By Barbara A. Preston | Posted Jan. 7, 2026
Three newly-elected Montgomery/Rocky Hill School Board members were sworn-in at the reorganization meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 6. The board also selected Patrick Todd to serve as president (this will be his third year at the helm), and Maria Spina as vice president.
Board secretary Andrew Italiano began the meeting by reading aloud the votes garnered by each candidate: Katheryn Worland, 5,619; Julius Nunez, 5,324; Francine Pfeffer, 5270; Jiying "Peter" Li, 3526; Ania Wolecka-Jernigan, 3,443, and Joanna Filak, 3,437. He then conducted the swearing-in ceremony for the three winners, Worland, Nunez, and Pfeffer, each elected to three-year terms.
From left: Francine Pfeffer (Skillman), Julius Nunez (Skillman), and Katheryn Worland (Rocky Hill).
Photo by Barbara A. Preston
New Jersey School Board Association (NJSBA) representative Gwen Thornton then gave a presentation on ethics. New Jersey school board ethics training is mandated by the School Ethics Act (SEA), requiring new members to complete governance, ethics, and harassment/intimidation/bullying (HIB) training within their first year, with ongoing advanced training for subsequent terms, primarily provided by the NJSBA through its Board Member Academy. Key training areas cover the Code of Ethics, avoiding conflicts of interest, proper board procedures, HIB responsibilities, and NJQSAC, with specific deadlines and potential penalties for non-compliance.
Thornton congratulated the newly elected board members, and said, "You have the pleasure of joining a very high performing school district, and a board that is committed to going great things for students."
The SEA act was enacted to ensure the public has confidence and respect for the board of education, and to ensure board members avoid any conduct that could be seen as a violation of public trust, or even the perception that such trust is being violated," Thornton said.
Montgomery School Board President Patrick Todd.
Photo by Barbara A. Preston
Thornton warned board members to be mindful that they are bound by the school code of ethics. They may not share confidential information, nor discuss board business on social media, text messages, or via email.
What can a board member do on social media? "My best advice," Thornton said, "is to do nothing on social media. Nothing. Board business belongs at the board table or in committee meetings."
"The public has the right to observe the conduct of school board business [in person at public meetings or by watching the meeting online].
"If you are going to ignore my wonderful wisdom of staying off social media, please make sure to include a disclaimer. For example, include: The following statements are made in my capacity as a private citizen and not as a board member.
"I will still tell you, the social media disclaimer is not a get out of jail card. It depends on the content of what you have said on social media. So, you may use the disclaimer on every single thing you say on social media, but depending on what you say, ... it does not protect you."
"It is the content of what you write, and what you disclose on social media, that can be the most challenging.
Also, a school board member who writes and sends text messages or emails from the dais can result in someone filing an OPRA request for the board member's phone records.
"So, unless you want to turn over your phone records to your business administrator, [who is responsible for fulfilling OPRA requests to members of the public], then you probably don't want to be using your cell phone while in a meeting."
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Thornton also suggested that Board members not serves as administrators for social medias pages.
"You could be linked to the content posted on that page," she said. "Our advice is not to be the administrator of a social media group because you put yourself at unnecessary risk."
The business administrator then opened the floor to receive the nominations for the position of president of the Montgomery Rocky Hill Board of Education. Vanita Nargund nominated Ting Wang (who is completing her first year as a board member). Victoria “Cookie” Franco-Herman nominated Patrick Todd.
The school board elected Todd, who earned 7 votes to Wang's 2 votes. The following board members voted in favor of Todd: Victoria Franco-Herman, Christina Harris, Julius Nunez, Francine Pfeffer, Maria Spina, Patrick Todd, and Kathryn Worland. Two board members voted for Wang: Vanita Nargund and Wang.
President Todd then opened the floor to receive the nominations for the position of vice president. Ting Wang nominated Vanita Nargund. Christina Harris nominated Maria Spina.
The school board elected Spina, who earned 7 votes to Nargund's 2 votes. The following board members voted in favor of Spina: Victoria Franco-Herman, Christina Harris, Julius Nunez, Francine Pfeffer, Maria Spina, Patrick Todd, and Kathryn Worland. Two board members voted for Nargund: Ting Wang and Nargund.
Maria Spina of Rocky Hill will serve as vice president of the Montgomery/Rocky Hill school board for a second year.
