Valenti seek
3 board seats
Weismantel,
Valenti seek
3 board seats
By clare MARie celano
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — Four candidates are running for three three-year seats on the borough’s K-8 Board of Education in the April 15 election. The field includes incumbents Ronald Reich and Matthew Weismantel and newcomers Victoria Muller and Charles Valenti.
Board member Theresa Hicks is not running for re-election
Weismantel, who is finishing his fifth year on the school board, said, "We’ve accomplished a great deal, but there is so much more to do."
The board member has been involved in education for many years, having been a member of the Strategic Planning Committee and the Negotiations Committee. He is also the board’s representative to he Freehold Public Library. Weismantel commented that he felt there was a "great synergy between the library and the school district."
The board member was also the liaison to the private educational foundation which supports borough schools.
Weismantel is the University Director of Campus Information at Rutgers University, New Brunswick He lives on Broad Street with his wife, Natalka, and their son, Leo, who attends the Freehold Learning Center.
"Public education is so important," Weismantel said. "It is what makes our towns and our country great and I love being a part of it."
Key issues he feels the board needs to address in the coming years are the increase in enrollment, the reduction in state aid, consideration about the school budget and the fact that a new superintendent is expected to be leading the district by July.
"I’d like to help make the superintendent’s transition to our school a successful experience for his or her benefit as well as our own," he said. "This is a great school board and we have all worked very well together over the years. I really enjoy being with people who care. We put in a great deal of time but there is much satisfaction in return."
Weismantel said he loves the borough and called it a wonderful place to raise his son.
"People here care about one another," he said, adding that he believes residents "thrive on the town’s diversity and that is a wonderful statement for the school."
"We, as a board, have established a clear direction and clear goals in our strategic planning, while still spending $1,000 less per pupil than the state average to educate our students," he said.
Reich, who is seeking his second three-year term on the board, has lived in the borough since 1974. The board member, who has a law practice in town, said he considers himself a "dedicated public servant with a great interest in education."
Reich joined the board in late 1999. He then ran for a seat and won his first three-year term in 2000. He feels strongly about his involvement in education although he no longer has children attending borough schools.
"You don’t have to have kids in the school to be interested. I think there’s a lot of work to be done that can make the school system even better. My interest didn’t leave when my kids did," he said.
Reich said he was "thrilled" with the education his children received in the borough’s schools and "wants things to stay that way."
Reich, who lives with his wife, Lynn, on Hance Boulevard, raised two children in the community, Adam, 23, and Amanda, 18. He commented that the district’s teachers are very dedicated and said they "make things happen."
"I want to continue to be a part of that," he added.
The school board member voiced his concern over the proposed 2003-04 school budget.
"Our budget remains a problem for Freehold. We’re not [one of the state’s 30 poorest school districts] and therefore, do not receive any special funding. We’re not a wealthy district either, we just muddle along in the middle," Reich said. "The state mandates us to do all these things, yet no funds are provided to help us do it."
Reich said another of his concerns is the hiring of a new superintendent. Stating that the district was fortunate to have Janet Kalafat for the last 13 years, he believes that continuity in the school board is critical at this time.
"To have new people sitting on the board would be detrimental and may cause total upheaval," he said.
Muller, an eight-year resident of Club Place, is running for her first three-year term on the board. She is the mother of Maggie, 8, a second-grader at the Park Avenue Elementary School. Muller said she believes the board needs more members whose children attend school in the community.
"The school board is out of balance," she said.
Muller, who works as the accounts manager for her husband Mark’s contracting business in the borough, said she wants parents to be more informed about what’s going on in district schools.
She said that expecting parents to attend all school board meetings or pick up agendas and minutes of previous meetings is an unrealistic expectation considering the lifestyles people live today. She said she would like more information disseminated directly to parents from the school board.
"You need to represent the people that voted you in," Muller said. "You’re there because they voted you in. You need to get their opinions on issues. Parents need to know more about what’s going on."
Key issues for the newcomer are the increasing enrollment in district schools and the fact that she wants parents to have more of a voice on school issues.
"I will represent what’s in the best interest of the town, not just the school," she added.
Muller, who likes what she referred to as the "small-town atmosphere" of the borough, said she is just as concerned as other residents about the upcoming budget and increasing taxes.
"I don’t want my taxes to go up either, unless it will make our town a place a better place to live," Muller commented.
Valenti is also running for his first three-year term on the school board. He has lived in the borough for seven years with his wife, Sari, who is the president of the Park Avenue PTO, and their three children, Aaron, 6, Molly, 12, and Emily, 13, who all attend district schools.
Prompted to run for the school board by his friends, Valenti said he’s been attending school board meetings for years. The candidate said he would like to see the board engage the members of the school community more often in the functions of the schools.
"There are things I’d like to see happen and I am hoping that I can affect some of those changes," he said.
Valenti has been a member of the Strategic Planning Committee and said the issues that concern him the most are the increasing enrollment and the new administration the school district will have in the coming school year.
"We’re running out of space in our schools," the candidate said. "We’re also in the process of hiring a new superintendent. These are issues that I don’t mind putting a lot of work into."
Valenti said the skills he uses in his work as the manager of a Midas Muffler auto repair facility will help him in his capacity as board member, if he is elected.
"I’ve trained peers and piloted many programs in the industry. It’s a strength I can bring to the school board," he said.