Assemblyman Caputo Zeroes in on Education in 28th District

When Ralph Caputo attended Bloomfield College, he was an education major who went on to spend much of his career in that field, teaching in Newark, serving as an administrator with the state Department of Education and doing a stint as the superintendent of Essex County schools. As an assemblyman for the 28th District, which includes Belleville, Bloomfield, Irvington and Newark, he has maintained a focus on education and several other issues. 

Caputo, a Belleville resident, said one of his chief goals for the remainder of his current term is to win approval for the installation of slots, or Video Lottery Terminals (VLTS), at the Meadowlands Racetrack, a change intended to bolster the state's struggling gambling industry - and also provide additional revenue for the state's coffers.

Caputo has introduced legislation to achieve this.

"I am working on the issue of gaming in New Jersey, and I want to get it done," Caputo said. "I'm not only talking about South Jersey, but all of New Jersey, and how this revenue would help stabilize tax collection. If we collect those taxes on gaming, we could probably divide 50% of the tax revenue to pension funding and education. This is an opportunity that we have not taken advantage of yet."

Caputo has also worked on various law-and-order issues in recent years. 

"I have sponsored a bill that passed the assembly for a criminal record check for anyone who volunteers at schools," Caputo said.  "We also passed a bill in the Assembly that prohibits the selling of any product that mimics drug use."

Other issues Caputo and his team are working on include exempting people from mandatory immunization, raising the issue of gang-affiliation to the court when it considers bail bonds and changing burglary to a first-degree crime. Burglary is a second-degree crime right now.

Caputo has also worked on legislation affecting education, the former teacher's forté.

"We did pass a bill in the Assembly that is going to the Senate at this time," Caputo said. "This bill stops schools from using substitute teachers over 20 or 40 days in a subject if they only have 60 or more credits. However, if they are a teacher that is certified in the subject, they can get a waiver in order to teach the subject."

Caputo also supported and co-sponsored the failed attempt to win a $400 million grant from the state Department of Education known as Race to the Top. 

"The main thing is that we work on constituent services every day on 148 Franklin St., where people can e-mail us or come in to work on individual problems," Caputo said. "We work with all the municipalities in my district in the areas of stabilizing costs, reducing tax rates, et cetera."

Sen. Ron Rice of Newark, one of Caputo's colleagues in the district, said he often works together with Caputo "as a team" to assist the people of the 28th District, constantly meeting with boards of education and mayors to see what they need. Rice also praised Caputo as a "grassroots academic" who blends formal education with old-fashioned street smarts. 

"Things have changed a lot in the Legislature since Ralph first served in the late 1960s," Rice said. "For him to come over after so many years and be so knowledgeable, it's incredible. He's a very serious, hardworking guy." 

Caputo started serving in the Assembly in 1968, but then gave it up for his work in education.  He came back to the Assembly in 2008, and he was earlier elected to the board of freeholders, where he now serves as vice president.

"If I am re-elected to the Assembly, I will give up one of the positions," said Caputo, who is nearly halfway through his third term in the Assembly. "I have to decide what will be in the best interest of the people I serve."

Caputo, however, says the next step in his political career will be affected by the redrawing of state legislative districts, which occurs every 10 years. 

"There is going to be redistricting in New Jersey," Caputo said. "There will be a new map, and based on that, I am going to see what my plans are (in terms of the re-election). I want to seek re-election, and this would be my fifth term in the state Legislature if I am re-elected in the June 2011 primary."