West Essex Regional Board of Education Election Too Close to Call – TAPinto.net
NORTH CALDWELL, NJ — According to the unofficial election results provided by the Essex County Clerk’s Office, Deborah Sacco-Calderone, representing the Borough of Roseland on the West Essex Regional Board of Education, will retain her seat and continue to serve for a three-year term.
The unofficial results determined that Sacco-Calderone pulled ahead of challenger Neal Goldstein with nearly 58.15 percent of the vote, or a total 592 votes. Goldstein tallied a total of 426 votes (or 41.85 percent) in comparison.
Sacco-Calderone is a product of Roseland and West Essex Regional schools with more than 40 years of professional experience in public education. The Seton Hall University and Kean University graduate is a retired speech/language therapist and currently works as a speech/language consultant.
She and her husband of 36 years, Michael, have two daughters who also went through Roseland Public Schools and graduated from West Essex High School. Both are now college graduates and are working in New York City. Sacco-Calderone’s family currently resides in the Roseland home that her parents purchased in 1955. Click HERE to learn more about Sacco-Calderone.
“I am honored to have been re-elected by the residents of Roseland to represent them on the West Essex Board of Education,” said Sacco-Calderone. “I appreciate their confidence in me to continue to support the students and administration of the school. I would like to thank all who came out to vote in support of the education for our children.”
Fellow incumbent Frank Perrotti, also representing Roseland, ran unopposed in this election to complete a one-year unexpired term. Perrotti, a Roseland resident since 1977 and current member the Roseland Board of Adjustments in addition to serving on the school board, is married to Jean Perrotti, who was elected to serve on the Roseland Borough Council on Tuesday night.
Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology, he took a job with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) and remained there for 32 years. He currently serves as Director of Regulatory and Compliance at Marathon Energy.
His two sons were both educated through the West Essex Regional Public Schools district.
“I feel having my sons develop through the West Essex educational system has tremendously helped them both work towards achieving their education and athletic goals in life,” said Perrotti. “As a parent and a current board member, I want to make sure that policies are in place that allow the same values and education that my sons’ experienced in the West Essex School district to continue for the benefit of existing students and future students.”
Still in a very tight race are four candidates who seek to fill the two open seats to represent North Caldwell on the regional board.
Vying for the two seats on the West Essex Regional Board of Education, representing North Caldwell, challengers Jill Marcus and Jann Skelton received 119 votes (30.36 percent) and 103 votes (26.28 percent), respectively, as of midnight on Tuesday. Incumbents Judith Amorim-Dias and Anthony Prinzo tallied 88 votes (22.45 percent) and 82 votes (20.92 percent) in comparison.
According to the Essex County Clerk’s Office, only 320 of the 698 mail-in ballots that were sent to North Caldwell residents had been returned to the county by the time of publication. Until the county discloses the responses to the mail-in ballots, the election is considered too close to call.
About the candidates representing North Caldwell:
Amorim Dias is a current student at Caldwell University’s New Jersey Teacher Certification Program and in pursuit of master’s degree in special education. She is also a graduate of the Clifton Public School District and Montclair State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree is jurisprudence and political science. She is a current North Caldwell resident with five years of experience as a teacher.
Her son, Elias, and daughter, Hannah, attended Grandview and Gould Schools in North Caldwell and went to West Essex Middle School. Hannah is currently a freshman at West Essex High School, and Elias is currently a freshman at the University of Alabama after graduating from West Essex in June.
Prinzo, an 18-year resident of North Caldwell, is a graduate of Bogota High School and Montclair State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting, works professionally as a forensic accountant, business valuator and mediator. His wife, Kathleen, has been a research scientist for 20 years and a biology teacher for 10 years, currently teaching at Union County Vo-Tech for Allied Health. Their children, Anthony and Jessica, graduated from West Essex High School in 2014 and 2018, respectively.
Skelton, a 13-year resident of North Caldwell, is a pharmacist and president of Silver Pennies Consulting, Inc. Skelton a former board member of the North Caldwell Board of Education currently has a 9th grader and a 12th grader attending West Essex High School
Marcus, a resident of North Caldwell for nearly four years, currently works professionally as a Yoga instructor. She and her husband, Jeff, have three children: Priya (7th grade), Axl (5th grade) and Declan (2nd grade). She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from American University and an MBA in Strategic Marketing from Northeastern University.