting Act, administered oaths to newly elected members and then elected Dr. Douglas Holder as board president and Shannon Ketta as vice president.

The board proceeded to read aloud and adopt the New Jersey School Boards Association code of ethics as the district’s official code. Members also moved to read current policies and bylaws, appoint the president and vice president as the district’s delegates to the New Jersey School Boards Association, designate the Ridgewood News, the Record and the Town Journal as newspapers of record, and adopt Robert’s Rules of Order as the district’s parliamentary manual. All procedural motions were approved by roll call.

“I, Elizabeth Salazar, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same,” Elizabeth Salazar recited while taking the oath of office.

Board members present conducted a roll call before each election and motion. By roll call, the assembled members approved the leadership slate and the governance items; the meeting record shows the votes registered affirmatively by the members who answered during roll call.

The board also presented its 2026 committee liaison assignments — including communications and public relations, curriculum, student activities, finance and facilities, human resources, negotiations and governance and policy — and a proposed schedule of board meetings for 2026. Members noted a potential calendar conflict in June and indicated the date could be changed.

The board closed the formal portion of the agenda and opened time for public comment before adjourning.