Meet All The 2021 Woodbridge Board Of Education Candidates

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — In 2021, three Woodbridge school board seats are up for election. They are:

• The seat held by Daniel Harris (he is running for re-election)
• The seat held by Ezio Tamburello (he announced earlier this year he will not seek re-election, after 12 years on the board)
• The seat held by Susan Bourdin (she is running for re-election)

The election will be Nov. 2. There are a total of five candidates; voters will be asked to select three.

Harris and Bourdin are running as a slate, along with Jenny Perez of Avenel. Their slate is called "Best Schools Around" and they have been endorsed by Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac.

They will be challenged by Amber Jarrett, a public school teacher in Scotch Plains-Fanwood and parent of two Woodbridge school students. Tom Maras is also running, in his sixth time running for Woodbridge school board. Maras is a vocal McCormac critic.

Hear directly from all five candidates:

Tom Maras, why I'm running for Woodbridge school board:

"As many may recall, this is not my first time to run for a seat on the Woodbridge Board of Education. In fact, it will be my sixth. So why now and why again?

The answer is as simple as it is complex. It is because I believe a school board should not be part of a political regime in a monolithic form of government.

Maras told Patch this week that he views the Woodbridge BOE, like the town Council, as mere functionaries doing the bidding of Mayor McCormac.

"I find they are truly not an independent board, nor is the town Council," he said. "You never hear any dissenting voices; they are all in lockstep and do what they're told. It's just everything is McCormac."

He also took aim at the Harris-Bourdin-Perez slate name of "Best Schools Around."

"Beyond the current political construct of the board, I have deep concerns as to why the educational arm of the McCormac Team is using a variant of the Mayor’s 'Best Town Around' exaggeration, that being 'The Best Schools Around,' when the district has consistently not scored high in various New Jersey school district ratings."

Owing to the pandemic, our kids have lost ground in their academic advancement, something they will struggle to regain, if they can. Adding to that challenge is the addition of the state’s mandated introduction of curriculums related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) for grade K-12. A curriculum which is yet to be fully defined and present to the public. To many parents and others in the district, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is nothing more than a philosophical distraction for students already trying to catch up on their 3R’s! (reading, writing and arithmetic).

Drawing upon my years of working in various blue-collar jobs and, eventually, in corporate executive positions, both domestically and internationally, in the engineering and construction industry, I will use my management and business skills to enhance the Board's ability to meet the challenges our district faces in these trying times.

Furthermore, I will be on the ‘Team’ that represents parents, students, teachers and residents in the school district; not a member of a team controlled by a politician who is transforming our township in MacHattan!! (a play off McCormac and Manhattan.)

The 'Best Schools Around' slate of Dan Harris, Sue Bourdin and Jenny Perez, why we're running:

This slate is endorsed by McCormac. Earlier this year, Bourdin was part of the Woodbridge BOE's negotiations committee who unanimously voted against renewing former superintendent Bob Zega's contract. She, along with Joseph Velez, AJ Sidana, Tamburello and Marie Anderson, all voted against keeping Zega as superintendent. Instead, they gave the top job of running the district to Joe Massimino.

Bourdin has previously declined to tell this Patch reporter why she voted against keeping Zega as superintendent.

Harris is the legislative director to New Jersey General Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, a top-ranking Democrat in Trenton.

Perez herself graduated from Woodbridge public schools and is a parent of a Woodbridge public schools graduate. She works for Rutgers University and presently sits on the Woodbridge Housing Authority board.

“Jenny will be a tremendous asset to the Board of Education,” said McCormac. “She’s been a member of the Woodbridge Housing Authority; she works for a Rutgers University’s chancellor, and has been an active member of the community for years."

"My best memories of Jenny are working with her through David’s Touch Foundation, a non-profit organization Jenny co-founded in memory of her son who overcame a heart transplant but succumbed to cancer by age 9," he said.

The organization raises money and toys for children battling childhood illnesses.

“I have always wanted to give back to Woodbridge Township and its children. It’s an honor to join the Mayor’s team and I would be privileged to serve on behalf of the students and residents of Woodbridge Township," said Perez. “My sons had a great experience in the district and I want to ensure that all students and families receive the same experience.”

“Dan and I both knew Jenny by reputation for her stellar work with David’s Touch Foundation. If elected, Jenny will provide several new perspectives to the Board including fiscal management, a familiarity of modern-day higher education and another perspective as a working mother,” said Bourdin.

