Saddle Brook BOE: Six Vie For Three Seats

SADDLE BROOK, NJ - In Saddle Brook, six candidates will vie for three open school board seats on Nov. 5.

Incumbents Michael Accomando, Angela Robinson and Victoria Torbic will be challenged by Hayley Traverso, Vincent Laurentino and Oleg Kaplun on Election Day.

Each candidate was asked to fill out a profile in advance of Election Day for publication. See below for their answers.

Michael Accomando

• Age: 47
• Years In Town: 12 years
• Occupation: Retired Lodi School District custodian
• Public Offices Held: Has served on Saddle Brook BOE for the past six years.
• Family: Married to wife, Liz, with two children, Michael and Ava, who are both enrolled in township schools
• Community Activities: former Little League coach/manager, former flag football coordinator/coach and basketball coach. Unico member and volunteer.
• Why Are You Running: I'm running for Re-election on November 5th in column #1 because I absolutely enjoy being part of the Board because I have a vested interest. Not only my Children but my two Nephews and all the students in Saddle Brook. I want to continue to be the Voice of the People who vote for me and have trust and faith that I will continue to do what's best for our community.

Angela Robinson

• Age: Not provided
• Years in town: 28 years
• Occupation: Learning disabilities teacher-consultant and serves on a child study team. Has also worked as a general education and special education teacher.
• Public offices held: Saddle Brook BOE trustee
• Family: Married to Jim for 28 years with two sons, ages 28 and 25, that graduated from the district.
• Community activities: Former PTA president, actively involved with the Saddle Brook Educational Foundation.
• Why are you running: I am running because I believe in the Saddle Brook Community and feel that we need consistency in our administration and educators. We have been going through a lot of turnover and have not been able to maintain any long-term vision for our school system. We currently have strong administration in place and, although it may take time to see improvement, I want to be part of the progress in our district. I truly believe that Saddle Brook can be greater than it is and that our superintendent with our administration and staff can facilitate this change. I am passionate about education and believe that our children deserve the best we can give them. With good, sound administration, dedicated staff and supportive board of education, Saddle Brook can only move forward.

Victoria Torbic

• Age: 47
• Years in town: 19
• Occupation: Guidance Counselor
• Public offices held: Current Trustee of SB Board of Ed.
• Family: Married 21 years to Eric, with one 16-year-old daughter, Ashley, who is a junior at Saddle Brook high school.
• Community activities: Girl Scout Leader, Treasurer of the SB MS/HS Music Assoc.
• Why are you running: To help the students of Saddle Brook succeed!

Hayley Traverso

• Age: 53
• Years in town: 27
• Occupation: Retired, now a full-time substitute teacher
• Public offices held:
• Family: Married with five children and one grandchild. Currently has a 12-year-old who is a 7thgrader at the middle school and a granddaughter enrolled in Kindergarten at Long Memorial School.
• Community activities: Past coach for Softball, Little League Baseball and currently Kinder-kicks Soccer. Two decades of involvement in the local level through PTA and two years on the County PTA.
• Why are you running: All about guiding our students into the future. Standing for honesty, integrity and the willingness to confirm to the standards of the Saddle Brook community's educational system, both academically and emotionally, while keeping the children of our community safe. Additionally, the Saddle Brook District is slowly moving off the map. We need to show and prove that the district is not just about test scores, but about the health, knowledge and abilities of our students. We produce good and top students, but that isn't acknowledged enough. We have students that struggle, but succeed with appropriate efforts and support. I intend to work hard and push the district in it's entirety to work for our students and not for any other gain.

Oleg Kaplun

• Age: 42
• Years in town: 14
• Occupation: Accountant, CPA
• Previous public offices held: None
• Family: Married with three children, ages 10, 8 and 2 that are enrolled in district schools.
• Community activities: Track team coach in Saddle Brook
• Why are you running: To improve quality of education in Saddle Brook, control spending, improve working/learning conditions for teachers and students. Improve transparency of board of education Last summer, the board of education decided to outsource after care program despite of all parents expressing their wish to keep existing program in the town. I am still not clear why did board of education did it.

Vincent Laurentino

• Age: 51
• Years in town: 51 years
• Occupation: Retired Captain of the Saddle Brook Police Department, currently owns/operates Laurentino Security Services, which installs, maintains and services ATM machines in Bergen and Passaic counties. Also works as a Class III Special Police Officer with Fair Lawn Police and provides security to district schools.
• Public offices held: None
• Family: Married to Susan, with four children, two of whom are currently students at Saddle Brook High School.
• Community activities: Numerous community activities including volunteering as a recreation soccer coach. Also served as president of the Saddle Brook Soccer Recreation Program and Saddle Brook High School Soccer Parents Association
• Why are you running: I believe a strong education is a foundation for everyone. Our district must provide an education where every student can reach their ceiling. We must provide an education where every student is prepared for their next endeavor out of high school, whether it be college or a trade. I believe I can be a part of making Saddle Brook an outstanding school district. My #1 issue is the high turnover in the district. We must stabilize our superintendent position, our directors and principals. We have had 5 superintendents in 8 years. At this time, we have only one tenured principal. These are the people that are to lead our district. We have had such a high turnover that we are lacking a clear vision and direction. This is ultimately causing the education of our student to suffer and the education of our children is the most important thing. We must create a culture where people want to work in the Saddle Brook School district. I believe our BOE must improve their communication with staff, parents and the entire community. Communication is not just reading a letter or putting out an e-mail. We must make sure information that is put out, whether oral, written or in any form is received and understood. There then must be an opportunity for feedback from the staff, parents and community on that information. This is a full cycle of communication that I will provide to our district. I believe my 27.5 years in public service and my lifelong residency in Saddle Brook puts me in a unique position to serve our school district. I have shown that I have the executive management skills, the leadership and team building skills, education, commitment, communication skills and many other assets that can help ensure every student receives the quality education that they deserve.