With her family at her side, Cathy LeCompte was sworn in as the newest member of the Lawrence Township Public Schools Board of Education at its Dec. 12 meeting.
LeCompte was chosen last month to fill a vacancy on the board that was created by the resignation of Kelly Edelstein. She was selected from among a field of five candidates.
LeCompte will serve until Dec. 31, 2019. She may choose to run in the November 2019 election for a term that would end in January 2021.
Business Administrator/Board Secretary Thomas Eldridge administered the oath of office to LeCompte, while her son, Adam, and husband, Kirk, looked on. LeCompte has lived in the township for 20 years. Her two sons are both graduates of Lawrence High School.
The board’s vice president, Pepper Evans, recalled that she first met LeCompte when their children began fourth grade at the Lawrence Intermediate School. Evans and LeCompte had been the presidents of the Eldridge Park School PTO and the Lawrenceville Elementary School PTO, respectively.
Evans said that she, LeCompte and the presidents of the Ben Franklin Elementary School and Slackwood School parent-teacher organizations joined forces to form a parents committee and chose a book for the entire school to read. The book featured Hootie the Owl, Evans said.
Board member Jon Dauber, who was the principal at the intermediate school at that time, recalled there was a school contest to name the mascot and Hootie the Owl is the name that was chosen.
The intermediate school’s new mascot, Hootie the Owl, was designed by LeCompte, Dauber said.
LeCompte is a graphic designer who helps to develop brand and corporate identification, which is one of the skills she highlighted during her interview with the board last month.
