Left to right: Charles Caraballo, Passaic County SBA president; Dr. Tom Connors, NJSBA vice president for finance; Chanta L. Jackson, NJSBA vice president for legislation/resolutions; Jeffrey Fischer, Manchester Regional BOE member and past NJSBA president; Liliana Baez-Molina, Manchester Regional BOE member; Valdo Panzera, Manchester Regional BOE president; Kathy Gonzales, Manchester Regional BOE member; Ray Pinney, NJSBA lead director of member training and engagement.

The Manchester Regional Board of Education has earned the New Jersey School Boards Association’s Board Certification.

The board was awarded its plaque at the Passaic County School Boards Association’s meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, at the Barnyard and Carriage House in Totowa.

The last time the Manchester Regional Board earned NJSBA’s Board Certification award was 1999, so board members took it upon themselves to do the hard work to once again get certified.  It was not an easy journey.  The board invited its community in for strategic planning and hired a superintendent after a thorough search process, had a board retreat to set goals, conducted ethics training annually, and had additional training in navigating issues tied to harassment, intimidation and bullying. The board also focused on parliamentary procedures. 

This board’s commitment to training is exemplified by its interest in immediately beginning the work for NJSBA’s highest level of Board Certification – the Carole E. Larsen Master Board Certification award.  The board must train together for 10 more hours over a two-year period.