My name is Ellen Simon and I chaired Parents for Progress, a 15-member group formed in the fall for the express purpose of finding qualified school board candidates. The majority of the people who served on our volunteer committee are parents with children in the public schools. They were chosen because they'd put in, collectively, hundreds of hours of work during the last two school board elections. That's how I got involved, too. I campaigned for Sterling and Carol when my son was an infant, than volunteered last year for Marvin, Carol Harrison-Arnold and Sue.

The complete committee:

Tia Biasi
Elvin Dominici
Evette Gaetan
Kirsten Green
Stephanie Daniels
Frank Falcicchio
Jeff Kaplowitz
Lashambi Moore
Felicia Noth
Ellen Simon
Ryan Strother
Leda Duif Shumbris
Joel Torres
Esmeralda Trinidad
Hector Velazquez


Councilman Steven Fulop helped organize the group, then he stepped away completely and turned it over to me. He did not attend our meetings and he had no voice in whom we ultimately endorsed. In fact, he had run candidates against Vidya last year (with Felicia Noth, who served on our committee this year, managing her campaign), he had met Marilyn only once and he'd never met or spoken with Sangeeta.

Before we looked for candidates, we spoke with parents, the teacher's union president, and activists around the city about the qualities they were looking for in new BOE members. Some of the qualities that came up most frequently: Parents with children in the system, financial expertise and an ability to work well with others.

We then asked prospective candidates to fill in a detailed questionnaire. All our members read the responses, then voted on the people we would like to interview. After the interviews, we voted for three candidates, using the list of qualities as a guide. There was wide agreement among the 15 of us that the three candidates we endorsed are eminently qualified and will, if elected, be an excellent addition to the BOE.

Hello Everyone:

My name is Marilyn Roman and this April 17th I am running for a seat on the Jersey City Board of Education. I was born and raised in Jersey City and attended the public school system from kindergarten through grade 12. Jersey City was once a place where a child could be safe in school and could get a first class education, but I?m afraid that is very often no longer true. While I?ve had a great deal of experience in public affairs, having served as a Hudson County freeholder, City Council president and at a very difficult time in our history, the interim mayor of Jersey City, if you ask me who I am, I will tell you I am a teacher. I have been a successful educator for over 40 years, with most of that time spent in the Jersey City public schools. I believe my experience will enable me to help our students gain the kind of education that will help them to compete in the world and to create a district that will make us all proud. I hope you will come out on April 17th to vote for me and my running mates, Sangeeta Ranade, and Vidia Gangadin. I would be happy to answer any of your questions about educational issues or about me. Thanks!

Hello my name is Vidya Gangadin, I have lived in Ward A of Jersey City for the past 20 years. I am pleased to have been selected by a group of parents and community members to be a candidate in this upcoming election.

My experience as a parent leader with four children in Jersey City Public Schools gives me a unique perspective on what is and is not working in our schools. I serve the parents and students at Academy 1 Middle School as the Vice President of our Parent Teacher Organization. I am a member of the PTA at PS38. I plan and set goals with my principal and lead teachers on Academy 1?s School Leadership Committee. I advocate for our schools as a member of the Citywide Parent Advisory Council. And I collaborate with parent leaders across Jersey City?s 39 public schools as a leading member of the Jersey City Coalition of Parent Teacher Organizations.

One key area I would like to focus on is our district?s budget. Our district is rich, with a budget of over $630 million, yet we have unchecked spending, waste and inefficiencies. As an operations manager and financial analyst at a private brokerage firm, I analyze my company?s budget, implement checks and balances, and cut costs. I will use this experience to ensure that our dollars are getting to the students and the classrooms.

I look forward to answering your questions in the weeks ahead. I know that working together we can make Jersey City Public Schools a shining example of a successful urban school district.

