Eight vying for three seats on the Readington Board of Education. These are the issues
Eight candidates are running for three seats on the Readington Board of Education.
Only one incumbent, Carolyn Podgorski, has put her hat back in the ring. Board members Thomas Wallace and Eric Zwerling have chosen not to seek another term.
The other candidates are Tiffany Bishop, Michele Mencer, David Nader, Christina Napoli, David Rizza, Justina Ryan and Lisa Santangelo.
The Readington Township School District serves approximately 1,400 students and includes two K-3 buildings − Whitehouse School and Three Bridges School − one 4-5 building − Holland Brook School − and Readington Middle School.
According to Mencer, she, Podgorski and Bishop are running together on a slate because they are "like-minded" and want to have "a positive impact on their school district through their moderate views and their pursuit of creating connection between the school district, teaching staff and community." Mencer and Bishop are first-time candidates.
With a slogan of “Right for Readington,” the three said they "aim to ensure all students are at the center of decision-making, listen to the majority of stakeholders while simultaneously ensure those at the margins are considered when seeking solutions."
Podgorski's children graduated from the district school system while Mencer has two school-aged children and Bishop has one child who just entered elementary school.
A seven-year resident, Bishop said the most important factors for student success are "quality teachers, a quality curriculum, and a supportive and engaging learning environment."
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"I will advocate for hiring qualified teachers, providing additional teacher time for tutoring, having the smallest practical class sizes, and minimizing disruptions on the classroom, the students and their teachers," Bishop said.
On the board since 2019, Podgorski, a 32-year resident, plans to "focus the board’s collective energy and resources to support the mission of Readington Schools to empower members of our community to lead purposeful lives with integrity and to embrace connections in our diverse, global society."
A four-year resident, Mencer has more than 20 years working in the life sciences industry. Mencer wants to "see public education that is equitable and accessible to all students while maintaining parental choice for sensitive curriculum topics."
Together, the three seek a "healthy transition of children post COVID to catch up on lost academic progress and support mental health, assurance that district policies remain current with the evolving social/economic climate − for instance, instead of book banning we support parental choice for opt-outs, safety in schools against the threat of violence and fiscal responsibility," Mencer said.
A substitute teacher in the district, Justina C. Ryan said she feels fortunate to see "what a wonderful district Readington is first-hand." Ryan, her husband and two daughters, both of whom attend district schools, moved to Whitehouse Station eight years ago. She also regularly attends school board meetings.
"I needed to start speaking up if I wanted to see change," said Ryan, who advocated for students to be unmasked and after school activities and sports be reinstated last year. "I knew how important it was for their social and emotional wellbeing. The past couple of years have been challenging and our students and teachers need support as we move towards a post-pandemic year."
Among school-related issues, Ryan said she prioritizes resources for students with a loss of learning due to the pandemic, awareness of the mental health of students, thorough research of curriculum changes and increase in school security.
The biggest challenge Ryan feels the district faces "is the loss of learning due to the COVID shutdown."
"Keeping our children in masks, putting them in Plexiglass boxes, and essentially suspending them from school for contact tracing did our children more harm than good," she said. "As a district we will need to work to implement programs that will focus on academic and social and emotional wellbeing to help our students progress."
Ryan also said she supports many parents who "asked for an opt-in option for the new controversial health curriculum."
Neither Santangelo nor Rizza responded to a request for information or had information readily available. Both Santangelo and Rizza, who reside at the same address, are running together on a slate with the slogan "Accountability. Truth. Transparency."
Nader and Napoli also did not respond to a request for information.
email: cmakin@gannettnj.com
Cheryl Makin is an award-winning features and education reporter for MyCentralJersey.com, part of the USA Today Network. Contact: Cmakin@gannettnj.com or @CherylMakin. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ election: Readington Board of Education race preview
