SAYREVILLE – As he departs from his position, a longtime member of the Sayreville School District Board of Education has been recognized for his service.
The day of Dec. 18 marked the final meeting for Thomas Biesiada, whose term ended Dec. 31. Biesiada first served on the school board from 2007-12 and rejoined the board in 2016 for a total of nine years of service. He ran for a new three-year term, but was not re-elected in November.
During the meeting, board President Kevin Ciak thanked Biesiada for his time on the board.
“When I think of Sayreville Proper and when I think of Sayreville’s rich history, Mr. Biesiada is an individual who I think embodies that,” Ciak said. “A graduate of Sayreville War Memorial High School, someone who really believes in our community and a strong supporter of our veteran community.
“On the board, he has been a very strong and staunch advocate for facilities reinvestment and facilities improvement,” Ciak continued. “He’s been a great partner with our Director of Facilities [James] Kolmansperger in terms of working with the various buildings and grounds initiatives that we’ve had over the years from referendums, school improvements and day-to-day projects that we keep doing in order to improve our facilities.
“In addition to that, Mr. Biesiada has also served for many years now as a member of our Student Discipline Committee. That is not an easy committee because any student before the discipline committee has typically done something wrong. Mr. Biesiada handles those meetings exceptionally well. He is fair, he is stern and he exhibits and demonstrates what integrity and what the Bomber values are all about to those students who may have only temporarily lost their way and are in need of some redirection in order to get back on course. And he never waivers from that.”
Ciak also stated that Biesiada requested to have the finances that would traditionally be used to create a plaque for departing board members be re-allocated towards the students.
“Mr. Biesiada, on the behalf of the Board of Education, on the behalf of the students of Sayreville, I want to thank you for a well-done career as a member of the Sayreville Board of Education,” Ciak said.
Biesiada was also thanked for his service by Superintendent of Schools Richard Labbe, board Vice President Anthony Esposito and board members Daniel Balka, Phyllis Batko, Lucy Bloom and John Walsh.
In turn, Biesiada thanked residents, his fellow board members, district administrators and staff, and emphasized the importance of the board focusing on helping students succeed.
“I want to thank the residents of Sayreville for allowing me to be a member of the Sayreville Board of Education,” Biesiada said. “It’s been an honor. I thank everyone, the administration, our staffing. Our teachers are phenomenal. Our buildings and grounds people, our maintenance people go beyond whatever’s asked of them. I thank my board members for being board members because it’s a volunteer job and at the end of the day, you don’t get a pat on the back, you don’t get a paycheck, but you still put your heart and soul into what we do. We do it for the students, we do it for our community and thank you to everyone for the years of being on the Sayreville Board of Education.
“You sacrifice a lot, which the public doesn’t know about,” he said. “What you give up, the hours that you put in, not only at the board meetings or the committee meetings, but at home doing reading and research. It’s tiresome sometimes, but the reward shows when students walk that stage and get their diplomas. That’s what we work for as a Board of Education. Educating our students. When that diploma goes out, it’s a good feeling to see them and we’ve accomplished something as a team. It’s not about me and it’s not about any one individual. It was a team effort that we did – the board, the administration, the staff – everybody worked as a team to make sure that our students succeed.”
