Mary Ann Kjetsaa: Garwood Board Of Education Candidate Profile

GARWOOD, NJ — There is a contested race for the Garwood Board of Education election this upcoming November election with six candidates vying for the three open seats.

Mary Ann Kjetsaa is one of six candidates running for the three, three-year seats in the election being held on Tuesday, Nov. 5. The other five candidates include: Timothy Ryan, Tina M. Simitz, Salvatore Piarulli, Adrienne Barnes, and Susan Groning.

Here is a look at who Kjetsaa is and why she is running. Candidates were asked to answer the same questions and each candidate profile will be posted on Patch's site as it gets closer to the election.

Mary Ann Kjetsaa, Ph.D.

Describe yourself:

Mary Ann Kjetsaa, Ph.D. has enjoyed living in Garwood for more than 40 years, serving on the BOE twice previously. Kjetsaa holds bachelor of arts and master of arts degrees from Montclair State University and a Doctorate from Seton Hall University in Education Administration. She has had a long career in K-12 education including both teaching and administrative experience.

As a school administrator she:

• spent a great deal of time talking with parents about their child’s successes and challenges basing her advice always on the best interest of the child;
• engaged in supervision and evaluation of staff and programs;
• developed and provided appropriate professional development to her staff;
• developed program budgets with supporting information and oversight of spending;
• developed and reviewed curricula to include the State Student Learning Standards;
• provided information and reports to her supervisor and Board.

"From my administrative experience in a school district, I am able to see the big picture with regard to school program, safety, security and facilities planning."

During Kjetsaa’s recent service on the Garwood BOE, she took action attending activities in the
school to experience and learn firsthand the culture and engagement of the children and staff. If
elected, Kjetsaa would continue this practice as part of her priority to support the students, and staff as well as to provide a safe and secure learning environment. In addition, while on the BOE, she proposed safety and security ideas. Two, of which, were approved and implemented.

As Kjetsaa has done during her past service on the BOE, she would continue to actively provide
oversight to the educational system of Garwood through her attendance at all BOE meetings, her
willingness to volunteer to serve on BOE committees (serving previously on the Education/PR and
Finance/Facilities committees), and by asking safety, budget, program, curriculum, and education based questions.

Why are you running for school board?

• Kjetsaa believes in community service. She sees serving on the Garwood BOE as community service that utilizes her education and administrative experience and expertise to give back to her community.
• The Board of Education is an oversight body for the school system. As such it should be composed of members that bring a variety of experiences, expertise and perspectives to the table in order to cover the broad range of topics and areas affecting schools.

Why do you feel you are qualified for this position?

She believes that her previous BOE experience and contributions while on the BOE along with her administrative experience and expertise would be useful to the Garwood BOE to improve the Garwood schools and prepare our students for a smooth transition into high school and beyond.

She was on the Board for the original explanation of Strategic Planning and supported moving forward with participation in the process. She participated in and served as a Strategic Planning chair for a variety of committees over a number of years during her professional career and is very familiar with Strategic Planning, Action Plans, and setting timelines that "get things done." Through a cohesive multi-year plan Strategic Planning will benefit the Garwood schools, improve education, support appropriate professional development for staff, maintain the school facility, focus budget development while providing opportunities for the community, parents, staff and administration to give input and share information.

Kjetsaa has participated in the initial three Strategic Planning workshops held in Garwood. She sees her active participation in the Strategic Planning process as one of her priorities and looks forward to assisting the Garwood BOE, community and staff as they take this important planning step to implement change.

What are some issues you would like to address if elected?

• School Safety/Security and Facilities Planning – Lincoln School Gym floor – What is the plan for replacement; Washington School building – What are the plans for maintenance and use;Lincoln School facilities – as the school gets older with new building warranties running out, what’s the plan; Safety review – where are we? How does all this affect the budget?
• Increase the flow of information to the public. One avenue would be to revamp and increase the information provided via our website at the same time that we review and keep up-to-date with cyber safety protocols.
• Participation with the community, staff and administration in the important task of developing a Strategic Plan and the execution of that plan in a timely fashion.
• Discussion and a plan for potential enrollment increases resulting from redevelopment projects in town.

— (If you are a candidate and would like to participate in the election profile, email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com)

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