Participation of Student Representatives Emphasized, as the B-R BOE Reorganizes.

Katherine Wullert, Student Board Representative.

Tuesday night, May 3rd, at 8:00 p.m. in the Wade Administration Building in Martinsville, the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education will conduct its post-election reorganization, followed by a regular meeting of the new board, once the President and Vice President are elected and installed. 

The evening’s 10-page agenda is taken up largely with once-a-year items designating persons and institutions for specific roles and responsibilities, as well as to consider and to approve other motions concerning administrative and educational matters.

To be sworn in as members of the Board are incumbents Arvind Mathur and Evan Lerner from Bridgewater, as well as newcomer Ann Marie Meade from Raritan.  This first meeting following last week’s District-wide voting is also to a large extent a celebratory event for the winners.  After that, it’s getting down to business.

There are nine elected officials – not counting the Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, and Board Secretary – who sit around the table and who oversee educational and business matters on behalf of the community. 

Kevin Sun, Student Board Representative.

Not insignificantly, there are also two other people who sit at each end of that big U-shaped table in the conference room of the Wade Administration Building.  Both are senior students in the District who represent the student body.  Although they don’t participate in the formal actions of the Board, they are always provided an opportunity very early in the agenda to report on student matters and activities.

The placement of their reports on the agenda early on gives everyone a chance to hear what these students consider to be of note, while, at the end of their presentations, giving each the option of staying for the duration, or of excusing themselves should their scholastic workload demand attention.

This year, the two seniors who have filled these positions are Katherine Wullert and Kevin Sun who have acquitted themselves admirably and with an easy aplomb as they delivered their individual reports to the Board of Education. 

This part of School Board meetings doesn’t normally get much attention in the media, but the role of a student representative is, nonetheless significant, and more than merely a ceremonial one.  Each of these students deserves to have their roles highlighted and their participation recognized.

Blogger’s Note:  I pulled a blooper in this blog post by originally writing that Jeffrey Brookner instead of Arvind Mathur was being installed as one of the newly elected board members to the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education.  Pretty clumsy!  Congratulations Arvind.