TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—Three Westwood Regional School District board members were honored for their years of service at the Dec. 16 regional board meeting — their final official meeting — with praise from fellow board members and some family members.
With offices at the high school, the board helps oversee four town elementary schools and a middle school and a high school serving students from Westwood and Washington Township.
Board Vice President Joseph Abou-Daoud, of Westwood — also the board’s chairman of policy and governance — was celebrated for “three years of dedicated service” to the district (and had the pleasure of serving alongside his daughter Isabelle, one of two high-achieving 2021 student representatives to the board).
Andrew Gerstmayr, of Westwood — the board’s chairman of finance and facilities — was honored for three years and six months of service. He ran for election after a long and passionate stint of speaking out on district issues from behind the public microphone.
Thomas Snee, of the Township of Washington, who serves on curriculum and programs, was thanked for his five months of service. He stepped up after a vacancy opened and township member Frank Romano III was promoted to board president.
Proclamations for the three trustees were read into the record. The proclamations honored the departing members for a “conscientious and rational approach to the decision-making process” and “valuable and dedicated service to the students, staff, and citizens of the Westwood Regional School District.”
Abou-Daoud, Gerstmayr, and Snee were presented with plaques that recognized their service and contributions. Each trustee briefly summed up his time on the board and were recognized by fellow members for outstanding contributions.
The proclamations honoring trustees recognized each for having given “generously of his time, efforts and abilities in the interest of promoting and supporting the best educational opportunities for the children and youth of our school district” and was “frequently required to do so at a personal sacrifice to himself and to his family.”
During public comment, Andrea Gerstmayr, and Gerstmayr’s son and daughter, thanked their father for his service to the board.
Abou-Daoud’s family lauded him for his community service.
In their own words
On Nov. 2, after the election, Gerstmayr posted in part, “So much as happened on my journey from starting as a concerned parent, progressing to an appointed member, elected to a full term three years ago, and then unexpectedly being part of the Board tasked with dealing with a pandemic.”
He said he’d learned “valuable lessons from some of the board members on stage, that it’s perfectly acceptable to ask questions, and if the answer doesn’t quite provide further clarification, than it’s even more acceptable to continue the conversation until full understanding is reached.”
He noted he’d been “one of the more outspoken board members, mostly from my need to fully comprehend the content and issues for agenda items in which I was required to cast a vote.”
And he spoke about what he’d learned at budget workshops, including the tension between an allowable 2% budget increase and collective bargaining that pushed salaries and benefits “at a rate higher than that allowable 2% budget increase.”
He asked readers to keep in mind that the current board “approved a budget for 2021–22 that resulted in a 0% budget increase from the prior year, when the community needs it the most as the economy struggles to recover from the pandemic. I am extremely proud to be part of this group that approved that budget.”
Snee told Pascack Press on Dec. 21 that his five months as a trustee made for “a wonderful experience. I found the atmosphere to be collaborative, professional, thoughtful and respectful. I am very thankful for having had the opportunity to serve our learners, our families and our district.”
He said, “During my July interview, I identified five issues which I have great passion for and have been advocating on behalf of for several years. I am very proud of the real and public progress our district and the board made on these five issues in only five months.”
He said:
- “The issue of overcrowded elementary classroom sizes has been publicly addressed. The conversation is now about how many classrooms need to be added, and not if.
- The board formalized the conversation of installing AC in elementary classrooms with Berkeley, George and Washington Schools being designated for electrical upgrades.
- The board will investigate the addition of Mandarin to the curriculum offering. How can we give our learners the opportunity to learn the second most spoken world language, after English, which also supports the second largest economy in the world after the U.S. economy?
- My personal pursuit: the now public board conversation regarding the need to expand either George or Washington schools due to the recently approved Viviano and Franklin Court development applications.
- On that point, he said, “For some time, I have attended planning board meetings to understand the impact of these developments and advocated to prior boards for an explanation of their inclusion plan. With both development applications being approved, it is now a matter of when the board plan will be created and implemented by the trustees.”
- Consistent educational experience at the elementary schools.
He said, “With what this board was able to accomplish in a very short period, we should all be incredibly proud of the current board, board/district leadership and all parent advocates. I want to thank Mrs. Columbo, Mr. Pontillo, Mrs. Price, Mrs. Sembler, and Dr. Romano for having had the courage to positively support my nomination in July. I also want to thank all of the WT residents who supported my candidacy.”
He reserved particular thanks for Romano “for his steady, effective and professional leadership.”
And he thanked acting superintendent Jill Mortimer “for her incredible leadership since Aug. 1,” when she took over for Ray González, who stepped down to take a similar job in a different district.
We were unable to gather Abou-Daoud’s reflections by press time.
The board’s reorganization meeting is given as Jan. 6.