School Board Candidates Discuss Special Education, Budget Cuts, Tenure and More

Special education, managing the budget, budget cuts and goals for the school district were among the main topics of discussion among the board of education candidates Monday night during the Contemporary Club’s forum.

The candidates, in alphabetical order, are Debra Bruno, Joann Garifalos, Lisa Hodulik, Lillian Romano, Robert Salerno and Joseph Samperi.

Bruno, Hodulik, Salerno and Samperi are vying for three 3-year terms on the board of education. Garifalos and Romano are vying for one 2-year term.

Hodulik was unable to attend and sent a statement which was read by Mayor Rose Heck, who moderated the event. Hodulik apologized for not being there stating that she had previously set plans to visit a university with her son. Hodulik, who is running for re-election, said if she is re-elected she is committed to making informed decision in the best interest of the students and will make every effort to be fiscally responsible.

Each candidate was given three to five minutes for opening statements of which all five candidates told of their professional experience and why they are seeking a position on the board. The forum was then opened to the public.  Both Salerno and Romano have served on the board previously. Bruno has served on a board of education in another district previously. Garifalos, who currently sits on the board, was appointed nine months ago to fill a vacancy and is seeking re-election. For Samperi it’s his first time running for the board.

Education and professional experience qualifications

A resident asked each candidate what experience – educational or professional - he or she has that would make each candidate qualified to face the challenges in public education today.

• Bruno said her experience lies in her training and work experience where has a strong knowledge of special education. She has worked as a child psychologist with the Westwood Regional Schools as as well as her knowledge of special education, having served on Middle States Committee and New Jersey State Special Education committees.
• Garifalos cited her hands-on experience with special needs kids as she and her husband have opened their home to foster many children. She doesn’t believe any child should be left behind and strongly believes that by dealing with special needs children first-hand she knows what is needed.
• Romano says she has a combo of work experience in the area of special needs services. She worked as a social worker for Division of Youth and Family Services and she is a special education teacher at Leonia High School. She feels this is a wonderful combination to have when serving on a board of education and she also has business and financial  experience from previous jobs as well.
• Salerno served as chairman of the special education committee when he served on the board previously. He said he knows what the needs are will do whatever need sto be done to make children get what they should go to achieve their goals.
• Samperi said his financial experience would be key towards working with budgets. He has worked with budgets before and believes that there are ways to turn one dollar into one dollar-fifty. He also believes his sales experience can be can help with negotiators to help the district get more out of its spending.

Budget cuts

All the candidates were in agreement that they would not want to see teacher cuts or extracurricular activities cut if the proposed budget were to be defeated. Most of the candidates stated they did not have the proper details of the budget in order to see where they possibly could make cutbacks.

Teacher tenure

Most candidates agreed that there does need to be improvements with the teacher tenure system.

• Romano said the reason for tenure needs to be examined. As a teacher herself she said she wants to be treated the same way one would in another type of professional environment. The teachers who have been tenured should be evaluated if they are no longer effective.
• Salerno said tenure does have a place but it can be revamped. He said tenure has a place but if a teacher is not functioning the way he or she should then there are repercussions to those actions. Every teacher has to perform for the education of the children.
• Samperi said Governor Christie has suggested test scores should be key in the tenure process but that would mean teachers would have to teach to the test and that is not what the district wants. He believes teachers have the responsibility to bring teaching to the next level, and create an environment where kids are motivated.
• Bruno said tenure needs to be examined and there should be expectations for teachers the way we would have expectations for students.
• Garifalos believes 99 percent of teachers do an excellent job but there is an unfortunate small percentage that does not which can hurt other teachers and can hurt the students. She said there needs to be a better way to make teachers more accountable as there are some who think tenure means nothing can be done to them.

Staff outsourcing

Candidates were also asked whether or not they would support outsourcing certain staff positions such as nurses and custodians.  All of them agreed that the cost savings would need to evaluated and then compared to with the quality of service they would get in return.

• Salerno said he would be concerned with what type of services they would get as a result of outsourcing. How would the district know if background checks would be done on workers.  
• Samperi said a decision as such could not be made without knowing what the district would get as a result. He also pointed out that current staff members would lose jobs and that would not be fair to many of those members who have been loyal to the district.
• Bruno said statistics are not good for outsourcing. She believes custodians for example are highly loyal and they are the eyes and ears in the building. She knows that parents are comfortable with consistency and familiar faces.
• Garifalos said she is against such outsourcing explaining that the district would not know who would be coming in if a staff member of the outsourcing firm was let go. She added that change is not good for students with behavioral issues as well.
• Romano said she works in a district where custodians are outsourced and has seen that district deal with theft and dirty buildings. She agreed that employees such as custodians have been known to be loyal to the kids and they deserve the same loyalty in return.

Improvements

• Bruno wants to see more accomplishments such as strong HSPA scores and graduation rates. She believes there needs to be more communication between the schools and the parents.
• Garifalos also said there needs to be more communication with parents. She wants to see more technology, such as a smartboard in every classroom.
• Romano wants to see the district seek out resources such as grants which are available that could bring in more savings. If she could have a wish list, she would want a learning academy where students could study in a specialized area of interest.
• Salerno cited the recent addition of advanced placement courses and would like to see that continue. He also wants to see more technology and agreed that the district should seek grants for support.
• Samperi echoed the importance of smartboard in every classroom and pointed out that he has seen districts do this via grant funding. Every student needs to have a path, whether they are college bound or not and he also wants to see the furthering of anti-bullying campaigns.  

The forum ended with closing remarks from each candidate. Mayor Heck reminded the public that the election will be held on a Wednesday this year and asked them to remind their friends and neighbors to vote April 27.