School Election Guides; Saddle Brook

By Giovanna Fabiano

AT STAKE

Three three-year terms and a $26 million budget.

CANDIDATES FOR THREE-YEAR TERMS

Robert Naegely,* of Miller Street, seeking third term, chief engineer for Vornado Realty Trust in New York City, assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 213 in Saddle Brook.

James Mazzer,* of Midland Avenue, seeking third term, building inspector, member of the board’s building and grounds committee.

Patricia Calderone, of Herbert Terrace, part-time personal banker with Bank of America in Allendale, a member of Long Memorial Parent- Teacher Association, a substitute teacher in the district, Girl Scout leader.

Richard Garcia, of Hickory Avenue, a commercial banker at Lakeland Bank in Teaneck, board member of the Bergen Community College Foundation, member of the board of trustees of the Hispanic Business Council Scholarship Foundation, chairman of the Foundation for Free Enterprise, appointed by Governor Corzine to the New Jersey Higher Education Assistance Authority.

Rosann Greff, of Hickey Terrace, homemaker, president of Parent- Teacher Association Council of Saddle Brook, Parent-Teacher Association president at Franklin School and past-Franklin School PTA treasurer.

Keith Rosso, of Oak Avenue, a Saddle Brook High School senior. He attends classes at Bergen Community College as part of a school program, an Edward J. Bloustein scholar and Student Council liaison to the Saddle Brook Board of Education.

Richard Kaluzinski, could not be reached.

Andrew Perrone, could not be reached.

THE ISSUES

Budget: If reelected, Naegely and Mazzer say they would continue to work to pass the school budget. This year’s budget would give the district the funds to hire three new teachers and implement a program that would expose middle school students to physics and advanced mathematics classes. Naegely said he was proud of his last two terms on the board. "We’ve had a $22 million expansion, a major upgrade a couple years ago, and the town has shown that it supports the school system," Naegely said. "It’s a challenge to try to control costs and find other ways to supplement the schools and do our best for our kids." Calderone and Garcia added that passing the budget is imperative so that the district does not lose key programs, such as an interscholastic program in the middle school and expanding Spanish.

Higher scores: Rosso and Garcia said they would work to raise PSAT and SAT scores, which are currently below state average. Rosso said he would create more opportunities for students to attend four- year colleges, such as implementing a mentoring program for freshmen and emphasizing writing as a life skill. "I would like to see the bar raised in the district. It’s not going to happen overnight, but we have to raise the standards," Garcia said.

Class sizes: Greff and Garcia said they would work to reduce class sizes in the district and the student-teacher ratio. "With the district’s large enrollment, we have so many children in classes where students aren’t getting the attention they need because of the large class sizes," Greff said, adding that she would also work to increase communication between parents and board members.

Giovanna Fabiano

SADDLE BROOK School Budget At A Glance

, 2006-07, 2007-08, % change

Budget: , $25,023,081, $26,076,018, 4.2

Tax evy: , $22,520,000, $23,412,004, 3.96

School tax rate per, , ,

$100 assessed value: , $1.875, $1.939, 3.41

Average school tax bill* , $3,375, $3,490, 3.41

*For a home assessed at $180,000, the municipality’s average.

(c) 2007 Record, The; Bergen County, N.J.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.