Frank Locantore was welcomed as a board member.
At Tuesday night’s Shamong Board of Education meeting, Frank Locantore was introduced and sworn in as the newest member of the board.
There was a vacancy on the board due to the recent passing of long-time board member Michael Tuman. After advertising, the board received one letter of interest to apply for the position — from Locantore.
Locantore has been a resident of Shamong since 2001, and has ties to the school system through his son’s attendance of Indian Mills schools. Locantore has spent seven years as a part of Seneca youth football — five as president, and he is currently vice president of the Indian Mills Athletic Association and vice president of Seneca youth lacrosse.
He said his wife is a first-grade teacher in Riverton, giving him the opportunity to see different perspectives of education and to learn more about multiple school districts.
“My wife and I have set pretty strong roots in this community and I want to be able to give back to continue to make this a great place to live,” Locantore said. “One of the reasons Shamong is a great place to live is our schools.”
He said there are great educators and staff members in the school district, and he wants to be a part of its continued success.
His qualifications for the board position stem from his 34 years of government service, including time as a police captain and administrative division commander at the Evesham Township Police Department, his experience as township administrator in Cinnaminson, his two-year employment as an adjunct professor in criminal justice at Rowan College at Burlington County, and his current position of director of personnel safety and security at Evesham Municipal Utilities Authority.
He stated that throughout his prior and current employment opportunities, he has gained an extensive amount of leadership skills, finance skills and negotiation skills, all making him a suitable candidate for the board.
Locantore was sworn in by business administrator/board secretary Laura Archer, and he will serve the remainder of the term, which ends Dec. 31.
Superintendent Christine Vespe extended a warm welcome to Locantore, saying, “Welcome to our Board of Education and thank you for taking this opportunity to serve our school district, I think you are going to bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the board.”
In other news:
● PARCC scores will be sent to all families this week.
● An incident of harassment, intimidation/bullying of a physical and verbal nature took place between first graders at the end of the school year. The report was investigated and found to be in violation of the HIB policy — disciplinary action has been taken.
The next Board of Education meeting will take place on Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. at Indian Mills Memorial School.
