FREEHOLD – Margaret Rogers, Bruce Patrick and Joseph Santonacita have won three-year terms on the Freehold Borough K-8 School District Board of Education.
Rogers and Patrick are members of the board; Santonacita is a newcomer who will join the panel in January.
When the results were tallied on Nov. 7, Rogers retained her seat by receiving 922 votes, Patrick retained his seat by receiving 907 votes and Santonacita won a seat by receiving 717 votes, according to results posted online by the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office.
Candidate Daniel Megill received 593 votes, according to the clerk’s office.
The results are unofficial until they are certified by the county.
Rogers has lived in Freehold Borough for nearly 25 years and joined the board in 2013. She said she sought re-election to continue her work with district administrators and fellow board members in assisting students.
“Our children need to be given the same opportunities that are available in the towns around us,” Rogers said. “I want to continue to work with (Superintendent of Schools Rocco Tomazic) and the rest of the board to ensure our children get the thorough and efficient education they deserve.”
During her next three years on the board, 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.
Patrick has lived in Freehold Borough for 24 years and joined the board in 2011. He said he sought re-election to help pursue additional state aid that district administrators say is owed.
“These funds are critical to providing our students with the thorough and efficient education called for in the state Constitution, to hire teachers for the additional classrooms currently under construction and to halt the rise in local school taxes due to flat (state) funding,” Patrick said.
During his next three years on the board, 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.
Santonacita has been a resident of Freehold Borough for 10 years. He was running for a seat on the board for the first time. Santonacita, who is a teacher at Colts Neck High School, said three areas on which he will focus are funding, teacher retention and recruitment, and educational programs that enhance the community.
