MANALAPAN – Concentrating on developing innovative educational programs and expanding revenue sources while consolidating expenses are all campaign ideas proffered by the five candidates who are running for three seats on theManalapan- Englishtown Regional School District Board of Education in the April 15 election.
T
he polls will be open from 3-9 p.m.
April 15.All three seats carry a three-year term and they are all for representatives fromManalapan. The nine-member board is made up of eight residents of Manalapan and one resident of Englishtown.
The candidates are Martin Spindel, Lawrence Furman, Donna Formoso, Dr. Valerie Maglione and Ryan Green.
Formoso, Maglione and Green are current members of the board.
Green, 28, is a high school social worker. Green, who is engaged to be married this summer, is a 20-year resident of Manalapan and a graduate of the Manalapan Englishtown district and Manalapan High School.
Green is also seeking a seat on the Manalapan Township Committee as a Republican candidate. If he is re-elected to a second term on the school board on April 15 and then elected to the Township Committee in November, he would be required to give up his seat on the school board before joining the governing body in January.
Green said one way the K-8 school district could be improved is in the area of communication. He recently attended a municipal meeting with the school district’s business administrator at which the school district’s 2008-09 budget was presented for the governing body and those in attendance at the March 19 public meeting.
The school district and the municipal government are autonomous bodies and the presentation of the budget to the individuals who govern Manalapan was not mandatory.
Green called the presentation evidence of “a new spirit of cooperation” that was initiated as a result of the mutual understanding and agreement that both public entities must work together for the good of the taxpayers and for the community as a whole.
He said that is why he has been involved in developing shared services agreements that are being finalized for implementation.
Green said if he is re-elected to the school board his focus would remain on improving and expanding shared services initiatives between the school district and the municipality, and could include the Western Monmouth Utilities Authority in order to develop cost-saving measures such as retro-fitting public facilities with solar panels and exploring other alternative energy sources.
Green said he wants the public to know, “I hold no financial interest in any alternative or solar energy development companies and am only interested in pursuing an energy audit of all the district’s buildings and facilities because I believe it will prove to be both environmentally as well as fiscally responsible.”
Green said he has also been directly involved in the ongoing contract negotiations with the Manalapan-Englishtown Education Association and said he would like to be able to see that process through to completion.
He said he sees improving the school district’s Internet Web site as being an important component of improving overall communication between school district administrators and the public they serve.
Maglione, 46, is a dentist and has resided with her family in Manalapan for 12 years. Maglione has two children, one of whom is still attending school in the district.
Maglione said if she is re-elected to a second term on the board she would like to help her colleagues build on the students’ established “high level of academic achievement by providing new challenges and progressive programs.”
She said she believes the school district could be improved by improving the budget process.
“We must continue to improve the board’s budget development process especially in light of ever increasing fiscal constraints,” Maglione said.
Formoso, 48, is a legal secretary who has resided with her family in Manalapan for 20 years. She has had two children attend district schools, with one having graduated and another still attending.
Formoso said if she is re-elected to the board her focus would be “intertwined.” Like Maglione, Formoso believes the budget process needs to be overhauled and its development undertaken with a five-year projection.
Despite increased state aid for the 2008-09 school year and the promise of additional state aid to be delivered in subsequent years, Formoso said board members need to look beyond the state’s promise of extra support because, “I believe we should prepare for anything.”
As to what, if any, improvements the school district could use, Formoso said, “We could certainly stand to focus on any new programs that in the long run would save us money. We are going to have to examine everything when it comes to the budget.”
Furman, 50, is making his first bid for elected office. He is a systems engineer for a New York law firm and has been a resident of Manalapan for 15 years.
He is the father of two children who both attended district schools. One child is now in college and the other child attends Manalapan High School.
Furman said he, too, thinks solar energy initiatives are the answer to much needed cost savings for the K-8 school district.
To improve the district, Furman said he would ask that the board concentrate on developing programs that would reinforce self-esteem in adolescents and in that way counter the negative impact of peer pressure and other social issues that affect younger and older students.
Spindel, 68, is a retired teacher who has been a resident of Manalapan for almost 40 years. His two grown daughters both attended district schools.
Spindel, who served two terms on the board before losing a bid for re-election, said if he regains a seat on the panel he would work to see that the curriculum offered in the district is evenly distributed, with the arts and music being as important as math and science.
Spindel currently runs a stamp club at the Pine Brook School, the Wemrock Brook School and the Manalapan Englishtown Middle School.
When asked what could be done to improve the district, Spindel referred to the well-embraced issue of solar energy initiatives.

