Salvatore Piarulli: 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.

Salvatore Piarulli 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: Mary Ann Kjetsaa, Tina M. Simitz, Timothy Ryan, Adrienne Barnes, and Susan Groning.

Here is a look at who Piarulli is and why he 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.

Salvatore Piarulli

Describe yourself:

The middle child of Italian immigrants, I am a 47-year-old dad that has been blessed with four beautiful children that are either currently in or went through the Garwood school system. For the past 25 years I have built my career as an executive in several industries. Currently I manage the end to end experience for retail operations in the wireless industry. I am a graduate of Caldwell University and just recently earned my MBA.

I enjoy spending my free time with my children coaching soccer, football and baseball. Teaching teamwork through coaching is something I am very passionate about. Being an active soccer player myself, I show my children the continued importance of dedication and passion for what you love is the most important thing in life.

I am very proud of my accomplishments, I have been very fortunate to be a part of the Dean Michael Clarizio Cancer Foundation (www.thedmccf.org). As a co-founder on the Board of Directors DMCCF is comprised of a small group of volunteers, inspired by the vision of my childhood friend. The DMCCF has donated over $1,100,000 to families fighting cancer.

I am not afraid to give my opinion and I am not seeking to be all things to all people nor am I hoping to win a popularity contest. Rather, I understand that as a member of Board of Education we need to provide better transparency and represent all residents of Garwood to ensure our tax dollars are spent the right way so we keep the best teachers and they are equipped with the resources so our children can continue to receive the best education possible.

Why are you running for school board?

Three years ago I was asked to run for BOE. I was written in by a large group of friends and neighbors who believed I would best represent them, as a voice for all their concerns as parents and taxpayers. Over the past three years I've learned so much about what goes on behind the scenes with budgets, policies and all that goes into the business side of school administration. This is important, because I believe that we tend to forget that the BOE is the business end of the school administration.

I made up my mind about running again after two specific incidents. The approval of our school budget and losing a teacher heading into tenure, I believed we should have fought harder to keep. As a member of the finance committee and an extensive background in the private sector, it is extremely important to me that we spend our money correctly, wisely and put it to where it should go. I contend that there was no reason to raise taxes this year especially when the numbers provided were consistently wrong. I had my doubts about the figures especially when we were thrown additional costs just weeks before the budget was to be approved. The process is broken and needs to be fixed

Why do you feel you are qualified for this position?

The past three years have been very eye-opening. Once one gets deeper involved you see how things work and how they can get accomplished. I have the experience now as a current Board of Education member having served on policy and finance. I also have the much needed business background. I believe our educators need to do what they do best, educate, and not worry about the behind the scenes dollars and cents.

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

The two biggest areas are safety and finance. Safety: A few months back I proposed starting a safety committee where we would work with the community, law enforcement and county officials to ensure we are always a step ahead of those that have evil in their heart. We spend so much time, effort and money making our schools the last line of defense, my goal would be to stop it before it gets to the that position.

Finance: We need to get a better grasp of our spending and understand that we are the business end of the school district. We just spent almost $8000 on Vaping detectors. Detectors that will very well be obsolete in a year. To me that was a complete waste of money when that money could be used on educating on the harms of vaping or going towards teachers. That is a very small example as there is a lot of waste that needs to be cleaned up.

Lastly, ensuring that all members of our community have someone that represents them. That is our job. A former BOE member and current Garwood Democrat chairperson said on social media, in response to parents fighting to save the job of a beloved teacher: "I commend your efforts but they won't make a difference".

I am running again to tell you that your efforts do make a difference. your voices will be heard and the moment someone tells you your efforts don't make a difference is the moment that person and the people they stand for never get elected again.

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

Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here.