By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
Five people have filed to seek a three-year term on the Board of Education for the school district that serves Hillsborough and Millstone.
College professor Brett Cooper and college student Thomas J. Zobele are challenging three incumbents seeking re-election. They are Dana C. Boguszewski, Deena Centofanti and Lorraine A. Soisson.
Three seats will be decided in the election Tuesday, Nov. 3, on the same ballot with local, state and county government candidates.
Mr. Cooper is a retired attorney now a fulltime professor in business and sports management at the College of New Rochelle (N.Y.), he said. He’s coached youth baseball, soccer and basketball in town and chaired the Young Authors Day program at the Hillsborough Elementary School, he said.
He said there were things he like to see, like full-day kindergarten and air conditioning in schools, that he thinks he can pursue more effectively as a board member.
Mr. Zobele is a history and political science student at Rutgers University.
“I think my youth is a positive. As a recent graduate (2012) I can provide perspective both as a student and someone who believes in fiscal responsibility and living within our means,” he said. “I’m a frugal individual who understands the need to spend money but to be smart with how you spend it.”
Ms. Centofanti, who is completing her first term, is a nurse manager at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. She said she was excited to be starting a strategic plan initiative, this time from the perspective of a three-year member.
Dr. Soisson, who is also finishing her first three years on the board, is a scientist who runs the malaria vaccine program for the U.S. Agency for International Development.
“Three years just went by so quickly, and it feels like I’m just starting to get into the meat of issues,” she said. “I feel I can contribute positively to educational experience while maintaining a reasonable tax dollar.”
Mr. Boguszewski, a four-year member, is a registered nurse who works in pediatric emergency department at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. She said she wanted to be the voice of the community and the voice of students, and liked listening to what people want and feel they need.
