Incumbents Lawson,
Lavin & Cappiello
seeking re-election
on regional h.s. board
Incumbents Lawson,
Lavin & Cappiello
seeking re-election
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer
Residents in six of the Freehold Regional High School District’s eight sending communities will go to the polls on April 20 and elect four representatives to the district’s Board of Education.
Residents in all eight town’s will cast their ballots on the board’s proposed $142.6 million budget for the 2004-05 school year.
Board seats in Howell, Farmingdale, Freehold Township and Colts Neck will be up for grabs.
Two candidates are seeking the seat in Freehold Township — Chia W. Whitehouse and Randy Vollbrecht. Neither is an incumbent. The winner will serve a one-year unexpired term.
Two candidates are seeking the seat in Howell — incumbent Ronald G. Lawson and Donald E. Morris.
Two board members are running unopposed to retain their seats — Diana J. Cappiello in Englishtown and Kathie Lavin in Farmingdale.
The seats in Howell, Farmingdale and Englishtown are for three years.
The second board seat from Howell and the seats from Freehold Borough, Marlboro, Colts Neck and Manalapan are not up for election this year.
Under the FRHSD voting system, residents of Howell and Farmingdale will vote for the Howell and Farmingdale representatives; residents of Freehold Township and Freehold Borough will vote for the Freehold Township representative; and residents of Englishtown and Manalapan will vote for the Englishtown representative.
Whitehouse, 52, has been the principal of the Marlboro Chinese School.
"My children have all graduated from the district," she said. "It’s an excellent system and I feel it’s my duty now to serve and give something back to the community."
Vollbrecht, 49, owns an automobile repair business.
"I think we need some new blood on the board," said Vollbrecht. "I’m interested in what the board is doing, as far as spending the money on educational programs. I’m interested in what qualifications the state is coming down with and programs. I want to participate in what is going on."
Lawson, 55, works in automobile sales. He has served on the FRHSD board for three years. Prior to that he served on the Howell K-8 Board of Education for nine years.
"I feel there is work still to be done; work which is triggered by the educational needs of our [present] student population and the growing student population," he said.
Morris, 43, is an attorney. He said he represented the FRHSD in a contract case and since that time has been thinking of participating as a board member.
"I want to see the best education," he said. "I want to see that our taxes, which seem to go up every year, are properly used. Most of all, I want to see that the schools provide a well-rounded education, not only the academics, but also athletics and the arts. From what I’ve seen over the past couple of years, those are the areas that get cut first. It’s important to find a way to make sure the kids have those opportunities."
Lavin, 49, is an office manager for a physician. She has served on the FRHSD board for 18 months.
"I’m doing this for Farmingdale," she said. "I’m proud of my town and I’ve been here a long time, 18 years. I’ve always been proactive, very involved in the school system in Farmingdale. I was [also] a PTA president."
While one child is still in high school and two of her children have completed their high school education, Lavin said, "It’s also not as demanding now compared to when my children were younger. I think this district is wonderful."
Cappiello, 49, is a registered nurse. She has served on the board for six years.
"There’s a lot of unfinished business and I feel we are moving in a positive direction," she said. "There’s a lot of curriculum issues and we’re finally accomplishing things for the kids in that area."