“Dan and Sue have been tremendous advocates for our students and taxpayers since they joined the Board," said McCormac. "Dan has been a strong advocate of fiscal discipline and improving communication, while Sue is the leading voice on all matters concerning special education. Along with the new superintendent Dr. Massimino, my administration and Town Council, I look forward to another three years of working with Dan, Sue and Jenny.”

Said Harris: "The Best Schools Around team is running on the platform of accelerating learning following nearly one and half years of interrupted learning, ensuring supports for the social and emotional well-being of all students, continuing to improve upon district-parent communication and improving district-wide school rankings, to name a few.”

Amber Jarrett, why I'm running for Woodbridge school board:

Earlier this year, during virtual learning, Jarrett and her husband personally donated 114 homemade wooden desks to Woodbridge students who were forced to learn at home. The students did not have proper desks at home for virtual learning. Jarrett's husband designed and pre-measured/cut all the wood to make the desks and the couple then hosted community building days in which neighbors helped assemble, sand and polyurethane the desks. Almost 50 neighbors/community members helped.

"As a long-time public school educator, and a parent of Woodbridge school district students, I am dedicated to ensuring our schools truly are 'the best schools around.' Because my father was in the Navy, I lived in several different states growing up, but I was primarily raised in Pennsylvania, where I lived until relocating to Woodbridge with my husband and two sons ten years ago.

When my oldest son, a Woodbridge High School graduate, was born, I was only 21 years old. A young, single mother at the time, we spent the first few years living in Section 8 housing, receiving both state medical assistance and food stamps. I understand firsthand the economic challenges, struggles and demands many working families face as they try to provide the best life possible for their children.

I was fortunate enough to have a support system that allowed me to return to school while also working and caring for my son, eventually earning a bachelor’s degree in education from Penn State, and later, a master’s degree in education leadership, management and policy from Seton Hall. As a teacher in New Jersey, I spent my first several years teaching young children with special needs. I have presented at several state-wide conferences for educators and my classroom was recently featured in a book published for early childhood teachers. (She is a teacher in the Scotch Plains-Fanwood school district.)

A BOE candidate should be both passionate and knowledgeable about the field of education. I can confidently say I am both. My experiences as a teacher and a parent have prepared me well to serve on our district’s school board.

I am committed to addressing the social-emotional development and well-being of students and to improving communication with families. I will also continue to advocate for increased collaboration and consistency across the district. As a school board member, I will work to ensure all students have access to high-quality instruction, and positive, equitable, and meaningful educational opportunities. Woodbridge is a very large and diverse district, and while I believe the individual schools should reflect the unique communities in which they serve, I also believe there should be systems in place to ensure the same standards of quality and access to opportunities exist, regardless of which school a student attends. I am dedicated to ensuring our district provides safe learning environments that nurture every student’s potential.

Great teachers and support staff are the heart of great schools. As a teacher, I am keenly aware of the pressures the past year and a half have put on our profession, and I will advocate to ensure school staff members have the support, tools, and resources they need to do their jobs to the best of their ability as we navigate the return to normal instruction.

Effective school leaders build and maintain family and community partnerships and use those partnerships to cultivate caring, inclusive, and culturally responsive school communities. To that end, over the past year I have personally listened to and advocated for our neighbors — concerned parents, students, and fellow educators, and have organized with local groups to bring concerns to light and inspire change.

As COVID-19 threatened normalcy and the quality of learning for students everywhere, with the help of the community, my family and I found a way to make life a little easier for some by building and delivering 114 desks, free of charge, to local students in need.

It was these experiences that inspired me to run for a seat on the Board of Education. To that end, during my campaign and after, I want to partner with each of you for the shared purpose of building a better future for all Woodbridge students.

I will be hosting an in-person campaign kickoff party on Sunday, August 29, a virtual “meet the candidate” on Tuesday, September 14 (via zoom), and an in-person “coffee with the candidate” Oct. 23. If you are interested in attending any of these events or would like to share your questions or concerns with me, please email me at jarrettforboe@gmail.com or follow me on my campaign Facebook page @Jarrettboe. All the in-person events will be held at 85 Freeman Street, Woodbridge.

Previously: These Are The Woodbridge BOE Candidates This Fall (July 27)

Woodbridge Schools Will Make New Decision On Masks In August (July 28)

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If you have something in Woodbridge you want written about, email me! Contact this Patch reporter: Carly.baldwin@patch.com