Educator ends 45 years of serving O.B. schools
Joan George served as teacher, administrator and elected official
BY LAUREN MATTHEW
Staff Writer

JEFF GRANIT staff Joan George, whose career in Old Bridge schools began in 1960 as a substitute teacher, relaxes at home last week after concluding her term on the Board of Education.

For more than 40 years, Joan George has been a mainstay of Old Bridge education.

George, 73, was first hired as a substitute teacher in the district in 1960.

“That’s my longevity quotient,” she joked.

In the decades that followed, George would serve as a teacher at Southwood, McDivitt and Carpenter schools, as principal at Memorial, Cheesequake and Grissom schools, and as assistant superintendent. In 2002, she took on one of the only education-related jobs she had not yet tried: Board of Education member.

George had retired that year, and almost immediately began her three-year term on the board.

“I really hadn’t gone into retirement,” she said. “The thought of sitting and relaxing was kind of foreign to me.”

The board, she said, was a learning experience that eased her into retirement, also offering the opportunity to see another dimension of education.

“When I chaired the finance committee, the budget was passed,” George said, noting that such an accomplishment is a rarity for Old Bridge.

But when her term ran out this year, George chose not to seek re-election. In April, she ended her 45 years of involvement with the township’s school system — at least for the time being.

Board President Annette Hopman has said she’ll miss George’s take on finance, and spoke of her in glowing terms, saying George will be missed.

“I’m the penny-pincher,” George said. “That’s probably my reputation, but I wear it proudly.”

George said it is possible she will serve as a citizen member of that committee, if she is needed.

The biggest problem faced by educators, she said, is a lack of funding. Older residents, George said, with no children in the district, want to make sure their money goes far.

“They want to make sure every dollar spent gets a dollar of service,” she said.

When George was a principal at Memorial, she and a colleague decided to go back to school. George already had a master’s degree, and earned it while raising her four sons and working full time.

“To be honest, the prospect [of going to classes at night] was like a vacation,” she said.

For her doctorate, George attended classes at Rutgers University.

“I really thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience at Rutgers,” she said.

George earned her doctorate in education in 1980. It took her five years, but she is said to be the first woman in Old Bridge to earn a doctorate in her field.

“I guess I was a role model for some,” she said.

George remembers a dining room full of papers, and her children urging her to go to her graduation ceremony.

They made her signs to cheer her on, she said, and told her, “It’s cool to have a mom with a doctorate.”

George said that each of her different educational jobs had its ups and downs.

“The further you get from kids, you miss that,” she said, noting that she taught first grade for 13 years.

As a teacher, she said, you can impact children much more directly. But as a principal, George found she could influence the tone of the entire school.

“You have to know when to move on to the next thing,” George said.

Outside of the classroom, George ran for Township Council twice, in 1983 and 1986. Though she lost the council race both times, George was appointed to chair the Planning Board in 1983.

“I met people who would be lifelong friends,” George said.

“Politics was fun,” she continued. “We were crusaders. We were going to change the world.”

George was recently appointed to serve on the Old Bridge Public Library’s Board of Trustees.

“I think a library is very important to a community,” she said.

George said she plans to focus on hobbies and family now.

“The board was never my social life,” she said.

George produces newsletters about egg cups and children’s china, two subjects on which she said she is an authority. She takes digital photos, too.

“I would like to learn more about that,” she said.

Immediate plans for George include getting her photos in order, getting her house in order, and simply “going day by day.”

For the future, though, travel is on the agenda. George said she tries to take two trips a year, and is planning an August venture to the Grand Canyon with family. Her four sons and 10 grandchildren live in Toms River, Milltown, Virginia and Highland Park.

“I’ve been most places it’s safe to travel to,” she said, noting that she once lived in the Panama Canal Zone, while her late husband was stationed there.

“When the dollar gets stronger and the euro fades, I’ll go back to Europe,” she said.

And, George said, if she’s “totally bored,” she may run for the board of education again.

“You don’t have to retire for life,” she said.

Last week, George was in a bookstore, buying a Mother’s Day present for a daughter-in-law, when the clerk behind the counter asked her if she is Dr. Joan George.

George said she is, and the woman said, “I want to thank you for all you’ve done for Old Bridge.”

George said she never expected a thank-you for her work, but it was nice to get one.

“It’s nice to know there are people out there watching,” she said.