By Frank Mustac, Special Writer
Two of the three Board of Education members facing re-election are bowing out of the race, and two new candidates have announced they will be running for office.
Three seats will be up for grabs in November. Board member Michael Markulec is the lone incumbent who will have his name on the ballot, while current members Gordon Lewis and Bruce Gunther said they will not seek another three-year term on the Hopewell Valley Regional School District Board of Education.
Pennington Borough does not have a vacancy up this year.
The new candidates, Susan Pollara of Hopewell Borough and Peter Didonato of Titusville in Hopewell Township, spoke at the school board meeting on Monday.
The deadline for candidates to file nominating petitions with the Mercer County Clerk is Monday, July 25, at 4 p.m.
Mr. Markulec, a former Hopewell Township Committee member and mayor of the township, explained why he seeking a second term on the school board.
“The Hopewell Valley board of education has been focused on both short- and long-term fiscal stability for the district,” Mr. Markulec, co-founder of a cybersecurity consulting firm, wrote in an email. “This includes annual budgets that meet the need of our students, while minimizing the impact on the Valley’s taxpayers and maintaining our facilities through the smart long-term financing options.”
“I would like to continue my work on the finance and facilities committee as we work through the referendum process this fall and the construction and maintenance projects over the next few years,” he said.
Voters in Hopewell Township and Pennington and Hopewell boroughs will decide Sept. 27 whether to approve a roughly $35 million referendum to upgrade facilities at the district schools.
Ms. Pollara spoke during the public comment portion of Monday’s board meeting.
“I have two sons who are in Hopewell Elementary School going into third grade and fifth grade,” she said. “We’ve been in the borough for 11 years, and I am astounded and feel so fortunate to be a part of this community. The quality of education that my children have experienced has been astounding.”
“I am quite involved in the borough. I am on the economic development committee, and I run some events in the borough.
“I started my career as a public school teacher in a very urban area. A large part of my career was managing education programs, after-school programs. Now I work with bridging the gap of technology between corporations and non-profits. So I’m hoping to bring these experiences and my deep commitment to this community to the Board of Education.”
Mr. Didonato, who moved to the area from California, also spoke during the public comment portion Monday.
“I’ve been around a couple of school districts — San Diego County school district and Carlsbad Unified School District — acting as a technology liaison,” he said. “I helped bridge the gap between the students integrating with technology and allowing them a place to go to get things quickly. And then also getting parents more involved in what is going on in their children’s lives at school.
“I was successful in a couple of districts out in California while I was there for eight years. I own a business, and I focus on collaboration and communication, business intelligence and infrastructure.
“I’m very active in my children’s school district right now. I’m a Cub Scout den leader and I just enjoy doing things around the community. I love meeting people and just being involved. If I can help out in any way, that would be more than I could ever ask for.”
Mr. Didonato said he has two children in the school district — an 11-year- old going into the sixth grade and a 7-year- old going into the second grade.
“I’m looking forward to being more of a part of my children’s lives as they go through the district,” he said.
Mr. Lewis, one of the current board members not seeking re-election, explained why he is not running again. He represents Hopewell Borough on the school board.
“I think after six years it is good to have change,” he wrote in an email. “Since my daughter just graduated, my children are officially out of the system, which makes this an obvious moment to pass this on to someone new.
“Also, Hopewell Borough has a new demographic with lots of new young families in town,” Mr. Lewis said. “They will benefit from a representative closer to their reality.”
Mr. Gunther, the other incumbent choosing not to run, reflected on his lone term on the board.
“The three years I have been on this board have been probably the most exciting three years that I’ve had since I’ve retired,” Mr. Gunther said at Monday’s school board meeting. “It fulfilled a real strong need, and that was reaffirming my faith and appreciation for public education.”
“I really have had an excellent three years,” he said.
Mr. Gunther, who represents Hopewell Township on the board, said he worked in the Trenton School District for 35 years before retiring about 10 years ago.
He said that, with his wife’s recent retirement, the couple will be doing a lot more traveling.
“In the 10 years before her retirement, I filled my life with different committees and obligations, and I’ve been slowly paring all of them down so that we can just go (on trips) when we so choose,” Mr. Gunther said.
Lisa Wolff, the Board of Education president, told Mr. Gunther that since his term of office is not yet expired, the board is happy to still have him.
“You have six months left, during which time we’re going to work you like a dog,” Ms. Wolff quipped.
During his tenure, she said, Mr. Gunther’s has served of the board’s education committee.
“As he mentioned with his experience in Trenton, he has offered a unique perspective that really adds a lot to our committee,” Ms. Wolff said. “So it’s been really helpful to have him, and I think that we’ve had a richer experience for it. So I’m really glad we have him on our board.”
