Township Council, School Board to Reorganize This Week

Toms River's Township Council and Board of Education will hold reorganization meetings this week.

Council members are scheduled to meet in Town Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 2 at 5 p.m. for the governing body's reorganization meeting; members of the Board of Edcuation will do the same at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 3 in the Toms River High School North auditorium.

With the two elected members of the Township Council already sworn in, only normal reorganization business such as the awarding of professional contracts and election of the body's president and vice president will take place, according to Clerk Mark Mutter. 

Alfonso Manforti, representing Ward 4, and Jeffrey Carr, of Ward 3, were administered their oaths at the council's first regular meeting in December. Both terms for the Republican representatives are for one year and will expire on Dec. 31, 2013.

On the school board, Joseph Torrone, Ginny Rhine and Gidalty "Gigi" Esparza will be administered the oath of office for their 3 year terms. Once sworn in, the board's president and vice president will be nominated and elected by board members. 

The regional school board has a seat for South Toms River, Pine Beach and Beachwood.

With a victory of Torrone, Rhine and Esparza, the so-called "Clean Slate" team has a majority on the nine-member school board. Last year "Clean Slate" candidates Ben Giovine, Loreen Torrone and Alex Pavliv won.

The three are sometimes the lone dissenting votes on board matters, such as a vote on administrator contracts. But for 2013 the six board member will have a majority, leaving longtime incumbents Tom Baxter, Ed Gearity and Mike Jedzeniak as the minority.

All Ocean County School Districts, with the exception of Lakewood, opted to move their School Board elections from April to November as a result of a bill signed into law by Governor Christie in January, which then Toms River Regional voted to move the election locally.