MONROE Two more candidates have thrown their hats into the ring for upcoming Board of Education elections.
By: William Greenwood
MONROE Two more candidates have thrown their hats into the ring for upcoming Board of Education elections.
This means a total of eight candidates are vying for the three open school board seats in the April 17 election, said Business Administrator Wayne Holliday. Each seat is for a three-year term.
Carol Bjornsen, of Monroe Boulevard, and Ellen Pugner, of Fox Run, will join challengers Ken Chiarella, Ira Tessler and Russell Boyd and incumbents Carol Haring, Amy Speizer and Lew Kaufman on the ballot.
The deadline to file a nominating petition was Monday.
Ms. Bjornsen, who served on the board from 1998 to 2001, said she is running again because she is unhappy with the way plans for a new high school in Thompson Park on Schoolhouse Road are going.
"With the delays that have occurred, that high school has now gone up $36 million," she said. "That’s quite a chunk of change for the taxpayers to have to bite off."
Ms. Bjornsen, a 50-year-old dental hygienist at the office of Adam Stern in East Windsor, said the board must address the need for additional facilities soon. She said many schools are using portable classrooms to deal with enrollment growth.
"Monroe has got all kinds of trailers all over the place, so we definitely have to address facilities," she said. "That’s the main issue here."
Ms. Pugner, a secretary at St. James R.C. Church in Jamesburg, said she is running because she thinks it is time for a change. She said the incumbents have been with the board for many years, yet still "nothing has been accomplished."
Ms. Haring has been serving on the board since 1994, Ms. Speizer since 1992 and Mr. Kaufman since 2001.
Ms. Pugner said the most important issue to her was the building of the new high school, which she said she would like to see finished before its scheduled 2011 opening date, if possible. She said the current Thompson Park location for the school is a "travesty."
"After losing the $113 million referendum (in December 2002), I would’ve cut the fat and come back with something with a more feasible number," she said. "The voters would’ve gone for it."

