Censured Holmdel Board Of Ed Member Looking Forward Going Into Election

HOLMDEL, NJ-- Despite his formal censuring at tonight's Board of Education meeting, Dennis Pavlik is looking foward during his third campaign for a board seat: "I have a lot more on my wishlist, and I’m going to work on that wishlist, ... it is our children, they are our number one priority."

Although keeping his eyes on the future, Pavlik was unchanged on the past: "I would do it again. I did nothing wrong."

Pavlik was referring to being found guilty of committing ethics violations, alongside board member Ava Vander Woude. The charges stemmed from a 2012 investigation into whether or not a Holmdel employee was violating double dipping laws (you can read a full Patch report on the topic here).

"Somebody came up wo me with a concern, and I did what I had to do, the proper chain of command, and I addressed it," Pavlik told Patch, speaking matter-of-factly. He described the censure as a "slap on the finger."

He's hoping to put all of that behind him as he enters the homestretch of his campaign for reelection. Should Pavlik be elected to one of the three open seats on the Board, this would be his third term.

"I have many many supporters, many friends, and I want to continue to make our school district great, which it is," Pavlik told Patch. "These distractions are not distracting me, and they are not putting me down."

Although the election is still almost three weeks away, Pavlik is thinking about his third term, telling Patch what he would like to accomplish.

"We have to pay more attention to our average children," Pavlik said. "We have many highly educated children in our school district and I have no problem to keep challenging them, but we have to focus on our average children and our special needs children, we can't leave them behind."

Following what he estimates to be a $90,000 legal battle between himself, his co-defendant and the school district, Pavlik is keenly aware of money as well.

"People are very lucky to have jobs nowadays ... everybody wants more money, I understand, but at the end of the day, when there is some wasted money, then some people from administration, I could even say teachers, they should maybe give in a little bit and say, 'Instead of me getting these big raises every year, let's put it towards our children'," Pavlik said of his

(The average Holmdel teacher makes $74,453; the average administrator makes $122,425.)

The other candidates running for the three open positions are Lori Ammirati, Chiung-yin Cheng Liu, Jaime Ochojski, and Michael Sockol. They will be on the general election ballot Nov. 8.

Image via Dennis Pavlik.