By Joanne Degnan, Managing Editor
ROBBINSVILLE — More than half the seats on the Robbinsville Board of Education are up for grabs Nov. 6, but only one incumbent has an opponent in what has turned out to be a divisive campaign for a two-year unexpired term.
Newcomer Shaina Ciaccio is challenging incumbent Keith Kochberg, who was appointed by the Board of Education in August 2011 to fill a vacancy. Although school board races are typically low-key affairs, this particular contest has been noteworthy for the complaints from both candidates’ supporters about alleged political interference and campaign chicanery.
Four other Robbinsville Board of Education incumbents are also running for re-election in uncontested races. Florence Gange, Faith Silvestrov, and Vincent Costanza, are running unopposed for full three-year terms. Matthew O’Grady, who was appointed to the school board earlier this summer to fill a vacancy, also has no opponent his bid for a one-year unexpired term.
This is the first year that Robbinsville and 467 other school districts will be holding their the nonpartisan elections in November, instead of April. Unlike the other office-seekers on the ballot next month, school board members are volunteers who earn no salary for their service.
The Messenger-Press asked all six candidates to talk about their qualifications, their campaigns, and priorities if elected. Candidates were also asked to identify what they thought the Board of Education had done well over the past three years and what it needed to do better. Excerpts appear below from the candidates, who are listed in alphabetical order.
Shaina Ciaccio
Ms. Ciacco, 25, of Walden Circle, is a child welfare investigator for the state Department of Children and Families. She has lived in Robbinsville for three years and is currently the coordinator of the Robbinsville Municipal Alliance, which works to combat alcoholism and substance abuse.
Ms. Ciaccio has a Bachelor of Science degree in criminology from the College of New Jersey and a master’s degree from Villanova. “My graduate thesis focused on student delinquency and school resources and the bulk of my research was focused on Robbinsville schools,” Ms. Ciaccio says.
Ms. Ciaccio said she supports the $18.97 million voter referendum to expand Sharon Elementary School and Pond Road Middle School.
”I do believe the school board has come out with the most economical option for this referendum,” she says. “In 2010, I think the referendum (to build a new school) failed because we were in an economic downturn. I have to applaud the school board for coming up with a more cost-effective way to address space issues.”
Ms. Ciaccio said one of the things the board has done well over the past three years “is to come up with innovative ways to deal with budget issues after the last failed referendum.” She said she thought the board could do better listening to the opinions and ideas of more people in the community.
”When discussing budget matters, I think it is easy to assume that parents with school-age children are the only ones who may be affected by these issues, and that is not the case,” Ms. Ciaccio says. “It is important that we find ways to reach our residents who are not able to attend monthly board meetings,” she says, adding that videotaping meetings for the public would be a good first step.
Ms. Ciaccio married her husband, Anthony Ciaccio (whose mother is Councilwoman Chris Ciaccio) in January 2011. They do not yet have children and live with their two dogs in Foxmoor.
Ms. Ciaccio’s campaign website is www.shainaciaccio.com.
Vincent Costanza
Dr. Costanza, 37, of Union Street, is an early childhood program specialist for the state Department of Education and an adjunct professor at William Paterson University. He has lived in Robbinsville three years and has been a member of the Board of Education since 2010.
Dr. Costanza has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers, a Masters of Education from The College of New Jersey and a Doctor of Education from Rutgers Graduate School of Education.
The father of a first-grader at Sharon School, Dr. Costanza has 14 years’ experience in the education field, including teaching kindergarten as well and graduate and undergraduate courses.
”What I bring to the board is an independent voice and an educator’s perspective that is directed toward overseeing programs that are of the highest quality possible for my daughter and all children in Robbinsville,” he said.
Dr. Costanza said he “wholeheartedly and unequivocally” supports the $18.97 million referendum to upgrade Sharon and Pond and add 29 new classrooms.
”While the referendum is about bringing much need facility upgrades to aging and overcrowded buildings, this referendum is primarily about directing dollars to strengthening the academic programming of the district,” Dr. Costanza said.
”Given the 2 percent budgetary cap that the district operates within, there is a finite amount of money in the district’s budget and we can keep spending dollars on things such as trailers, or we could redirect that money to programs we know lead to student learning and growth,” he said.
Asked for examples of what the BOE had done well in the last three years, Dr. Costanza points to initiatives such as the Robbinsville Extended Day (R.E.D.) program that has generated about $100,000 in new revenue to support academic programs in the schools. As for what needs improvement, Dr. Costanza cited the administrative turnover in key positions, such as the director of special education.
Dr. Costanza is running a joint campaign with fellow school board member Keith Kochberg. Their website is www.costanzakochberg.com.
Florence Gange
Mrs. Gange, 58, of Hibiscus Lane, is an English teacher and the dean of faculty at Rutgers Preparatory School in Somerset. She has lived in Robbinsville since 1987 and has been a member of the Board of Education for 11 years, serving from 1997-2004 and again from 2010 to present.
”I am proud that my tenure on the board extended to being part of the team that successfully brought the high school to our town,” Mrs. Gange said. “I am equally proud of the high school curriculum which keeps getting more and more competitive with other high-achieving school districts in New Jersey.”
Mrs. Gange earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in secondary education from SUNY and her graduate degree in English literature from St. Bonaventure University. She has twin daughters, now college seniors, who attended Robbinsville public schools.
Mrs. Gange said she strongly supports the school expansion referendum, noting that “both Sharon and Pond are bursting at the seams with students.”
Asked to identify what the board has done well in recent years, Mrs. Gange points to “prudent hiring decisions,” including selecting Steve Mayer as the new superintendent of schools in 2009 and bringing Bob DeVita on board as the business administrator in 2010.
