The Upper Freehold Regional Board of Education has a contested race for its two open Upper Freehold seats.
Incumbents Lisa Herzer and Howard Krieger will face off with newcomer Steven Gagliardi in the April 21 school board election.
Gagliardi, 40, has lived in Upper Freehold since 2005 with his wife and two children. A graduate of the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va., with a master’s degree in biology, he currently manages the North American Sales Division of Bio-Rad Laboratories in Hercules, Calif.
Herzer, 49, has lived in the township for almost 10 years with her husband Dan and their three children. A graduate of Pace University in New York with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, she has been a Certified Public Accountant for the past 25 years and currently works as a tax manager for Bartolomei Pucciarelli LLC in Lawrenceville. She has served on the board since June 2005.
Krieger, 62, has lived in Upper Freehold for 19 years with his wife Renee. The couple has two grown children that live in town and send their kids to Upper Freehold Regional schools. A graduate from the City College of New York with a bachelor’s degree in economics and a graduate of Long Island University with a master’s degree in finance, Krieger owns and operates a restaurant franchise business in Cherry Hill and Gloucester Township. He has served on the Board of Education since 2003.
What do you believe makes you a qualified candidate for a seat on the board?
Gagliardi: I believe that my experiences as a collegiate and military instructor, research scientist, marketing professional, and business leader have prepared me for this position. I will be a valuable resource that can balance your interests in light of providing the tools needed to help our school reach educational excellence and our children achieve their personal best.
Herzer: I believe I am a qualified candidate for many reasons. These include the experience I have had on the board already, my financial background, which has been useful during budget time, my experience with the school district since my children (between the three of them) have attended from kindergarten through twelfth grade at Allentown High School. In addition, I have spent a lot of time researching various issues affecting our district.
Krieger: First, is my experience over the past six years as a board member. Second, is my extensive experience running my own business and as board chairman of the Pinnacle Federal Credit Union, a $180 million full service financial institution and among New Jersey’s largest credit unions with over 30,000 members. This gives me insight into planning, personnel management, finances, negotiations and cost control. Further, as liaison to the Township Committee, I have developed a good relationship with our town’s leaders and have helped to develop a great relationship between the Board of Education and the Township Committee.
What do you like about the school district?
Gagliardi: The staff throughout the entire school is a caring group of professionals that are dedicated to making the educational experience as strong possible. Their efforts can be observed in the rise in SAT and ACT scores, increased AP testing at a level of 4 or 5, and greater than 90 percent of the graduating seniors continuing their education after high school. In addition, they are evaluating and implementing exciting new programs such as the enVision program and writing workshop, all designed to help teach our children in a dynamic learning environment.
Herzer: First and foremost, we have a lot of wonderful teachers. We have a team of caring and committed administrators and support staff. The strong bond between the community and school makes it someplace special.
Krieger: I love the terrific administrative team that I have helped to put in place to run our district. I think that the number of amazing teachers in our district far exceeds any other district that I have ever seen before. I love the level of parent involvement in our district. I also love the progress we have made in student achievement over the past few years and hope to continue that progress in the future. I am also very excited about the progress in athletics (both boys and girls) that our schools have experienced lately, which is a great source of pride for our students and our community.
What do you not like about the school district or what do you think needs to be changed?
Gagliardi: The advancements that will be made through the enVision program will be lost if we don’t investigate a new middle school curriculum for mathematics. The Board of Education must support the process of identifying a new program that will continue these advances. Bullying and intimidations are actions that are unacceptable in any environment. These issues are being addressed through an action committee and the planned implementation of the Olweus program. The Board of Education must foster the successful implantation of this program to ensure success.
Herzer: Two of the most pressing issues, a new school and curriculum changes, are currently being addressed but have not yet been fully resolved.
Krieger: I think the overcrowding in our schools is terrible and our facilities, especially in the elementary/middle school, need a lot of work. I like the progress that we have made in student achievement but know we still need work on curriculum, text books, technology and helping special needs students (both high and low achievers) in order to continue to improve.
What do you consider to be the most pressing issues the school district faces at this time and what would you do as a board member to help resolve these issues?
