Manchester Twp. School Board Election 2020: Meet The Candidates

MANCHESTER, NJ — When voters go to the polls for the Nov. 3 election, they will be asked to choose four people to serve on the Manchester Township Board of Education.

There are three full three-year terms up for election, and a one-year unexpired term as well. Four people are vying for the three full terms, and there is one candidate for the unexpired term.

James "Ken" Pate, Melanie Biscardi, Tony Goltsch and Laura Wingler are seeking the three full terms. George Cervenak III is seeking the unexpired term of Christopher Nolan, who resigned from the board earlier this year.

Pate and Biscardi are incumbents. Jennifer Hudak, the board vice president, is not seeking re-election.

Cervenak is a math teacher in the Lakewood School District.

Pate has nearly 25 years of service on the board, and was re-elected three years ago after he was defeated in the 2016 election. Biscardi won election to her first term in 2017.

Wingler is an e-learning instructional designer at Ocean County College and is running for the first time.

Goltsch, who was appointed to the board in August to finish out the year in the seat vacated when Christopher Nolan resigned, is listed as running with Pate and Biscardi. However, Goltsch was charged with theft three weeks ago in connection with his Rumson jewelry store, the Golden Goose. The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office alleges he failed to return jewelry worth $260,000 that was left at his store for repairs and consignment. Goltsch has not responded to a Patch request for comment on the matter

Patch asked each candidate to answer questions to give voters information about who they are and their stances on various issues. Neither Pate nor Goltsch responded to multiple requests to participate in the candidate profiles. The responses of Biscardi, Wingler and Cervenak are printed in full, unedited except for spelling or punctuation. You can find links to the responses below.

• Manchester School Board Election 2020: Melanie Biscardi
• Manchester School Board Election 2020: Laura Wingler
• Manchester School Board Election 2020: George J. Cervenak III

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