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MANVILLE: Budget approved; three elected

By Mary Ellen Zangara, Special Writer
   Manville voters approved the school district’s 2011-12 budget of $13,257,205 by a 399-275 vote on April 27.
   The three seats on the Board of Education went to newcomer Valerie Frank with 391 votes, and incumbents Heidi Alles with 324 votes and Jeanne Lombardino with 322 votes.
   Superintendent Dr. Johanna Ruberto waited along with other members of the Board of Education and the candidates at Borough Hall Wednesday night for the results to see if the budget passed or failed.
   ”Always have faith in Manville. I always have faith in Manville and thank you everyone for supporting our programs by supporting this budget. We will not let the citizens down. We will not let you down. We definitely won’t let the kids down. Thank you so much,” the superintendent said.
   Ms. Alles was also happy to have the budget pass. “I am so happy everyone came out and voted the budget in. Obviously I am happy to be re-elected and serve the borough and our kids but mostly I am happy about the budget,” she said.
   ”I am ecstatic about the budget passing, it means good things for our district. And I’m glad that I got re-elected and we can continue the work were have been doing for the last three years,” Ms. Lombardino said.
   Ms. Frank received the highest total to become the newest board member. She replaces Joseph Lukac, who decided not to seek re-election.
   ”I am excited and eager to start my new journey,” she said. “We are all here for the kids. I am very happy, very excited.”
   The other three candidates running for the one of the three seats were Judy Faulkner (183 votes), Sharon Lukac (206 votes) and Kim Richter (260 votes). In total 689 votes were cast out of 5,220 registered voters, a 13.2 percent turnout.