The face of the Bethlehem Board of Education is changing or at least the faces on the board will be.
During the March 5 board of education meeting, which was primarily reserved for the first budget presentation, there was no shortage of other business and announcements to be made. Before budget talks began, the board unanimously approved changing the venue from the district’s middle school to the high school for the May 20 budget vote.
Traditionally, voters went to the middle school to cast their local ballots on school budgets and propositions, as well as vote on local library budgets and trustees. This May, residents will vote at the high school off of Delaware Avenue.
We’ve been one of the districts that’s had the highest turnout,` Superintendent Les G. Loomis said at the meeting. Because of congested traffic and limited parking at the middle school, Loomis said the high school would be more adequate for voters.
However, the voting-change decision wasn’t finalized until two surprise announcements were made.
First, board member Warren Stoker announced he would not seek re-election in May, and then, to the continued surprise of the board, Robin Storey announced that she, too, would not run for another term.
Both members have served on the Bethlehem Board of Education since 1999, and each had previously served as both president and vice president to the board.
`We clearly don’t have enough executive sessions,` quipped Board President James Lytle, after the board had just returned from an executive session on personnel matters.
`I hope it wasn’t something we said,` he joked. `Does anyone else have any surprise announcements to make?`
Stoker and Storey told fellow members that they cherished their time on the board, but it was time to move on.
`Some things never change,` Stoker said. `Parents still want the best for their kids, kids still want to learn, and teachers still want to teach. I do encourage people to run for the board.`
Storey agreed, and described her time on the board as `the greatest volunteer experience of my life.`
`It’s time to move on,` she said, explaining that her child had graduated from the district two years ago.
Lytle reiterated Stoker’s call for candidates.
`It will be a challenge next year,` Lytle said. `I do hope whoever runs and is interested will work with us during this transition.`
The announcements of Stoker and Storey come at a time when the district is interviewing for a new superintendent. Loomis has also announced his retirement this year, after 21 years with the district, and he will be stepping down in June.
The board announced it is down to three final candidates for superintendent, out of a pool of 40 applicants.
`On both a personal and professional level,` Loomis told his colleagues, `we’re going to miss you. I feel honored to have served with you.`
Stoker and Storey received a standing ovation from a packed meeting room that included Citizen Budget Group members, parents, department heads, and many participation in government high school students.
A retired teacher, Stoker received a bachelor’s degree in education and began his teaching career in 1962. He went on to earn his master’s degree in education in 1966. A year later, he came to Bethlehem Central, where he spent the next 30 years teaching English and social studies at Bethlehem Central Middle School.
Stoker lives in Delmar with his wife of 45 years, Arlene. Their two children and two grandchildren also live in Delmar. His daughter, Christine, is a fifth-grade teacher at Glenmont Elementary, and his son, Howard, works as a landscaper.
Storey grew up in Summit, N.J., and graduated from Bucknell University with a bachelor’s degree in biology.
Prior to moving to Delmar in 1990, she lived in Arkansas, Maryland and California. Storey and her husband, Jim, a neurologist, have three children: Rob, a graduate of BCHS and the University of Delaware; Sarah, a BCHS graduate and a graduate of Lehigh University; and Brian, a graduate of BCHS and a student at Penn State.
Storey was also co-president of Hamagrael Elementary School’s PTA from 1996-1998.
Nominating petitions for Board of Education seats can be picked up from Deputy Board Clerk Michelle Curtis or a Business Office staff member at the district’s offices, 90 Adams Place, Delmar.
For more information, call 439-7481. Petitions must have 102 signatures. “
