COLTS NECK – Rebecca Roberts has joined the Colts Neck K-8 School District Board of Education after winning a three-year term with 63 write-in votes in the recent election. Roberts has two children attending district schools and said she is excited to have the opportunity to serve the community.
On Election Day, Nov. 7, there were three seats available on the board, but only two candidates had filed to run for office, leaving open the possibility that the third seat would be won by a write-in candidate and Roberts claimed the seat.
The board oversees the operation of the Conover Road Primary School, the Conover Road Elementary School and the Cedar Drive Middle School.
Roberts moved to Freehold Borough from Pennsylvania when she was 13. She went on to attend the University of Kansas. She later worked in New York at a public relations agency and in marketing.
Roberts lived with her husband and two children in Red Bank for four years before moving to Colts Neck.
“We were looking for an area to settle down in and one with good schools,” she said. “We loved being in Red Bank, but we were outgrowing our house. We settled in Colts Neck and we are very happy here, particularly with the school system.”
Roberts joined the PTO and volunteered at the district’s schools.
“I have always been interested in education and the different methods of education,” she said. “At the end of last year I began volunteering at the Monmouth Day Care Center in Red Bank and then I began doing substitute work there. I am trying a new field from my marketing background.”
Roberts said she learned about the opening on the Colts Neck school board after the deadline to file a nominating petition and she decided to run as a write-in candidate. She spread the word of her candidacy by speaking with people and by posting a message on Facebook.
“I wanted to join the board because of my curiosity and interest in education, because of my investment for my family and because we have two children in the district,” she said. “I have been an active member of the PTO and I wanted to be a bit more involved.
“I am excited to join the board. It’s a new territory for me. I really like the direction the schools are going. There is a whole child approach that I appreciate in the district. There is good parent involvement and support for the district, the teachers and the administration. I hope to be able to support that in my role as a board member.
“I plan to go into the position with open eyes and ears. I bring to the position the benefit of being a parent with children in the district. I also come to the position with appreciation for the teachers and administrators who work so hard to make the schools what they are for the children and as a taxpayer. It is a lot to juggle and I understand that,” Roberts said.
