Middletown BOE Race: Q&A With Candidate Joan Minnuies

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Earlier this week, Middletown Board of Education candidates Kate Farley and Jaime Sanacore did a Q&A with Patch, and gave their answers on some of the most hot-button issues facing Middletown schools: Masks, BOE meetings being held at the VFW, the closing of Port Monmouth and the district's current quarantine policy.

We asked Joan Minnuies and Deborah Wright, both currently on the board and running to keep their seats, the same set of questions. Here are Minnuies' answers; stay tuned for Wright's:

1. Do you agree with Middletown's current school quarantine policy?

"I would like to see the number of quarantine days reduced," said Minnuies. "Originally I thought that if everyone was wearing a mask there would be no need to quarantine. Although the days have been reduced from the original 14 days, too many healthy students are being kept out of school."

2. What are your thoughts on masks in school?

"I feel the best advocates for the children are their parents. They should be able to make the choice for their children when it comes to wearing masks and decisions about their health. However, in this situation my opinion does not override the governor's executive orders 251 and 253."

3. Do you support Middletown BOE meetings being held at the VFW Hall?

"I do support moving the meeting out of the school. My first concern was outside people from around the state coming into the building. Then the governor ordered the prosecutor's office to have local police departments enforce handing out summonses to people that would not comply with the mask policy. I do not agree with putting our police in that situation."

4. Please comment on the issue of mold found in Middletown schools, which delayed the first day of school by a week.

"It was very unfortunate that we had to delay the opening of schools this year," she said. "I do believe the decision that was made was in the best interest of the students and staff. I am confident that the administration is doing everything possible to prevent this from happening again."

5. On the night of March 12, 2020 you were one of only two Board members who voted against closing Port Monmouth Elementary and consolidating it with another school. Your vote pleased Port Monmouth parents, but the school district has said the building was in dire need of expensive repairs and was underused, with less than 200 students.

Can you please explain your vote?

"I voted no to close the school because I did not agree with how it was handled, nor did I agree that it would save us money," said Minnuies. "We were told if we voted no we would be voting to reduce staff. We did not gain staff because we closed the school, the money for reducing class size was always in the budget. There was never any discussion in public about this until after it was announced.

"We were in the middle of strategic planning where the majority of our community wanted to keep their neighborhood schools open," she continued. "Not once was it brought up at these meetings, which were full of community members. The school might have needed a lot more work than other schools, but we had students in that building every day learning and no one ever said it was unsafe.If the school needed to close it could have been discussed as part of the strategic plan that was being put together for a year or two down the road.

"The low enrollment could have been addressed at that time also by moving more kids into the school," she said. "In my opinion as a taxpayer they were planning on closing the school for a while, without transparency, the proper planning and the facts to back up their decision. They got their votes and accomplished what they set out to do. Also, three days after this vote, COVID closed down our entire district but when we were going to reopen partially it was suggested that the school be used by an outside group to bring kids in to help with childcare and help them with virtual learning. So what happened to the unsafe building?"

Minnuies, Farley and Sanacore have been endorsed by current Board members Frank Capone and Jackie Tobacco. Farley and Sanacore also back the candidacy of Minnuies.

Election Day is Nov. 2, but mail-in ballots have already been sent to homes. Also, from Oct. 23 - Oct. 31 Monmouth County voters can vote early, by machine, at these 10 polling places: Vote Early At These 10 Monmouth County Poll Sites Oct. 23-31

Minnuies is a lifelong Middletown resident who graduated from Middletown schools, sent her three children to Middletown schools and is now the grandmother of two Middletown schoolchildren. She has served on the Middletown school board for years and has been president of the Board for the past three terms. She also has earned several top accreditations for running a school board.

Hear directly from Minnuies:

"I am running for re-election because I feel I can continue to make a difference in this community. Over the part year and a half, our students, parents and staff have worked tirelessly to assure our students were receiving the best education possible. Social-emotional, learning gaps and consistency are just a few of the concerns that need to be addressed.

Going forward we need to assure that our students receive the support to address their individual needs, while at the same time we need to continue to challenge and motivate all students.

I also feel that finance is a huge problem. We need to continue to find ways to fund our schools. We need to keep searching for grants, and look to our legislators to help us fight for fair funding. Until that happens we need to find creative ways to save the district money, like we did this year with the savings we will incur by going to self insurance.

I will continue to work hard to engage our community to work together with respect for the opinions of all, and for the betterment of our students. I believe that my years of experience speak for itself, and that my dedication to our students and community is my top priority."

Related: Middletown BOE Race: Q&A With Kate Farley, Jaime Sanacore

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