Election 2023: Stafford School Board Candidate Patricia Formica

STAFFORD, NJ — Election Day is nearing, and Stafford voters will head to the polls to cast their votes for three Township Board of Education seats.

Patch sent questionnaires to all candidates seeking their responses. Here is the response from incumbent board member Patricia Formica.

Editor's Note: Patch sent out emails to all candidates to the email addresses listed for their campaign provided to the office of the clerk. The responses received will be published between now and the Nov. 7 general election. These responses will be published edited only for style. Candidates who would like to participate but did not receive one (for whatever reason) can contact veronica.flesher@patch.com.

Name: Patricia Formica

Age: 37

Party Affiliation: Registered Republican

Education: Associate's Degree in Business Administration as well as over 100 more college credits in early childhood development and psychology.

Occupation: I am a local Real estate agent. I represent people in the purchase and sale of property, negotiating on their behalf.

Family: I have one daughter in high school.

Previous public office experience: I have had the privilege of being elected twice to this board. Currently I am in the third year of my second term. I have six total years of experience on the Stafford Board of Education and it has truly been an honor.

Why are you running for this position? I enjoy giving back to my community and being a part of it.

What separates you from the other candidates? My experience as a current board member and I have zero voting conflicts. I am not related to any staff members.

What do you think is the most pressing issue in the district and how do you intend to address it? The budget is the most pressing issue right now, as our district continues to lose substantial amounts of state aid. If re-elected, I will continue to vote financially responsible.

If elected, what do you hope to accomplish? I would like the district to be as transparent as possible. Also, ever since I learned that the government of NJ seemingly randomly cuts various district's state aid funds, I am determined to help find out our state's funding formula. To date, and to my knowledge, no one in the public has ever seen the funding formula.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know? I take my position very seriously. I rarely miss board meetings and committee meetings. I am a completely fearless voter with zero voting conflicts.