Former Commissioner Of Education To Fill Brick Board Seat, Board Attorney Says

(John Talty, who stepped down in April, speaks at an earlier Board of Education meeting. Credit: Karen Wall)

The Brick Township Board of Education will hold a special meeting next Wednesday to swear in Vito A. Gagliardi Sr. to fill the seat vacated when John Talty resigned in April, the Patch has learned.

Gagliardi, who served as the state Commissioner of Education from 2000-2001, is the person who has been chosen to fill the seat by acting Executive County Superintendent Todd C. Flora, said Jack Sahradnik, the attorney for the Brick school board.

Gagliardi will be sworn in Wednesday at the meeting, which will be held at Veterans Memorial Middle School. The meeting will include an executive session that is scheduled to begin at 6:15 p.m., according to the Brick schools’ website.

Gagliardi is a familiar name in education circles; Vito Gagliardi Jr., son of the former commissioner, is the attorney who has been working for Seaside Park in the borough’s effort to get the Central Regional school district dissolved because of the property tax burden caused by the state school funding formula.

Vito Gagliardi Sr. is the co-owner of N.J. Security Assessments, which is a “professional services firm dedicated to improving the overall security and safety of schools, industrial sites, and private businesses across the state,” according to its website.

He has nearly 50 years of experience as an educator, superintendent, deputy commissioner of education, commissioner of education, and senior policy adviser, according to his biography on the site.

Gagliardi served in the U.S. Marine Corps and is a recipient of numerous awards and recognitions. He holds a doctorate of education in Educational Administration and Supervision from Rutgers University, and a master’s in administration and supervision from Kean University.

Gagliardi will hold the seat through the end of 2015, at which time he will be replaced by the winner of the November election to fill the remaining year of Talty’s term.

Talty stepped down in April due to health issues, but in the wake of the arrest of Superintendent Walter Uszenski and the announcement of a plan to lay off bus drivers, he tried to return to the board.

Talty’s efforts to return were rebuffed and the board battled through two meetings trying unsuccessfully to agree on a candidate to fill the seat for the remainder of this year. That resulted in the matter being sent to Flora to decide.

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Resumes were sent to the district with a deadline of July 23; Flora received the resumes after that and has been interviewing candidates since.