BOE Candidates Express Frustration Over Heated Campaign

As school elections approach, candidates from both camps in the contested race for school board seats said that their opponents aren't playing fair – and that they're growing weary of the politicking that has sparked controversy in the township.

Challenger candidates , and came under fire from their incumbent opponents , and for declinging to attend a planned and another at the Four Seasons at Mirage community that was scheduled for today. The Mirage debate was called off after it became clear only one set of candidates would attend.

Sarno said he and running mate Oden had to decline the school debate invitation because it was in the morning, and it was too difficult for them to take time off work. The three challengers felt it wouldn’t be appropriate or fair for Olker to attend without their support, he said.

He and Oden both had unavoidable conflicts requiring them to be out of state during a planned debate at Mirage this afternoon, Sarno said, which again would have left Olker to defend the ticket on her own.

“We’re running as a team, we’re not running as three individuals,” he said. “We have our own viewpoints we bring to it, but we’d like to be there as all three of us. It wouldn’t have been right for me and Rob to send her there by herself.”

The three have twice gone out into the community to talk to residents in senior communities, Sarno said.

“We’re trying to do our part getting out there and speaking to the public,” he said. "People have a lot of questions. They want things answered and they want things to change."

Sarno also expressed frustration over the persistent characterization of the challengers’ efforts as a “Sarno campaign.” His brother Scott Sarno, married to current board member Lauren Sarno, has helped with the campaign, he said, but is not pushing policy.

“This election has nothing to with Scott,” Shannon Sarno said. “This has nothing to do with Lauren.”

Both brothers did respond, however, to complaints expressed to Patch through letters in recent weeks over campaign flyers distributed around the community by their team. Many have said they’re angry over what they call outright lies and negativity in the flyers.

Shannon Sarno stood by the literature.

“We’re trying to put out nothing but factual stuff. We’re not trying to attack anybody," he said. "If anyone’s doing mudslinging, it seems to be their side."

He did say he wasn’t sure about one assertion on a flyer circulated by the challengers: that the sitting board instituted new rules requiring parents to pay for sports uniforms. Sarno said all three challenger candidates were involved in approving the flyers they sent out to the community, and he doesn’t remember seeing one addressing uniforms.

“I try to read every single flyer that goes out,” he said. “I don’t remember that flyer.”

Sarno also defended the campaign’s claim that Superintendent Jason Bing’s total compensation cost taxpayers more than $225,921 last year. While Bing’s salary from July 2010 to July 2011 was set by contract at $148,987, other expenses add up, Sarno said. 

“You can go on (the district website) and look at the superintendent’s contract,” he said. “We pay for his eye care prescription, he cell phone…who’s paying for that? Is it coming out of thin air?”

Scott Sarno said he used similar campaign tactics when he helped incumbents Lisa Becker and Denise Pilovsky with their successful run three years ago, including picking apart then superintendent Thomas McMahon’s benefits package on publicly distributed flyers.

“Ms. Becker and Ms. Pilovsky had no problem with the way that flyer was broken down,” he said. 

Becker disputed both the contract details and Scott Sarno’s claims that she was happy with his participation in her and Pilovsky’s first run.

She said a look at Bing’s contract shows the negotiating committee that hired him made sure to include provisions that kept costs down. At most, said Becker, Bing’s benefits package is $12,000 – the same as other district employees’ – and he contributes more than $2,000 of his own salary to it. The more than $9,000 he received in higher education reimbursements were agreed upon when he was hired. His cell phone costs the district $30 a month, and his transportation costs are minimal – he was only reimbursed for work-related travel, not his commute, and at the regular IRS rate.

Bing could only buy out his own sick days at a rate of $100 a day, and he wasn’t able to carry over vacation from year to year, Becker said. It adds up to far less than the nearly $226,000 claimed by the challenger candidates, she said, and less than surrounding districts pay their top administrators.

“I negotiated that contract,” said Becker. "I know what was in the contract.” She said it frustrated her that Bing’s last days in the district were overshadowed by false claims about his pay. The superintendent is leaving his post in Barnegat for a new position heading the Bloomfield district in Essex County.

“He has done nothing but help this district,” she said. “He did nothing to deserve this.”

Becker also said Scott Sarno’s participation in her first campaign – when she ran alongside Pilovsky and several other sitting members, including Lauren Sarno – was never asked for, and led to a lot of frustration.

“He put out flyers and we had no idea what was on them,” she said. This time, Becker said, he’s distributing conflicting complaints of cuts and higher taxes are dividing the community.

“It sullies the whole process,” she said.

Editor's note: Like many news outlets, Patch is not enabling commenting on election-related stories as voting day approaches to avoid anonymous last-minute attacks. Readers are welcome to send letters to the editor by emailing graelyn.brashear@patch.com. Please include your name and a phone number where we can reach you.