A WATCHUNG COMMUNICATIONS, INC. PUBLICATION The Westfield Leader and THE TIMES of Scotch Plains – Fanwood Thursday, April 15, 1999 Page A5
CYAN YELLOW MAGENTA BLACK
BOARD OF EDUCATION BIOGRAPHIES
Candidate: Westfield Board of Education.
Professional Background
Westfield Board of Education candidate Arlene L. Gardner is Director of the New Jersey Center for Law-Related Education, a non-profit agency at Seton Hall University aimed at providing professional development in civics and law.
Education
The candidate earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, and a Juris Doctor Degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Family Life
Ms. Gardner, a resident of Carleton Road, has lived in Westfield for the past 14 years. She is married to Edward Israelow, and the couple have two children, who attend Edison Intermediate and Westfield High Schools.
Experience
First elected to the Westfield school board in 1996, Ms. Gardner serves as Chairwoman of the Policies Committee and is a member of the Cur
riculum Committee.
Platform
The candidate supports professional development for teachers, noting that a state mandate goes into
effect this January that will require educators to receive 100 hours of professional training every five years.
The candidate supports accountability measures to ensure that all students learn. Accountability standards, more commonly referred to as bench marks, are evident in the elementary schools now in the Westfield school system for the Language Arts curriculum. She views bench marks as a means of ensuring that all Westfield public school children receive the same level of skills they will need for the future.
On the issue of increased student enrollment, Ms. Gardner believes that a better use of the space at Westfield High School could produce the availability of another four or five classrooms.
Ms. Gardner favors a review and revision of the district's social studies, science and computer technology programs over the next three years.
Candidate: Westfield Board of Education.
Professional Background
Annmarie Puleio is a former administrator in the office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs at William Paterson College in Wayne. She was also an adjunct at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark.
Education
The candidate is an honors program graduate of William Paterson College, with a bachelor's degree in psychology. She attended the college on a full, four-year academic scholarship.
Family Life
The candidate is married to Dr. Joseph S. Sinisi, a Roselle Park dentist. The couple's two children at
tend Wilson Elementary School, where Ms. Puleio served on the Parent-Teacher Association Executive Board. Ms. Puleio and her family are
residents of Kimball Turn.
Platform
As Chairwoman of the board's Long Range Planning Committee, the candidate said she is a strong supporter of the district's Strategic Plan. In this regard, she was also a member of the district's Strategic Planning Council.
The candidate supports finding technology that enhances the teaching process. She also wants to work on solutions to the district's increased enrollment problems.
Arlene Gardner Annmarie Puleio
Candidate: Westfield Board of Education.
Professional Background
Westfield Board of Education candidate Genevieve Weber, of Barchester Way, is employed as a sales planner for Lucent Technologies, and is responsible for the Asia Pacific and China regions of the company's Data Networking Systems.
Education
A product of the Westfield Public School System, Miss Weber graduated from Westfield High School in 1994 and from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Japanese and International Business.
In 1996, she was the recipient of a one-year scholarship from the Japanese Ministry of Education to study at Nanzan University in Nagoya, Japan. Miss Weber also received a 1998 Nambu Foundation summer grant to intern at K. Mikimoto Company Ltd., a well-known pearl com
Genevieve Weber
pany in Tokyo.
Family Life
The Weber family has lived in Westfield for over 27 years. The candidate's brother is a junior at Westfield High School, while her
sister graduated from the high school last June and is now a freshman at Villanova University in Pennsylvania.
Platform
The candidate decided to seek office to give back to the community. Miss Weber is interested in being involved with the board as the district advances its technology curriculum. She hopes to ensure that the district prepares its students for what she described as the "changing global standards that require resources such as technology to be integrated into the curriculum."
She volunteers as a Regional Coordinator for Youth for Understanding (YFU) International Exchange, an organization that sponsors international exchange students in the United States and abroad.
Candidate: Westfield Board of Education.
Professional Background
Westfield Board of Education candidate William T. Wallace is employed as a Vice President with Chapdelaine & Company, a firm which acts as a broker for brokers for the Wall Street community.
Education
The candidate received an undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College in 1976 and his Master of Business Administration Degree in International Finance from Long Island University in 1978.
Family Life
Mr. Wallace and his wife, BethAnn, have two daughters who attend McKinley Elementary School. The candidate was raised in a large
family which included 16 children, and has resided in town for 10 years.
Platform
The candidate is running for the board due to his interest in seeing that those projects approved through an $11.7 million bond referendum approved by voters last December come to fruition.
Mr. Wallace served on the Citizens Advisory Committee on Capital Projects, which supported the bond following a close study of those projects proposed for funding.
