Tinton Falls BOE Candidates Say Budget Challenges Most Pressing Issue

All three candidates running unopposed for seats on the Tinton Falls Board of Education agree that budgetary constraints is the number one issue facing the borough in the future.

Voters will head to the polls on April 27 to elect new board of education members for the district and also vote on the school budget.

The district has two open seats for three-year terms designated for Tinton Falls residents and two candidates are running for those seats, according to Tinton Falls School Business Administrator Tamar Sydney-Gens. Those candidates are the current board president and long-time board member Peter Karavites and Lisa Lucas, who is running for the board for the first time.

An additional open seat on the board is for a one-year unexpired term, and Tinton Falls resident Paul Ford, who was appointed to the board in the fall, is running for that seat.

One open seat on the board is for a three-year term to be filled by a Shrewsbury Township resident, however no official nominating petition was received for that seat.

According to Syndey-Gens, a write-in candidate with the most votes could win the seat at the April elections. If no one is written in, the school district will communicate with the township to see if any residents are interested in filling that seat, Sydney-Gens explained in an e-mail.

Outgoing members are Tinton Falls resident Steven Schertz, who was recently appointed to the Tinton Falls Borough Council, and Tracey Johnson, who is a Shrewsbury Township resident.

Peter Karavites, Tinton Falls, 3-year term

Karavites said that his 15 years of experience on the board and his knowledge and understanding of its history and how certain decisions were made would be an asset for remaining on the board.

The last five years have been challenging, he said, as the district has been faced with budget issues and affected by decisions that have come down from Trenton.

“We have to make sure our children—our number one priority—and the taxpayers, are taken care of,” said Karavites, who has lived in Tinton Falls for 18 years.

He said he is proud that in his tenure as a board member, the district has never had a school budget defeated.

“Taxpayers of our town realize that we have a fiscally conservative board,” Karavites said, and the board’s priorities continue to focus on retaining teachers and programs for the children, while staying under the two percent property tax cap imposed by the Christie administration.

“It’s a tightrope we have to walk,” he said.

Lisa Lucas, Tinton Falls, 3-year term

On the flip side, newcomer Lisa Lucas, who has lived in the borough for 10 years and is a certified public accountant, brings a new perspective to the board. Lucas, who has two children in the school system, is running unopposed and has 25 years experience in accounting, finance and project management, she said in an e-mail.

The most pressing issue facing the school district, according to Lucas, is the continued population growth of the borough and its likely affect on the school system.

“The public education system in the United States is having some difficulties,” said Lucas. “Being a member of the board of education is one way I can get involved and be of service to the children and the community.”

Paul Ford, Tinton Falls, 1-Year Term

The third candidate, Paul Ford, was appointed to the board in September of 2010 to fill a vacancy. Prior to the appointment, Ford had previously served on the school board for six years, as both president and vice president, and as finance chair for four years.

Ford also has a host of community service positions on his resume: He has served as a member of the Tinton Falls Borough Council for four years; a member of the Falcon Football Parent Club; the Executive Administrator of the Mid-Monmouth Traveling Boys and Girls Basketball League; and numerous community activities.

Ford has lived in Tinton Falls for 21 years and said that serving on the school board is his way of giving back to the community. His two children, one in college and one a senior at Monmouth Regional High School, worked their way through the Tinton Falls school district.

The most pressing issue facing the district, said Ford, is funding and creating a school system as “efficient and effective” as possible.

Ford said that the Tinton Falls school district has an excellent budget, but “even if the community wanted to spend more money, you couldn’t because of the 2-percent cap.”

According to Ford, “What’s most important is that the children have the best possible environment for learning and to make sure we have an efficient and effective education with the tax dollars we are able to secure.”

In addition to budgetary constraints, Ford said ensuring stability in the school administration in the district is important with the impending departure of two building principals.

Atchison’s Principal Mary Polese will retire at the end of the school year, and Tinton Falls Middle School’s Principal David Hollman will leave to become the superintendent of the Belmar School District in May.