Bridgewater-Raritan School Board Election 2022: June Wang

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Bridgewater-Raritan Regional Board of Education general election on Nov. 8 has seven candidates running for four open seats.

June Wang is running under the campaign slogan "College Access Success" for one of the three, three-year full-term seats representing Bridgewater.

Opposing candidates include Saad Toor, Steven Singer, Sally Bartlett, Lynne Hurley, Lanfang "Lucy" li, and Emily Calistri.

There is also one, one-year unexpired seat representing Raritan open. There are no candidates for that seat at the moment.

Are you running for office in Bridgewater? Contact Alexis Tarrazi at alexis.tarrazi@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Bridgewater Patch.

(All of the candidates were given the same questions)

June Wang 王文君

Age: 54

Town of residence: Bridgewater, NJ

Position sought: BOE

Family: Single Mother, Son Brandon Scortino is a high school senior at Oratory Prep

Education: B. S and MBA, Cum Laude from Utah State University

Occupation: President of June Wang SEED, Educational Consultant by Training and Profession

Previous or current elected appointed office: None

Campaign website: None

Why are you seeking to run for School Board?

Being very passionate about education as the first generation of Chinese American is something I don’t mind to be stereotyped. It’s a calling that I feel compelled to share a vision for academic excellence through creating a rigorous culture of learning, meeting the high expectations of parents for all students in relevant subject areas, course of study, and curriculum/extra curriculum guides. I work as an educational consultant with some of the most prestigious boarding schools in the country and universities since 2006, I believe my expertise can benefit all stakeholders and collaborate well with school board colleagues. As a minority and woman business owner, I also share my background with other minority business owners and professionals in Bridgewater who works extremely hard for the next generation to succeed.

Serving as a member of an elected school board provides the opportunity to create a transparent process of accountability as it relates to selecting and/or appointing a Superintendent, Chief Executive Officer, Chancellor and other personnel within the scope of a school board member’s responsibilities. My professional background of working with headmasters and president of enrollment at universities are useful and practical for setting up the standards and making improvement.

School security has been an issue raised recently. Do you feel the Board and administration are handling this properly? And why?

With my limited knowledge learning about the subject from the news, I think the Board and administration are handling this with challenges. It is my strong believe that by sharing the common goal and being objective, the Board and administration should be more than capable of coming together for the right solutions. Additional data from parents who care deeply about the school security issue would be helpful as well for additional assessment and more fact finding.

A referendum is in the works looking to focus on fixing school building infrastructure and adding full-day kindergarten. How do you feel about this?

Bridgewater is a family town that attracts professionals and working class families. Effectively communicating with constituents in a timely manner using contemporary methods of communication such as emails and social media will serve as the linchpin to building an atmosphere of trust and a willingness to partner. That being said, buildings like art center, science center, and student center are major investments that will benefit students for life. Adding full-day kindergarten is a great idea. I am a divorced single mother, I would love to find a way to make this a reality.

What other issues do you feel need to be tackled in the school district?

I will work to construct well balanced relationships with stakeholders to include business and industry I am familiar with in order to foster dramatic improvements in student success by building better capacity for college access and success for all families; while focusing on the main task of striving for the highest level of academic achievement possible for Bridgewater-Raritan High School. There are many facets associated with the success of a school system and its schools. One such facet is having adequate and appropriate resources available to meet all standards regarding students’ success. As a result, it is an essential responsibility of a school board and its members to make a difference in the overall achievement of the school district as a whole and not in the more affluent areas of its community.

What sets you apart from the other challenging candidates?

My unique perspective about college access and success is based on my decade long of professional practices by working with families, students, schools, headmasters, deans, and faculties. My lifelong passion of advocating education opportunities for the underprivileged, underserved, and the first generation of immigrants is the cornerstone for my commitment to community services and public service. I think as a first time candidate for public office, I am very well equipped to solve problems, offer my expertise, and hold people accountable. I also share background with residents who value education as rights not privilege.

Serving as a member of an elected school board necessitates one uses analytical judgments regarding accepting and/or approving an educational budget that impacts school staffing, improving facilities, professional development, school construction, providing supplies and resources and above all drives a focus on academic achievement. There is a need for well-rounded decisions as it relates to assembling, deciphering and applying policies that should be in the best interest of students. I believe decisions made while serving as a member of an elected school member ultimately makes a difference for future generations, that’s what I feel most passionate about.

What else would you like to share about yourself or your campaign?

My son Brandon Scortino is a senior at Oratory Prep in Summit. Because of our faith and religion, he attended Saint Elizabeth and Saint James before Oratory Prep. Although my son did not attend public school in Bridgewater, but we moved to Bridgewater in 2006 partially due to high quality and excellent reputation of the school district.