Three Candidates Have Steve Fulop?s Endorsement in April Board of Education Elections

By Chris Neidenberg ? Mar 12th, 2012

This year?s Board of Education contest will see eight candidates vying for three three-year seats in a field devoid of incumbents. It will also involve a new organization looking to flex its muscle with Ward E Councilman Steven Fulop in endorsing three candidates.

Running in the April 17 contest, in order of ballot position, are: Gerald M. Lyons, Vidya Gangadin, De Jon Morris, former mayor Marilyn Roman, Sangeeta Ranade, Amanda Khan, Jayson H. Burg and Frank Lorenzo.

Four-term incumbent William DeRosa, who served nine years as school board president before he was replaced last year, declined to seek re-election, as did one-term incumbent Patricia Sebron. Sean Connors resigned in January upon joining the state assembly and was not replaced.

Burg, Gangadin and Khan ran last year, and Lyons ran in 2010. Gangadin, Ranade and Roman have been endorsed by Parents for Progress (PFP), a new committee Fulop says he approached about joining forces this year. Fulop is an announced 2013 mayoral candidate expected to challenge Mayor Jerramiah Healy. Gangadin and Ranade have children enrolled in the school system.

The last six candidates gaining Fulop?s support have won. Those results provided the board the five-member majority needed in forcing the retirement of longtime superintendent Charles Epps last December. It was a move Fulop viewed as essential to ultimately bringing positive changes to the school system over the long term.

Epps? retirement triggered an ongoing nationwide search to find a permanent replacement. This year?s eventual winners will have a key stake in that process, as they will get to vote for Epps? successor. Coincidentally, two of Epps? most vociferous supporters, DeRosa and Sebron, opted not to run again.

Fulop tells JCI his efforts in this year?s election differ substantially from the prior two, by deciding to embrace the new group?s candidates rather than using his own political organization.

He says PFP is a grassroots organization ?developed by and for parents? with an eye towards remaining a force in the district well into the future.

He cites two key differences to the prior endorsement process: the use of a 15-member independent selection committee which was more parent-intensive, and his not meeting any of the candidates until after PFP selected the three finalists.

?Most importantly, my desire is to see the development of a strong parental committee which will stay focused on bringing important changes to the school district for the long haul, regardless of whether I win or lose the mayoral election,? Fulop explains. ?And the organization includes members who previously supported other school board candidates I didn?t endorse.?

?This new organization is much bigger than any one elected official or political entity,? Fulop adds. ?And I am very happy to be working on behalf of the three highly qualified and dedicated candidates it chooses to support.?

While he has come under fire by some of his critics for heavily involving himself in public education policy, Fulop says, ?The city?s future is tied to the success of our public school system, since it can positively impact on areas including deterring crime and creating job opportunities.?

The joining of Roman and Fulop marks a partnership of two city officials past and present, though Fulop notes the two never personally met until after Roman earned PFP?s endorsement.

Roman, a retired educator and former longtime school district employee, served as acting mayor for six months in 1992. That year, as city council president, she moved into the chief executive?s position on an interim basis after the resignation of Gerald McCann upon his conviction on federal fraud charges. She became Jersey City?s first female mayor.

?The fact that I served previously as mayor is not the reason I am running for the school board this year,? Roman says. ?I want to be of service because our schools are failing and in need of reform. I?ve been in education for 40 years, including 20 years where I served as a supervisor, so I?m well-prepared to serve.

?And I am happy to be working with an excellent group of people (PFP), including many parents very devoted to making our schools better.?

Roman, who has been retired for about a year, notes that she served as director of the district?s Education-Business Alliance for about six years, requiring her to seek joint partnerships between the school system and Jersey City?s business community

Gangadin is active in the district?s Coalition of Parent Teacher Organizations, speaking on its behalf at some board meetings related to the superintendnet?s search, and is vice president of the Academy 1 Middle School PTA.

Ellen Simon, PFP chairwoman, says that while her group is made up primarily of parents, it is advised by one professional educator. She adds it is also helped by ?several community activists,? who, while not parents, share her organization?s primary objectives for improving the school system.

