Frank Raia Drops Out of School Board Election

Hoboken native Frank "Pupie" Raia withdrew himself from the Board of Education election. He announced his withdrawal—which became public around 7 p.m. on Tuesday—in a letter to Board of Education Secretary David Anthony.

Raia said he is withdrawing because of a conflict of interest. Raia serves on the board of HoLa, a Spanish immersion charter school, which is set to open in September.

"I submitted my petition to run for the Hoboken Board of Education, thinking that, if elected, I could abstain on matters directly related to the HoLa Charter School," Raia wrote in the letter, which was dated March 29. "Since that time, I have learned that I am prohibited from sitting on both Boards simultaneously."

Raia said in a quick phone interview on Tuesday night that he checked with New Jersey Education Commissioner Bret Schundler as well as the ethics committee—both told him he can't be on two boards.

"I wish I could be on two, but I can't," Raia said. But, he added, he's committed to making HoLa a success. "Once I start something, I like to finish it. I don't like to give people my word and walk away from it."

Hoboken parents Kyelia Colon and Ken Howitt, who are involved in the theater arts program at Hoboken High School, ran on Raia's slate. Now it's just the two of them.

Raia announced that he will be campaigning for Howitt and Colon. "(They) share with me a desire to build on what is already good in public schools and make it better," Raia wrote.

Howitt commended Raia for his decision to withdraw at this moment in the race, avoiding the potential of having to step down from the board, or create any instability on the Board or in the district's schools.

"The last thing we need in this town is more instability," Howitt said. "I think Frank made a very courageous decision."

HoLa, a charter school, receives funding from the Hoboken Board of Education. Although charter schools are public, they create their own curriculum and follow the guidelines of their individual charters. A charter school's director and board run the school, and serve as a miniature school district. The Hoboken Board of Education divides state funding for charter schools over the different charter schools in town. 

Raia unsuccesfully ran for mayor last year. According to the bio on his campaign Web site he has been a commissioner for the North Hudson Sewage Authority for 21 years.

Gov. Chris Christie announced earlier this month that he will be cutting $800 million in education aid in the 2011 budget. This means Hoboken loses more than $2.3 million. Despite the cuts, Christie announced his support for charter schools earlier this month.

HoLa is set to open in September for kindergarten through second grade. The school held its first lottery and will be holding a second one early next month. The Spanish immersion school is supposed to add a grade per year, until it reaches fifth grade.