The candidate said he comes from a family that stressed the value of a good education. He supports the increased allocation of budget funds for computer technology as well the World Language curriculum.
William T. Wallace Three Candidates Battle
For Two School Board Seats in Mountainside
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School Board Election: Tuesday, April 20, from 2-9 p.m. Election Results on the Internet:
www.goleader.com
By KIMBERLY A. BROADWELL
Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times
As the Board of Education election campaign draws to a close in Mountainside, Borough residents must decide what three candidates will fill the two seats available on the board this spring.
These two seats are currently filled by Patricia Knodel, a 26-year veteran board member, and by John Perrin, a professional architect who was appointed last summer after the resignation of Linda Schneider. Mrs. Schneider had served on the board for 18 years.
Both board incumbents are seeking reelection along with challenger Peter F. Goggi.
Residents will also be asked to vote on the school board's proposed $7.66 million school tax levy which will go towards supporting a total spending plan of $8.8 million. Based on a school tax rate of $1.64, the owner of a home assessed at $155,000, the average in the borough, would pay $2,542 to support the local school system.
As a 36-year resident of Mountainside and a mother of eight children, all of whom graduated from the district's lone
s c h o o l , Deerfield Elementary, Mrs. Knodel stated that her record "reflects initiative, foresight and dedication."
She also noted that her platform is to "provide excellence in education at a price the taxpayers can afford." Mrs. Knodel says to do this the district needs to support excellent teachers and reasonable class size of a maximum 25 students per class.
She added that "these have always been at the top of my priority list."
Mrs. Knodel noted her accomplishments such as proposing the closing of Beechwood Elementary School in 1981 and leasing it to a private school in order to avoid costly updating that would have been required by the state when a school is not used for educational purposes for more than three years.
She stated that she was also instrumental in the 1997 resolution altering the administrative structure and establishing the position of Chief School Administrator. Mrs. Knodel concluded that she advocated de-regionalization and worked with fellow board members and the Borough Council during that process.
Mrs. Knodel noted that she served as chairwoman of the committee to get out the vote and as a member of the negation committee.
She concluded that her platform is based on the "challenges of the new millennium" which include implementing the Strategic Plan and the new core curriculum required by the state, to improve scores of students on state tests, to integrate technology into the curricula and to work cooperatively with Berkeley Heights school officials in their new send-receive relationship for students attending Governor Livingston High School.
As a Mountainside resident for the last 23 years, Mr. Perrin and his wife, Elizabeth, have three children. The oldest daughter, Tess, is in the fifth grade and attends Deerfield while Gwendolyn is a third grader. The youngest, Isabelle, attends pre-school.
Mr. Perrin stated that he started attending Board of Education meetings and becoming a regular voice, as a concerned parent, five years ago during the board's discussion of the new math curriculum.
More recently, Mr. Perrin was one of the 30 community members appointed to
serve on the Strategic Planning Committee. Mr. Perrin stated that the committee's goal was to put together a "published plan" on how the school system would "develop its students to become responsible and independent citizens and provide them with the highest quality education."
Out of this process, Mr. Perrin currently sits on one of the five Action Plan committees, whose job it is to find ways to implement the strategic plan. As a member of the Curriculum Assessment Committee, Mr. Perrin said that the group is focusing on not just meeting the New Jersey Department of Education standards for core content, but to exceed those expectations.
Mr. Perrin says that he is also focusing on how the district is planning to use technology within the school. He indicated that he was happy to see the computer clusters, a group of five networked computers and a printer, were now included in all kindergarten to grade 8 classes at Deerfield.
He concluded that as an Architect and a Professional Planner, he "brings a planning capability to the board when looking at a building (Deerfield) that is currently busting at the seems."
Mr. Goggi is a 10-year resident of the Borough. He and his wife, Carol, have a son who will enter Kindergarten in the fall.
The candidate said he feels that he could help the board with achieving its mission.
Mr. Goggi said that "one of the most important steps the board has taken was to involve all stakeholders in the development of the Strategic Plan. As a participant and believer in this strategic planning process, I will challenge the board to be proactive in implementation of this plan."
The candidate stated that the goals of the plan can be achieved with an "appropriate spending level." He stated that his 20 years of business management and marketing experience with a major corporation as well as his many hours of volunteer work give him "unique" skills to bring to the board.
Mr. Goggi said he wants to "foster the development of the total student" by encouraging academics and extra-curricular activities.
Mr. Groggi states that his primary goal is to "provide the best preparation for its students, which is an educational environment of which every Mountainside resident can be proud of."
No Photograph Available Of John Perrin*
*Incumbent
Patricia Knodel* Peter F. Goggi
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