Gagliardi: There are several areas of current concern. However, one of the most important issues that must be addressed is the opening of the new middle school in September 2010. This opening will require planning to ensure we address all of the logistics, staffing, facilities, and technology issues, which all pose tremendous pressures on the current and future budget. If we do not prioritize and plan now, we could enter a situation of opening a state-of-the-art school with staffing and resource problems. In addition to the new school, there is a need to upgrade the facilities of the current elementary school and high school annexes buildings, again, placing pressure on the budget.
Herzer: The school completion in time for a September 2010 opening is at the top of the list right now. Accountability from all parties involved will help to ensure the project is delivered on time.
Krieger: Getting the new middle school built and open on time and within budget, having a plan in place for opening the new school as efficiently as possible, having a plan in place on how to use the freed up space at the existing elementary school, continuing to emphasize student achievement, keeping costs and tax increases down, and working on partnership issues with Millstone. I am committed to spending as much time and effort as is needed and to use my knowledge of our district to help achieve the goals that our kids deserve.
How do you think the downturned economy will affect the schools and the quality of education they provide? Also, what will you do to ensure taxpayer money is being spent effectively?
Gagliardi: The downturn in the economy could have dramatic effects on the budget available. As New Jersey realizes reduced tax revenues they will have to make difficult decisions. These decisions can result in a decrease in the amount of support provided by the state for education, thereby jeopardizing current and future programs. The Board of Education and administration must prioritize today those programs essential for the education of our children and explore all options to keep successful programs in place. This will require hard questions and creative thinking to be successful.
Herzer: It will be a struggle to pass any school budget in this economy. However, it is important for improvements, both physical and educational, to be funded. A failed budget will mean a step back in terms of educational quality. I have spent many hours with the rest of the board going through the budget, making cuts, no matter how small, wherever we can that will not compromise the level of education the children of this district deserve. We did not put out a full 4 percent budget increase because we are very aware of the situation many residents are in.
Krieger: The downturn will put added pressure on the board to control costs because our young families and our seniors cannot afford big tax increases. However, I do not believe that excessive cost (tax) increases are necessary to achieve good schools. Our district is among the lowest districts in per pupil spending while still achieving great results. Careful management of our resources can still allow us to achieve our goals while not putting an undue burden on our taxpayers. Line by line examination of all costs is more important than ever. With my school board and business background, I feel that I can help to keep the economic downturn from affecting the quality of education.
What do you think about the test scores and overall student achievement in the school district?
Gagliardi: The current superintendent and his staff have made exceptional strides with the schools. The rise in SAT and ACT test scores in conjunction with 95 percent of the high school seniors attending secondary education is to be commended. However, there is still more work to be done. The NJASK results for grades 3-7 in writing at the proficiency level is still below the state average for like school districts. In addition, the math scores for grades 5-7 are still significantly below the average for advanced proficient in like school districts. Both of these are areas that will require focus to advance our school district.
Herzer: I believe both are improving. Many steps have been taken to improve the test scores and overall achievement, but it is not an overnight process. I believe the changes in curriculum and other measures will continue to help raise both test scores and achievement.
Krieger: I am pleased but not satisfied. We have made a lot of progress over the past six years but I know that we have a long way to go. I am confident that with the great team that the board has put in place, we will continue to improve. The parents of our district expect it and our kids deserve no less.
What do you think about the current effort to regionalize all of the county school districts? How do you think this could affect UFRSD?
Gagliardi: I have lived in a location that had a large unified school district. I watched great schools with solid programs and staff diluted as efforts were focused on raising the bar for underperforming schools. In addition, there is a strong possibility of a redistribution of monies to various schools, again to attempt to normalize the budgets. Our school district has great community support and a solid school system staff. I am not convinced that consolidation will help us or even have a positive impact on achieving our goals.
Herzer: The concept makes sense, however, there needs to be some financial support from the state in order to make it a viable solution. Regionalizing the Upper Freehold and Millstone school districts is one of the proposals that has been put forth by the county.
Krieger: I think it makes sense, especially since Millstone is our partner in the high school already. It has the potential to save money on duplication of services. However, it is not as simple as it sounds. There are many questions to be answered such as how is the debt on the existing schools handled, what will be the representation of each community, etc. This effort is going to be statewide so a lot of work will need to be done before anything can happen and we can then see how it will affect our district and our kids.
Edward Werner will run uncontested for the Allentown seat on the board that will be vacated by William Borkowski, who has decided not to run for election again. Look for an article on the Allentown candidate in the next edition.