BOE Candidates Discuss Reasons For Running, Issues During Forum

The Fort Lee Homeowners Association hosted a Board of Education Candidates Night Tuesday at Lewis F. Cole Middle School. The tightly structured forum provided the opportunity for Fort Lee voters to hear from the six candidates running for three seats on the board on a variety of topics, including the budget, two failed referendums and curriculum issues.

Moderated by Alex Floratos of the Homeowners Association, the two-and-a-half hour event started with opening remarks, during which the candidates were limited to three minutes apiece.

First up was first-time candidate Tracy Mattei, who said she’s running for the board for several reasons, not the least of which is working on the curriculum.

“The primary reason is education first,” Mattei said. “To be an effective education system, we need a current, working, modern curriculum. We do not have that in the elementary schools … we need facilities desperately, but let’s focus on what we can update and change right now while we’re working on the answers to the repair jobs and the overcrowding … We need somebody on the Board of Education who knows how to ask curriculum questions. Why do we have a curriculum department if things are not being done?”

Incumbent Michelle Stux-Ramirez, who is running for a third term on the board, said she has two children in the Fort Lee school system and emphasized the board’s accomplishments during her tenure.

“As the years have progressed, I’ve seen more and more positive outcomes,” Stux-Ramirez said. “And I want to continue to be part of that.”

She noted enhancing special education and sustaining “a high level of education” as accomplishments she’s particularly proud of.

“And I feel I don’t want to give it up,” Stux-Ramirez said. “There’s definitely so much more we can do [and] so much more to be done, and I want to be part of it.”

Next up was another first-time candidate, Paul Umrichin, who said, “I believe that in order for the Board of Education function properly, the members have to have faith enough in the curriculum they’re writing to actually send their own children to school here.”

“The problems that are facing the board now are basically this two percent cap that needs to be worked around,” Umrichin said. “And I have the experience working with budget cuts and with recession type money to [work on] that … It seems that we’re at a bottom point at which we can begin to build the district back up.”

Incumbent Peter Suh, who pointed out that he attended School No. 4, the middle school and the high school, talked about “what great teachers we have” in the school system, some of whom he mentioned by name and some of whom taught him. Suh also said that running for the board is “at the end of the day, how to serve the community.”

“It’s about working together as a group to accomplish all the goals,” Suh said. “That includes everyone in this room. Not just board members. Not just administrators. Everybody from parents to teachers, and that’s what makes a board successful. And that’s what I’d like to continue to do as a board member.”

Helen Yoon is also running for a seat on the board for the first time. She began her remarks by saying she “has a vested interest in this community,” noting that she’s a product of School No. 3 and plans to raise a family in Fort Lee one day.

“What recently spurred my interest [in running for the board] was the recently twice-failed referendum,” Yoon said. “It worries me that a long-term facilities maintenance plan for schools still has not been resolved … The referendum was a disaster, and the school board failed us. We really needed this referendum [to pass], and we really needed these long-overdo improvements to our schools and infrastructure.”

Last up in the opening remarks portion of the forum was senior board member—having served for seven years—and lifelong Fort Lee resident Joseph Surace, who said, “I was raised in Fort Lee. I decided to raise my family in Fort Lee. I have my business in Fort Lee.”

“When you sit down in December, you’re still waiting for state numbers,” Surace said of his experience preparing school budgets. “And until you get final numbers, the numbers are going to change. When the final budget comes out is when you have to be concerned … I firmly believe that our future is in our children. Don’t anybody in this room forget that.”

Opening remarks were followed by candidates being given two minutes apiece to respond to what the others had said. That was followed by questions submitted by members of the Homeowners Association. Candidates then answered several questions from members of the audience and were given three minutes each for closing remarks, during which many reiterated what they’d said earlier, added things they may have left out or took the opportunity to drive their messages home.

Editors Note: The truncated opening remarks in this article represent mere highlights of what was discussed at Tuesday’s Candidates Night. Patch will take a closer look and break down each candidate’s position on the issues in a series of articles (and one video) over the next few days.

The entire forum will be televised on cable channel 81 on April 21 and 23 at 8 p.m. Election day is April 27.