BY KAREN E. BOWES
Staff Writer
Steven Reed KEYPORT – Five candidates will vie for three spots on the township Board of Education on Tuesday, April 17. All seats come with three-year terms.
Lori Kopacz
The newcomer Kopacz, 43, is the mother of two young children both of whom attend the Central School. Until recently, Kopacz was employed as a cafeteria worker in Middletown. Now she works part time as a crossing guard in front of the Central School. Like many suburban mothers, Kopacz spends her free time as chauffeur to her children.
“I’m always carting the kids to and from soccer,” Kopacz said jokingly, “or Girl Scouts or other activities.”
But unlike most office seekers, Kopacz prefers not to talk about the issues.
“I’m not going in with any issue to change anything,” Kopacz said.
She also chose to compliment her opponents.
“I think all the candidates are great,” Kopacz said. “I think it’s wonderful so many people are running.”
Dan Smith If elected, Kopacz hopes fellow parents will use her as a go-between to the board. Originally from Bayonne, Kopacz has lived in Keyport for 17 years.
“I’m an approachable type of person,” Kopacz said. “Some people feel they can’t go before the board. They’re shy. Seeing as I’m a crossing guard, I’m on the street more. They can tell me and I’ll let the board know.”
Kopacz said her main goal in running is to simply generate more parent participation in the school system. She would like parents to be more involved in their children’s schoolwork.
“I see the different changes in the school and I see that the school is headed in a good direction,” Kopacz said. “I think I just want to help that along.
Steven Reed
Incumbent Steven Reed, 43, is a former bus driver now pursuing a career in teaching. The single father of three is finishing up his third term on the school board.
Reed said he originally became interested in joining the board after a serious spinal condition made him ineligible to continue work, putting him on permanent disability.
Joanne Staeger “I wanted to keep my mind active,” Reed said, explaining why he decided to go back to school to become a teacher. “The reason I do a lot of what I do is because I’m on disability. I have the time.
“When I found out I had the disease, I made a pact with God,” Reed continued. “If God took care of me, I would devote my time to helping kids. So that’s what I do.”
Reed volunteers extensively as a football coach for the Pop Warner, a religious education teacher at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Keyport, and as an after-school instructor, teaching video production to middle school students. Two years ago, he was instrumental in re-establishing Keyport Pride Day, an annual open house that allows parents to connect with school officials.
Reed’s main concerns for the upcoming school year are making sure that student technology is up to date and hoping that the proposed budget passes.
“I know times are hard, but the kids are the future,” Reed said.
Nancy Wilcox Born and raised in North Bergen, Reed has lived in Keyport for the last 15 years.
Daniel Smith Jr.
Newcomer Daniel Smith Jr., 37, works at the Liberty Science Center, Jersey City, as the director of the Abbott Partnership Program. Smith has been employed at the center for 10 years and holds a bachelor of arts
degree in management from Lock Haven University, Pa. He is the father of three children, ages 8, 5 and 1.
In his spare time, Smith promotes the science of climate change to middle and high school students.
“I was trained by Al Gore to do PowerPoint presentations,” Smith said. “This group, called the Climate Project, their goal is to train 1,000 individuals throughout the world.”
Trained in January over a three-day period, Smith traveled to Nashville, Tenn., to become a Climate Project instructor. Under the tutelage of Gore personally taught many of the classes, and Smith now travels the state narrating the 450-slide show made famous by the movie “An Inconvenient Truth.”
Smith hopes the sideshow will inspire creativity in science students.
“What really gets kids motivated about science is connecting it to the real world,” Smith said.
As an example, Smith pointed to a Trenton high school where students recently built a car that runs on vegetable oil, burning 81 grams of greenhouse gas per mile. According to Smith, the student’s car beat out the Toyota Prius, which burns 240 grams of greenhouse gas per mile, in an environmental contest.
“My point is that students need to be doing things like this, contributing to knowledge, not just learning things we already know. The discovery is the good part,” he said.
On a related note, Smith recently organized Keyport’s first walking school bus, a group of students who will soon begin walking to school under the supervision of adults.
“The aim is to try to provide a framework to make it easier to walk to school,” Smith said. “You can count the benefits in a number of ways.”
Joanne Staeger
The incumbent Staeger, 52, is currently finishing up her sixth term on the board. She is also the board’s vice president. A mother of two and grandmother of four, Staeger spends much of her time baby-sitting her grandchildren and working for a company that prepares food in the high school cafeteria, a position she’s held for the last 18 years.
A resident of the borough since 1969, Staeger is a graduate of the high school. As a cafeteria worker, Staeger sees the students she works for every day.
“I’m lucky enough to get the opportunity to be close to them in that way,” Staeger said.
In addition to her long-standing duties on the board, Staeger is the president of the Keyport Mothers Club, a role, she joked, that no one else really wanted. The club, responsible for managing concessions stands at school athletic events, provides scholarships to district students. Always busy, Staeger recently became a volunteer member of borough’s First Aid Auxiliary.
After almost two decades on the board, Staeger has seen many changes
and had many proud moments.
“A highlight for me is attending graduations,” Staeger said. “That is the culmination. That’s the main thing, to get these kids the best education. To see them at that point is really an honor.”
Also, “I’m really proud of being on the ad hoc committee for moving the eighth-graders to the high school,” Staeger said.
What are her main concerns for the future of Keyport’s students?
“To get this budget passed and the need for the state to come up with a real school funding program that’s not going to change every two or three years,” Staeger said. “Something with some stability.”
Nancy Wilcox
Wilcox, 35, served briefly on the board from December 2005 to April 2006, filling in for a member who moved. Once a teacher in Somerset, Wilcox now stays home with her four young children, ages 3 to 8. Two classes shy of her master of arts degree in education from Rutgers University, Wilcox earned her bachelor of arts degree in elementary education and psychology from Monmouth Univer-sity.
“With Keyport, I feel we’re such a small district,” Wilcox said. “I would like to find ways to have more to offer through shared services with other districts to give kids more options. Also, a push for more of a college prep curriculum at the high school.”
She feels her background in education would give her insight into making good decisions as a board member. Also, she believes her passion for education will translate well into inspiring young students.
“I’m interested in getting children passionate about learning and giving them very opportunity that they can have,” she said.