Woodbridge School Board Candidates Spar On A Number Of Issues

WOODBRIDGE, NJ —The Woodbridge Board of Education election will be held the same day as the midterms, Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Four Woodbridge residents have filed to run for three seats. They are:

• Tom Maras
• Current Board member seeking re-election, Akshar "AJ" Sidana "Improving Education" slate
• Current Board member seeking re-election, Jonathan Triebwasser "Improving Education" slate
• Current Board member seeking re-election, Joseph Velez "Improving Education" slate

Patch asked all the candidates running to send us bios of themselves and the issues. Maras sent us the following, which Sidana, Triebwasser and Velez responded to below.

Maras has long been known as an outside to Woodbridge's clubby world of Democratic politics and he's a very vocal critic of Mayor John McCormac. Maras often speaks at Woodbridge town Council meetings and questions the Council members and school board.

Thomas (Tom) Maras

Age: 77

How many years have you lived in Woodbridge? Over 50 years

Married? Children? Currently single. A son, who is a lawyer; a daughter, who is a licensed pharmacist and mother of three beautiful children of high school and college age.

Education: Undergraduate studies in Psychology, Business Management and Real Estate

Profession: Former international executive with Foster Wheeler Corporation and subsequently, Stone & Webster Corporation.

Is this the first time you have ran for public office in Woodbridge? No, I have previously ran for a seat on the Board of Education.

What is your involvement in the community? For almost two decades, I have been a public advocate for transparency in government and the school system.

Please answer these two questions below in 100 words or less: 1. Why are you running for a seat for BOE?

For years, in my opinion, and the opinion of many others, the Board of Education in Woodbridge has failed to represent its electorate, mismanaged school safety, cafeteria services (he is referring to the issue of moldy, rotten food served in Woodbridge schools last September, which prompted the district to cancel its contract with Chartwells) and most importantly, failed to improve students' scores in math, reading and other essential educational areas, according to U.S. News and other credible organizations that rank school standings statewide.

2. What is one area you would like to concentrate on if elected?

Ensure students are educated, not indoctrinated with "woke" ideologies, which are counter to family values and community standards. If one considers the progressive mandates of Gov. Murphy and his NJ Dept. of Education's position on diversity, equity and inclusion, then yes, there is definitely a WOKE curricula being forced on school boards throughout New Jersey's public school system!

Response from Sidana, Triebwasser and Velez:

1. The Board of Education absolutely is aligned to and in contact with the electorate as the Board of Education is always making changes through evaluation and data to meet the goals of the community and district.

2. School safety in Woodbridge is one of the most robust and effective in the state and is constantly striving to strike the appropriate balance between safety and student experience.

3. Cafeteria services were addressed, evaluated and corrected within a few months of school starting. In fact, the district administration was in the process of dealing with the substandard performance well before Mr. Maras started to speak on the topic.

4. As far as the math, language arts and other core subjects, the district has taken a progressive and methodical approach to address this national issue created by the pandemic. There are new early interventions now in place to assist in reading and language arts as well as a new approach to improve curriculum and staff development through a more collaborative approach.

5. We won't even address Mr. Maras's assertions regarding his statement of "Indoctrinated with 'WOKE' ideologies, which are counter to family values and community standards." We all believe in a fair and equitable educational environment for all students and staff. Our district has and will continue to provide age-appropriate education to all regardless of, race, religion, gender/orientation. We will continue to listen our community as we are running for the Board for no other reason than to improve the education and operation of or district to better serve the community."