Residents Chat with Bloomfield BOE Candidates During Meet & Greet
BLOOMFIELD, NJ – Bloomfield Families for Sensible Safety and Bloomfield Association for Superior Education hosted a Meet and Greet with Board of Education Candidates on Thursday evening, October 18 at Park United Methodist Church.
The informal, 90-minute gathering saw the candidates each give a five-minute statement from the podium regarding their educational visions for the board.
Rather than field questions from residents in a public forum, those in attendance were able to mingle one-on-one with candidates and their families after their opening statement.
Candidates spent time to personally answer questions, discuss issues and address concerns from the potential voters.
Ten candidates are running for board positions. The two candidates that filed for the 1-year seat are Bryan Crawley and Benjamin Morse. The eight candidates for the three, 3-year seats include Daniel Anderson, Shane Berger, Michael Heller, Laura Izurieta, Julian Maculian, Jody Polidoro, Ralph Walker and Dick Wolfe.
Here are statement highlights from each of the eight candidates present who spoke during the meet and greet in the order they were selected:
Benjamin Morse: “I’m running because our district needs to improve student achievement and we also have to prepare for a future that will see more students (enrollment in the schools) as the population of our town grows.”
Dick Wolfe: “I want to be open-minded, thoughtful and collaborative when it comes to school security to come to the best decision for our kids. That’s the mindset I will bring to all issues facing our schools A critical issue is attracting and retaining the best teachers possible. Being one of the lowest paid school districts in only part of the problem. In addition to better compensation, we need to empower our teachers to put their talents and creativity to use.”
Julian Maculian: “Security is an important issue for sure. I am opposed to guns in schools and that is the main issue. They are dangerous objects in a school environment. The data I’ve been looking at early on shows a level of risk in bringing guns into the schools.”
Bryan Crawley: “This is my inaugural run for the board of education. I can bring a strong, positive attitude. Bloomfield is a wonderfully diverse town. I want to add to the diversity of the board. Security wise, I think we are doing good.”
Michael Heller: “I am an active parent and participant in the schools for nine years and I am a former board member. If I am returned to the board, I will work so that the long-range facilities plan is updated to guide the district for the next five to ten to fifteen years, in addition to the top 30 projects list.”
Daniel Anderson: “There are several issues I fell are important to our district – safety, project-based learning, student assessments, our teachers and facilities. In terms of safety in our schools, I would like to emphasize that our distinct has been proactive in addressing safety issues for a number of years. We need to continue to reinforce the protocols that are currently in affect.”
Ralph Walker: “This is a big deal. These are big decisions we are all making. I think it’s really critical that we are all talking to each other. There are only eight of us here. There are two other people on the ballot that didn’t show up, and that says something. I believe in public education. I’ve been building schools for almost 20 years. I’m an architect by trade. I’ve worked with districts like ours and I want to work with us, now.”
Jody Polidoro: “I believe I have a skill-set that is needed on the board. I’m a trained mental health and addictions professional and have been working in this field for the past 21 years as both a clinician and currently as an administrator. I’m very active in the community and with my children’s school. I have my finger on the pulse of what’s happening in our schools and with our kids, and I think that’s a really important aspect of being on the board.”
Not present at the meet and greet were Shane Berger and Laura Izurieta, nor were they present at the Bloomfield Home and School Council Forum on October 9.
Election Day in the township is Tuesday, November 6.