A long-time volunteer in the Lawrence Township Public Schools has been appointed to fill a vacancy on the Board of Education.
Cathy LeCompte was selected by board members on Nov. 14 to replace Kelly Edelstein, who resigned less than one year into her three-year term.
The school board interviewed, LeCompte, Pam Ngo, Peter Oropeza, Jennifer Perry and Adena Romeo-Ratliff during open session, and then acted on the meeting’s regular agenda items. Once they had completed their public business, the board members went into closed session to discuss the candidates.
Board members emerged after about a half-hour and announced their decision to appoint LeCompte. She will serve until Dec. 31, 2019, and may run in the November 2019 election for a term would end in January 2021.
LeCompte has lived in Lawrence for 20 years. Her two sons are both Lawrence High School graduates. While her sons were in school, LeCompte served as the president of the Lawrenceville Elementary School and Lawrence Intermediate School parent-teacher organizations.
Speaking to the board during the public interview process, LeCompte said she is a graphic designer who helps to develop brand and corporate identifications. She offered her expertise in design, branding and marketing to help bring the school district to the forefront.
She said her leadership skills, honed by working with a variety of people, would be an asset to the board. She said she had always considered serving on the board, but the timing was not right until now.
LeCompte told the board she would like to help students throughout the district, whether it is children who are learning English as a second language, or high school students who need help to navigate the college admissions process.
“I am very excited to be on the board and lend my experience,” she said. “I have been involved in the schools in some way for 15 years, since my son Nate was in kindergarten.”
After the board members emerged from closed session, President Kevin Van Hise said the panel was looking for a candidate who could offer a unique skill set.
All of the candidates could bring something unique to the table, but the board was “really focused” on bringing in someone with a skill set the other members did not possess, Van Hise said.
“We had a great candidate pool,” Van Hise said, adding that the board members appreciated that residents who submitted letters of interest. He thanked the candidates for stepping forward and encouraged them to continue to be involved.
