FREEHOLD – Four candidates are seeking three available three-year terms on the Freehold Borough K-8 School District Board of Education in the Nov. 7 election.
The terms of board members Bruce Patrick, Margaret Rogers and Jim Keelan will end in December. Keelan is not seeking re-election.
The candidates seeking the three-year terms are Rogers, Patrick, Daniel Megill and Joseph Santonatica.
Megill is a municipal employee who has worked for Freehold Borough for nearly 28 years and will become the director of public works for Lacey Township. A lifelong resident of Freehold Borough, he is currently the second vice president of the Freehold Fire Department and has previously served as chief of the department.
“I am seeking a seat on the board to promote accountability and transparency, and to make sure the students who attend our schools are residents of the borough,” Megill said. “I have worked in municipal government all my life. I understand the budgeting process and every aspect of municipal government.”
If elected, Megill said three areas of focus for him will be students’ residency, redundancy in the number of administrators the district employs and fiscal responsibility.
Patrick is a research scientist at the New York State Institute for Basic Research who studies biomarkers for Down syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease and autism spectrum disorders. He has lived in Freehold Borough for 24 years. He joined the school board in 2011.
“I am seeking re-election in order to continue pursuing the additional $12 million in state funding due the district under the school funding formula,” Patrick said. “These funds are critical to providing our students with the thorough and efficient education called for in the New Jersey State Constitution, to hire teachers for the additional classrooms currently under construction and to halt the rise in local school taxes due to flat funding.
“As a research scientist, I have experience working with a multi-layered organization and pursuing grant funding from the federal government,” he said.
If re-elected, Patrick said three areas of focus for him will be securing additional state funding, supporting the district’s plan to close the student achievement gap and promoting arts education in the district’s schools.
Rogers is a SharePoint business engineer at International Flavors & Fragrances and has lived in Freehold Borough for nearly 25 years. She joined the board in 2013.
“I am proud of the work we have done in the past few years,” Rogers said. “Our children need to be given the same opportunities that are available in the towns around us. I want to continue to work with [Superintendent of Schools] Dr. [Rocco] Tomazic and the rest of the board to ensure our children get the thorough and efficient education they deserve.
“In my profession I have to advocate for my end users, to ensure they get what they need to do their job. These skills easily transfer over to advocating for our children to get the education they deserve,” she said.
If re-elected, Rogers said three areas on which she will focus will be dealing with the under-funding in state aid, lowering the tax burden on property owners and closing the gap among the district’s different ethnic groups on state testing.
Santonacita is a physics teacher at Colts Neck High School, where he has worked and coached for 15 years. He has lived in Freehold Borough for 10 years.
“As a resident of Freehold Borough and the father of two children, one who attends and one who will attend our schools, along with being a public school teacher in a neighboring high school, I believe I am uniquely qualified to consider, understand and represent the needs of our district,” Santonacita said.
“I am invested in the success of our students and the strength of our educational programs. I am seeking a seat on the board to provide a voice of experience and to advocate for the interests of our community.
“As a high school teacher and coach, I see firsthand how the operations of administration ultimately affect the learning environment. I understand how policy and program decisions can dictate how children learn and alter, for better or for worse, the course of an individual’s educational experience,” he said.
“My work on developing a model curriculum at the state level has allowed me a more meaningful understanding of how state goals will influence classroom instruction.
“Serving on curriculum and planning committees in the Freehold Regional High School District has provided a perspective of the interplay between the district goals and their execution. Through these relevant experiences, I see the broader impact of funding and policy decisions as they become reality for our children,” Santonacita said.
If elected, Santonacita said three areas on which he will focus are funding, teacher retention and recruitment, and educational programs that enhance the community.
