Six Vying For Three Available Seats On The Berkeley Board Of Education

When Ocean County Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari served as superintendent of schools, he eliminated the position of assistant superintendent for the small school district of four elementary schools.

Fast forward to mid-2012. James D. Roselli is tapped to served as superintendent, taking over for Vicari.

Within a few years, the Board of Education reinstated the assistant superintendent position. The current board also approved a number of other new administrative titles. Roselli now has four principals and four assistant principals, one for each elementary school.

"I know that there are people running for the Board of Education that are giving misinformation that we are creating positions," he said at a Township Council meeting this summer. "They're just changes in titles."

Former H & M Potter principal Jeffrey Zito, who was later made curriculum coordinator, is now the district's assistant superintendent.

"I won't allow him (Zito) to ....be dragged through the mud," Roselli said at the meeting.

The board incumbents - Edward Cammarato, John MacMoyle and Stephen Pellechia - are all seeking new terms on the board. They approved the administrative reorganization and several merit increases for Roselli, in addition to his $155,000 salary.

Cammarato, Butternut Lane, currently serves as board president. He has an associate's degree and a bachelor's degree from Johnson and Wales University. He is a member of the Berkeley Board of Adjustment. and a scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 76.

He is a senior financial analyst and business continuity planner. He is currently a provisional Berkeley Township code enforcement officer.

MacMoyle, Northern Boulevard, is a regional sales manager with PalFleet Truck Equipment. MacMoyle is also a member of the Berkeley Township Board of Adjustment and the township Economic Development Commission.

Pellechia, Costa Mesa Drive, is a retired member of the International brotherhood of Teamsters, Local #560. He is a member of the Berkeley Township Sewerage Authority.

They are being challenged by Michele Shedlock, Maria Lane, Marguerite Penn, Barbados Drive, and Cathy Janiak, Ravenswood Court.

Shedlock has a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a master's degree in administration from Georgian Court University. She is a special education math teacher at Central Regional.

Penn has a bachelor's degree in education from Monmouth University. She is a retired Jersey City school teacher.

Penn said in a Patch letter to the editor that eliminating the "unnecessary elementary school superintendent" would save hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"The far more experienced Central Regional superintendent has offered to do that job for nothing - including no fringe benefits," she wrote.

Janiak has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Georgian Court University and a master's degree from Monmouth University. She was an administrator with Verizon for 27 years and is a corporate trainer, business and residential consultant and management union negotiator.

The challengers are also calling for a reduction in the multi-million Berkeley district's surplus to stabilize the tax burden on residents.

The Berkeley district consists of four elementary schools - H & M Potter, Bayville Elementary School, the Berkeley Township Elementary School and the Clara B. Worth School.

by Patricia A. Miller

Image: Patch file photo.