Candidate Profile: Twp. Schools Alumna Wants to Bring New Perspective to BOE

Marielle Pastuck is a lifelong resident of Long Valley, and she’s taking her first stab at elected office by running for one of three open seats on the Washington Township Schools Board of Education.

Pastuck, 23, and a 2013 graduate of Lehigh University, works as an engineer for Picatinny Arsenal in Rockaway Township.

The township schools’ alumna is also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and is a member of Our Lady of the Mountain Church.

Pastuck is the lone challenger in the four-person race, all vying for three-year terms in the Nov. 4 Election. Patch asked Pastuck a series of questions regarding her candidacy for this profile article. Her answers are below, unedited.

Patch: Why are you running for the board of education?
Marielle Pastuck: I am running for the board because I want to participate in the further development of the community where I have lived my entire life. I want to bring my technical experience and knowledge to the Board of Education to help develop programs and to enhance the quality of education for the children of this town. I want to achieve the objective of preparing graduating students or the next level of education with a focus on technical skills and a sense of community. Additionally, as a recent graduate of the Long Valley school system, my first hand experience and recent exposure to policy changes has given me the perspective needed to implement beneficial programs.

Patch: What changes, if any, would you hope to implement over the next three years as a member of the board?
MP: If elected, I would like to see the schools reconcile the issue of declining enrollment in a fashion that maintains our high standards of teaching excellence while providing excellent value to the member of our community.

Patch: In 2016 the board of education will have the ability to change the district’s vote for members and budget back to April after it was switched in 2012. How would you vote, and why?
MP: I don’t believe this is an important decision. I trust the residents of Washington Township to consider elections carefully before voting no matter when the election is held.

Patch: What is the biggest misstep the board has made in the last one to two years? What vote did it make – or not make – that negatively impacted the district?
MP: I don’t want to judge the Board of Education on its past actions—I want to focus on what I can do to help the Board in the coming years. I feel that as a former student of the school system, I can bring a different perspective to the Board as we work on solutions and alternatives to various program areas.

Patch: Over the next half decade, enrollment is projected to decline at a consistent rate. What should the district do, if anything, to accommodate this situation by not leaving classrooms or school buses empty?
MP: Many school systems face these problems and there alternatives open to the Board of Education. Just as Long Valley faced the problem of growing enrollment in the past, with upgrades and new facilities, we need to evaluate options to identify dual-use for empty rooms, or equipment in the short term. In the long term we need to consider a rational system to allocate resources based on enrollment and township demographics.

Patch: Faced with the 2-percent tax cap in the state of New Jersey, what ways will you, as a board member, be sure to keep taxpayers’ funds used properly, especially in the light of declining enrollment?
MP: As a board member it is essential to look for efficiencies and to review the overall expense structure of the school to identify areas of potential improvement. My background in engineering could bring a new approach to this task. The bottom line is to maintain a quality education for the children of our community. I once sat in the classrooms of Kossmann, Flocktown, and LVMS and look forward to ensuring that the students have the right tools and a first class array of experienced teachers and administrators.