Dr. Mayer “exudes confidence, transparency and innovation — much of what was lacking prior to his arrival,” Mrs. Gange said. She said Mr. DeVita’s “comprehensive knowledge of school finance, his diligence and his professionalism” had been key to instilling trust within the community. “Both of these gentlemen are responsible for correcting the ills of past years,” Mrs. Gange said.
Mrs. Gange said her objectives, if elected, are “effectively stretching our dollars while keeping two wide open eyes on extraneous spending; staying current with curriculum audits to ensure we continue to offer competitive programs; and maintaining the integrity of our facilities.”
Keith Kochberg
Mr. Kochberg, 39, of Union Street, is the founder and CEO of an online marketing business with offices in Princeton, New York City and Chicago. He has lived in Robbinsville for six years and has served on the school board since 2011.
A graduate of Hightstown High School, Mr. Kochberg earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Towson University. He has two sons, a third-grader at Sharon School and a preschooler in the district’s Pre-K program.
”The Robbinsville schools are the primary reason I moved here after the birth of my first child,” Mr. Kochberg said. “The positive results I have seen the district provide my children are a driving factor in my desire to serve on the Board. I want to give back. To best serve the district, I feel it is important to have actual first-hand experience with it.”
Mr. Kochberg said his experience growing a successful business and managing operating budgets larger than the school district’s budget, are professional skills he brings to the table as a member of the school board.
Mr. Kochberg said he supports the proposed school referendum, noting the elementary and middle schools are about 300 students over their instructional capacity — even with five modular classrooms on the grounds of the K-3 Sharon School and three kindergarten classes housed at the old Windsor School.
”This referendum is based on the district’s needs, not its wants,” he said.
Asked to identify school board’s successes over the past three years, Mr. Kochberg said the district had done a “phenomenal job improving its overall operations.” He said the current superintendent and business administrator “inherited challenges, took them head on and put us in a much better place” in terms of the district’s budgeting, planning, programs, and overall district culture.
Mr. Kochberg said one of his priorities, if elected, would be to “work together to elicit more community feedback and participation,” adding, “insights and perspectives from the full community are needed.”
Mr. Kochberg is running with Dr. Costanza (www.costanzakochberg.com) and both have pledged not to accept political or corporate campaign donations.
”I view the Board of Education an entity of parents and for the children, not a political opportunity or platform,” he said.
Matt O’Grady
Mr. O’Grady, 40, of Hillside Drive, works in municipal finance and has lived in Robbinsville 13 years.
Mr. O’Grady has a Bachelor of Science degree in finance. He served on the Board of Education from 1997 to July 2011, then was appointed effective July 1, 2012 to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of former board member Rich Kasper.
”As a municipal finance professional, I have worked on nearly 50 transactions in the education sector,” Mr. O’Grady said when asked about the skills he brings to the school board.
”As an underwriter and trader, my role requires a thorough understanding of financial matters, including income statements, balance sheets and audits,” Mr. O’Grady said.
Mr. O’Grady supports the school referendum, which he said allows the district to make repairs, improve core facilities and reduce overcrowding at Sharon and Pond. “The board and district have formulated the best possible plan in light of the last referendum that was narrowly defeated in 2010,” he said.
The district’s new Energy Savings Improvement Plan (ESIP) that he said will pay for about $4 million in energy-efficient improvements at schools is “a great example of creatively maintaining facilities without increasing the tax burden,” Mr. O’Grady said.
The ESIP allows facility upgrades, such as new boilers, to be made through a 15-year-lease purchase program that pays for the upgrades using the annual energy savings realized through the completion of the projects.
Other BOE successes include improvements in fiscal efficiency and “stability in the core leadership roles of superintendent, administrator ad assistant superintendent,” Mr. O’Grady said.
He said his objectives if elected are to work “creatively and objectively” to address the school district’s challenges, noting that “exercising fiscal fitness and seeking educational excellence don’t need to be competing interests.”
”I would like to add that I resigned from the board to take a job in Ohio in the summer of 2011,” Mr. O’Grady said. “I returned May of this year to accept a new position with a major bank. I never intended on selling my home in Robbinsville and thankfully, I didn’t.”
Mr. O’Grady said he told his colleagues in his 2011 resignation speech before he left for Ohio that he and his family would return someday to Robbinsville. “It just happened sooner than I anticipated,” he said.
Faith Silvestrov
Mrs. Silvestrov, of Walters Road, is a registered nurse who has lived in Robbinsville for 34 years. First elected to the then-Washington Board of Education in 1991, she has been a school board member for 21 years.
Mrs. Silvestrov, whose three grown daughters all attended Robbinsville public schools, said she has seen what was once a one-building district change dramatically over the years as enrollment continues to climb. She said she supports the Dec. 11 referendum to expand the elementary and middle schools.
”Storage and faculty rooms, offices, and media centers are being used for instructional space and the cafeteria and gym are approaching unsafe student levels in both schools,” Mrs. Silvestrov said.
When asked for examples of what the district does well, Mrs. Silvestrov said it has done a good job providing educational opportunities for all students. “The students are challenged and exceed our expectations,” Mrs. Silvestrov said. “Another area the district does well is hiring highly qualified staff,” she said.
”In addition, the Board of Education has an ambitious program seeking revenue from other sources than tax dollars, such as activity fees, the Energy Savings Improvement Plan (ESIP), Robbinsville Extended Day (R.E.D.) and shared services with other districts,” she said.
Mrs. Silvestrov said priorities for her next term are to continue to “provide high quality education to our students while being fiscally responsible to our taxpayers.” She said the board needs to be “diligent in our efforts to adequately meet the needs of our growing student enrollment and to continue to look at additional resources to offset our expenditures.”