?Our initial goal was forming a committee devoted to finding three highly qualified candidates who we feel will serve as good stewards for our schools,? Simon points out. ?We look forward to continuing in that role in future years, and are in the early stages of forming a political action committee.?

And while that committee will have ?political? in its title, Simon says it will be devoted solely to furthering the interests of schoolchildren served by the district ? by supporting candidates it feels best represent such interests, while also partnering with concerned educators and others wishing to make the schools a better place.

Burg, a retired school librarian with 28 years of service in the Newark public schools, expressed disappointment in Fulop?s and the PFP?s decision not to have all candidates personally interviewed by the committee before endorsing candidates.

He says the initial field of aspirants was whittled down significantly once the PFP?s decisions were reached.

On his Facebook page, he posts, ?It?s a shame that ?Steven Fulop?s Selection for Board of Education Committee? did not practice true democracy and equality to interview all 15 candidates who spent hours answering the committee?s questions. Jayson Burg was one of the eight not given an interview.?

Fulop says he had no role in how the PFP committee opted to make its decisions. But Burg wasn?t buying it.

?The screening committee has Councilman Fulop?s stamp all over it,? Burg claims. ?It would have been nice to have their support, and while not having it will make the task much more difficult, I will work very hard in again stating my case to the community.?

Though he did not win last year, Burg describes himself as ?a pathfinder? whose activism in regularly attending board and council meetings has helped bring about changes. He took credit for helping encourage the city to establish an environmental commission, as well as encouraging the school board to promote ?green schools? in taking measures to promote energy efficiency while saving tax dollars.

Burg insists that he would have better accepted the PFP?s committee?s final decision, if only he had an opportunity, with some others, to appear personally before it.

?If you?re going to have a screening committee, I think it?s only fair to ask the committee to personally screen all interested candidates by interviewing us,? he says.

Simon says she would not respond personally to any rejected candidate, but explains, ?The screening process we employed involved initially evaluating written applications, so not every candidate was personally interviewed.?

Spokespersons for the Jersey City Education Association (JCEA) and Healy could not be reached for comment on potential school board endorsements. Healy endorsed three candidates last year, and only senior incumbent Suzanne Mack won. Fulop, who directly teamed with the JCEA last year, described this year?s effort as ?independent? of any endorsements the teachers? union might make.

http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... d-of-education-elections/

Post on behalf of Sangeeta Ranade: I am
running for the Jersey City Board of
Education!

This election is so important
because this Board will select our new
superintendent who along with our
progressive board members, will manage an
over $630,000,000 school budget. How this
budget is managed affects the lives of
thousands of students education, jobs, and
Jersey City property taxes.

I have two young girls that will grow up in
the Jersey City public school system. My
oldest daughter is at PS3 where I am the
Vice President of the Parent Teacher
Association and an adviser to the Dual
Language Committee.

As a parent, I understand the frustration
and anxiety that other parents feel about
our public school system. As a Board
member, I want to be their voice. My aim
is to represent the interests of parents.

I would love to field your questions and
find out more about your concerns and how
we can improve the Jersey City public
school system for our children and young
adults.

As a reminder- this is the last week to
register to vote for the April 17 election
so it's not too late to get involved!

We are the Parents for Progress slate of candidates for the Jersey City Board of Education.

We have been endorsed by Councilman Steven Fulop.

Please feel free to ask us any questions here, or to visit our Facebook page. Help us continue the efforts to reform our schools and build a better future for Jersey City.

We will post here from time to time to respond to any questions or suggestions and to notify JC List readers of upcoming events

P.S. If you support us, please "like" our Facebook page. It helps keep us visible. Thanks.




Parents for Progress

Sangeeta Ranade, Vidya Gangadin, Maryilan Roman

Candidates for Board of Education

http://www.facebook.com/Jersey.City.Board.of.Education?sk=wall