Moorestown Board of Education member, Brandon Pugh, discusses what the district has been up to in December.
By BRANDON PUGH, Moorestown Board of Education member
In this column, Moorestown Board of Education Member Brandon Pugh provides monthly updates on what’s going on in the school district and on the BOE.
I hope your holidays have been enjoyable and with the start of a new year, there are many exciting things to look forward to in the Moorestown Township Public Schools. December highlights included recognition of outgoing board members, district recognition for awards earned and policy/bylaws recommendations.
This marks the 67th edition of the education monthly column, and it will be my last. I began this as a way for residents who could not attend board meetings to learn about the district and board. I hope you have found the columns each month to be informative. After six years as a board member, including service as vice president, county president and state vice president, I decided not to seek another term. This was a difficult and sad decision to make, but this is a time of transition for me since I recently passed the bar exam. I sincerely appreciate those who put their faith in me by first electing me at nineteen and allowing me to serve the students and citizens of Moorestown ever since. The board also recognized Dimitri Schneiberg for his dedicated service.
Superintendent Scott McCartney announced various achievements that the District earned by the BCIP Joint Insurance Fund. These awards included the Certificate of Excellence for Outstanding Performance in Claims Management, the Elite II Safety Award, and a Financial Award.
A lot of time at the December meeting was dedicated to board policy, including the bylaws review. The Board’s Policy Committee reviewed the bylaws for the first time in full since 2008 and submitted multiple recommendations. The plan is to have these approved on second reading at the reorganization meeting. Two policies focused primarily on were 9190 — Community Organizations and Clubs and 0169.02 — Board Member Use of Social Networks. Policy 9190 was passed unanimously on second reading and prohibits “affiliate organizations” from endorsing candidates for elected or appointed office, but it does not prohibit a person from doing so in their individual capacity. Policy 0169.02 was not recommended by the Policy Committee during the bylaws review because the Committee felt it reiterated existing policy. However, a majority of the Board desired to have this policy so it was introduced under new business on first reading and provided guidance on how board members should communicate on social media.
The communications committee announced a series of community forums in 2019 and the topics will all relate. The tentative dates are Feb. 5, March 26 and May 14. Additional information will be released after winter break.
The annual reorganization meeting of the board is on Thursday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. in the William Allen Middle School Media Center. This meeting will include the swearing-in of board members and the election of a president and vice president. The next regular monthly meeting will be on Jan. 15th at 7 p.m. in the same location. I hope you can attend a future board meeting, and I look forward to seeing you around Moorestown.
The views and content in this column do not necessarily represent those of the Moorestown Board of Education as a whole or any other individual member.
