New School Board Member to be Appointed

The Board of Education will announce their new member when they meet Monday evening.

The new board member will represent Chatham Borough and was selected by the borough's other representatives on the board, including Jill Weber, Richard Connors and Board President Thomas K. Belding.

The member will be sworn in and will serve the remainder of Barna's term, which will expire in April.

Stephen Barna of the borough formerly held the seat. He submitted a letter of resignation to Belding on Friday, Sept. 14 due to other opportunities. He told Chatham Patch he was already unsure about whether he would run for a third full term.

"It’s been a great experience and I feel bad leaving a little bit short," Barna said. "I was still on the fence about running in April, [because] you start to think, maybe there are some other parents who might benefit from the experience."

Barna began his time on the board as an interim member, replacing a former member. He was then elected to two three-year terms representing the borough on the Board of Education.

In his time on the Board, Barna served as both vice president and president. The board will recognize Barna's contributions at an upcoming board meeting, when Barna is expected to read a personal statement on his resignation.

Barna works as a associate director at Verizon Wireless.

The Board of Education of the School District of the Chathams meets at Milton Avenue School at 7:30 p.m. Monday. A full agenda for the meeting can be found in the Photos & Documents section of this article.