Freehold school board
incumbents unopposed
FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — Three incumbent Board of Education members are running unopposed to retain their seats in the April 16 school election.
All three are seasoned board members with many years of experience. William Cargiulo is running for his third, three-year term, Grace McMillan is running for her fourth term and Jeanine Willis, who has been on the board for 21 years, is running for her eighth term.
All of the candidates agree that the expansion of facilities has been the biggest challenge facing the K-8 district and they also agree that the administrative staff is its strength.
Cargiulo began serving six years ago when the school district was in a state of transition. As the enrollment was becoming a concern, the school board had already held two failed referendums. A third referendum was being discussed, involving building one large middle school to consolidate the two existing middle schools, and using those middle schools for elementary grades.
Cargiulo said he originally got involved with the board during this time because he was opposed to building a large middle school.
"Bigger was not better," Cargiulo said. "Smaller was smarter. The system seemed to be drifting a little bit. I wanted to preserve the neighborhood school concept."
Residents eventually approved a referendum that called for additions to be built at the district’s schools and for the two existing middle schools — Barkalow and Eisenhower — to remain in place.
Since that first term, Cargiulo said he has stayed with the board because he is happy with the infusion of new leadership and teachers in the district, starting at the top with Superintendent of Schools Dr. Peter Bastardo.
"I have been heartened by those personnel developments," Cargiulo said. "The existing establishment was also invigorated in this process."
He has also stayed on because of the challenges, such as expansion. During his present term, voters have approved a referendum that will result in an elementary school being built on Route 537, near Wemrock Road.
For his next term, Cargiulo said educational issues are always a main concern. However, he has two other priorities on which he would like to see the district act.
When the board decided on Wemrock Road as the site of the new elementary school, its other option was a piece of land on Dutch Lane Road. Cargiulo said one of his priorities for his upcoming term would be for the board to enter into a short-range or long-range agreement with the township to maintain the Dutch Lane Road site as open space or as part of the town’s Green Acres plan.
Cargiulo said the Dutch Lane Road property would be a natural extension of neighboring Durand Park. Most importantly, he does not want to see the land sold to a developer, especially because the school district could need it in the future.
Another priority would be a formalized staff development program for the district’s maintenance staff. Currently, there are many training programs in place for non-teaching staff, but Cargiulo said he would like to see something more defined.
Cargiulo said of all the accomplishments he has witnessed as part of the school board, his proudest is the quality of the schools’ staffs.
"We have some top-notch people," Cargiulo said.
Cargiulo has been a substitute teacher in the Freehold Township School District. He was an urban planner in New York City for 30 years. He received master’s degrees in urban planning and public administration from New York University.
McMillan is also a teacher. She teaches fifth grade in the East Windsor Regional School District, Mercer County. She has three grown sons who went through the Freehold Township school system. Along with her husband of 35 years, Ralph, she has lived in the township for 25 years.
A nine-year veteran of the school board, she is the panel’s president. McMillan said she has always been involved in the school district. When her children were in school she belonged to the PTOs at the Catena and Eisenhower schools.
"I thought it was a way to do something meaningful," she said.
McMillan said she is proud of the board’s accomplishments over the last nine years. She cited the administration of the school district, the curriculum and the two successful referendums.
"We have brought about so many meaningful changes. It’s a very exciting time to be on the board," the candidate said.
According to McMillan, there are more than 4,000 students in the school district.
"Enrollment has consistently increased by about 200 students every year. We have attempted to keep up with it and be fiscally responsible. It’s a challenge just in terms of space," the board president said.
She said she believes the "outstanding" administrative staff helps to make possible everything the district has achieved.
"We are so fortunate to have all of the people we have on staff. They have done remarkable things. Even with bulldozers right outside their windows, they never skipped a beat," she added.
McMillan is proud of the district, saying, "We are second to none with our test scores, innovative curriculum and an excellent technical program."
Willis is executive director of New Jersey Youth Soccer, a nonprofit organization. She has lived in Freehold Township for almost 40 years and has three daughters who graduated from local schools. Her husband, John, is the retired Freehold Township police chief.
Willis is completing her seventh term on the board, making her the most experienced candidate. She has served as the board’s president and vice president, and has chaired all of the committees that oversee various aspects of the district’s operation.
She said the biggest problem facing the district is the constantly increasing enrollment and less state aid.
"We’re dealing with more and more children and less and less money," she said.
Willis said she would like to see the way the schools are funded changed.
"We get a very small percentage of state aid because of our District Factor Group (a ranking of the wealth of a school district)," she said, adding that it is not always equitable. "Some municipalities that are in the same District Factor Group get more money. We need a change in funding, an alternative to property taxes."
Also on April 16, residents will vote on a $40,543,347 budget the board has adopted for the 2002-03 school year. The budget will be supported by a local tax levy of $34,077,726 and state aid totaling $4,552,621.
The board is projecting a tax rate increase in the range of 7 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to support the 2002-03 operating budget. That would bring the local school tax rate from $1.22 to about $1.29 per $100 of assessed valuation (for the operating budget; also called general fund).
That is the portion of the budget on which the public votes.
Residents do not vote on the debt service portion of the budget. Following voter approval of a plan to build a new elementary school at Wemrock Road and Route 537, school administrators are projecting a 5.8-cent increase in the debt service tax rate.
Taken together (operating budget and debt service payments), the overall Freehold Township school tax rate is projected to rise from $1.22 to about $1.34 per $100 of assessed valuation in the coming school year.
The owner of a home assessed at $150,000 will see his local school taxes rise from $1,830 to about $2,010. The owner of a home assessed at $200,000 will see his local school taxes rise from $2,440 to about $2,680. The owner of a home assessed at $300,000 will see his local school taxes rise from $3,660 to about $4,020.