School Board Voting to Fill Empty Seats Tuesday

The Manasquan Board of Education on Tuesday is set to appoint two new members, filling the vacancies left by Trisha Brown and Jim Smith, both of whom last month. 

Board President Michelle LaSala said last week that she received just two applications from residents -- Mike Shelton, of Lake Avenue, and Patricia Walsh, of Stockon Lake Boulevard -- to fill the empty seats. 

After asking fellow board members if they'd have any objections to the appointments, and hearing none, LaSala said it was likely both Shelton and Walsh would become the 11th and 12th school board members for the remainder of the calendar year. 

The board on Tuesday must first vote on the nominees, but if successful, two new members could be sworn in that night. 

Shelton and Walsh are both on the ballot for , and Walsh previously served on the board for 12 years, serving six as its president. 

Both candidates also have signatures on their election petitions from Mayor George Dempsey, Councilman Owen McCarthy and LaSala. 

Shelton said last week that, if confirmed Tuesday, he'd look forward to bringing fresh ideas to the board. 

Shelton said he'd also like to try to "better engage" the board with the community at-large and "mend fences" between both sides. 

Walsh said, if confirmed, she'd look forward to bringing experience and "hopefully some stability" to the board. 

"There seems to be a lot of dissention and not a lot of progress. Hopefully I can help," Walsh said. 

Tuesday's meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the .