Let's Not Forget, There Are School Board Elections On Tuesday Also

As most of you know by now, Tuesday is Election Day and along with voting for who you'd like to be the next Governor of NJ or who will represent Middletown on its Township Committee, we will also be voting for 3 people to serve on the Middletown Board of Education(BOE). It's important that voters educate themselves about the ten individuals who are seeking seats on the BOE this year. Of the 10 people running this year 3 are incumbents and it's questionable in my mind as to whether or not they should be reelected.

Back on October 23rd, I attended the "Meet the BOE Candidates" night sponsored by the Harmony School PTO. I've been meaning to post about it since but was waiting to until after the second candidate night that I had heard was coming up but didn't know the date. As it turns out the second candidates night was held over in Lincroft last week and I missed it, oh well.

That being said, its been nearly two weeks since I attended that candidates night at Harmony School so a lot isn't fresh in my mind as to what was discussed, however, Middletown Patch posted a column on the night a couple of days later. The one flaw that I have with the article though is that it dwelt on a very small portion of the meeting, which was whether or not the school board should have given Middletown Superintendent of Schools, Dr. William George, merit pay. The night's event touched on much more than just Dr. George's pay, people were interested in a number of different issues ranging from redistricting and class size to properly preparing our kids for the future and turf fields. Nevertheless, I recommend you read it and the comments that follow the article to see what people where saying afterwards about the night and the candidates.

Another good source on this year's BOE election is this weeks article in the Independent, "Board of Education candidates focus on taxes, curriculum" . The Independent sent a couple of questions to the candidates via email and posted the responses from 9 of the 10 candidates ( Bob Banta being the only candidate not to respond).

Finally, another source for information (opinion) on the Middletown Board of Education and this week's election is the Middletown Reader Forum on NJ.com. Read the posts dated from October 20th through today. The comments are impassioned and enlightening in both  positive and negative aspects of the BOE and those seeking election this year.

Before anyone asks, if you are wondering who will be the 3 people I'll be voting for the BOE this year, I'll tell you right now, I'm not telling.

I'm not telling, not because I'm worried who will know who I'm voting for and support and therefore endorse. I'm not telling simply because I'm not sure yet who I'll be voting for. There are pros and cons with each candidate that I still need to weigh.

However, I can tell you who I will not be voting for and why. I will not be voting for Chris Aveta or John Bennet.

Aveta is more worried about cutting costs in order to  establish some "street cred:" with district taxpayer for a future run for Township Committee, than he is with the welfare of the districts school kids. John Bennet is  barely out of high school,  lives home with his parents and has never paid 1 nickel in property taxes in his life. Hell, he probably spends more time playing his XBox or PS4 than he does working or going to school himself. How can you possibly have a "kid" like Bennet making important decisions that involve the future of our children.

Also, Aveta and Bennet have each failed to properly support Superintendent George and his personal decisions. Aveta and Bennet were 2 of the group of 5,  that voted against Dr. George's recommendation to hire school principal, Eric Paulson permanently at Harmony School. It took an overwhelming. outpouring of public support from members of the Harmony School community, teachers and colleagues to make them change their mind and re-vote in Paulson's favor.

So remember, Tuesday you'll also be voting for members to represent the community on the Middletown Board of Education. Take the time to learn about the candidates and the issues (as you should with all candidates seeking office) before pulling the leaver on Tuesday. For the kids sake, Middletown's  children deserve an informed decision.

Middletown School Board Candidates' Forums: Meet The Candidates for the Upcoming April 20th BOE Election

For interested residents who wish to make an informed decision about who to vote for in the upcoming school board elections the Middletown Board of Education will be holding a series of Candidate Forums starting tonight. These forums will be sponsored by various township organizations and are a good opportunity to meet and hear from the candidates that will be seeking election onto the Middletown Board of Education.

Those seeking election on to the School Board are:

Dawn Diorio
Leonora Caminiti
Gerald Wexelberg

Patricia Walsh

Michael Mascone
Chris Aveta
Vincent Brand

And will be sponsored by and take place at:

Organization: Lincroft PTA
Place: Lincroft Elementary School – All Purpose Room
Date: Wednesday, April 7
Time: 7:30 p.m

Organization: Middletown Republican Club
Place: Lincroft Inn
Date: Wednesday, April 14
Time: 7:00 p.m.

Organization: Middletown Mornings
Place: To be determined
Date: Friday, April 16
Time: 9:30 a.m.



An FYI for those that think partisen party politics should have no place in the education of our children should note that the ticket of Mascone, Aveta and Brand seems to have been put together by Mayor Scharfenberger and Deputy Mayor Fiore in an apparent effort to have more control over the school board.

All three candidates have ties to the Middeltown Soccer League and Deputy Mayor Fiore. The Middletown Soccer League supported the Mayor and Deputy Mayor's efforts to have a sports complex built at West Front Street Park in Lincroft and now tht the plans for new turf fields in town have fallen through, all three have a vested interest in seeing that the artifical turf fields at both Middeltown High Schools are opened for the personal use of Middletown Soccer.

Deputy Mayor Fiore's signature can be seen on both the Brand and Aveta petitions

Do Mascone, Aveta and Brand have the best interests of the students in Middletown at heart or are they more interested in partisen politics and seeing their best interests are taken care of first? That is a question that should be asked of them during these Candidate Forums.