Election 2022: Alicia Unusan, Holmdel Board of Education

HOLMDEL, NJ — Alicia Unusan is one of eight candidates seeking three full-term seats on the Holmdel Board of Education in the Nov. 8 general election.

In these profiles, based on questions provided, the candidates give voters background about themselves and their positions on the issues. Patch is publishing individual profiles leading up to the election.

Unusan is part of the Education First slate that includes candidates Mathew Weisfeld and Joanne Lam and, as its name suggests, is advocating for more emphasis on a challenging curriculum in the district. Unusan also is concerned about the environment of the school and such issues as bullying. "Specifically, more needs to be done about the curriculum, budgeting, and bullying that is crippling our educational environment," she says.

Read more from candidate Alicia Unusan:

Name: Alicia Unusan

Age: 46

Town of residence: Holmdel

Position sought: Holmdel Board of Education

Are you an incumbent or have previous school board or civic experience? No

Do you have a campaign designation or slate? Education First

Campaign website: www.holmdeleducationfirst.org

Family: Husband, Eso; and two children, Greyson, 10 and Ellery, 5

Education: B.A., Manhattan College; M.S., University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ

Occupation: Mother and freelancer in corporate voiceovers

Why do you want to run for the school board and what in your experience or background prepares you for election:

I am a mother of two students, one at Indian Hill and one at Village School. I have my master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling and I believe that we need a renewed focus on our children’s emotional and social wellness.

I want my children to know that I did everything to improve the current educational climate. As a class parent, member of the PLG and PSA, as well as a Board appointed member of the PSA, I have encountered a lack of infrastructure, policies, rules, and procedures that are wreaking havoc on the teachers and students and ultimately impacting the education that our students are receiving.

From bullying on the bus and rampant cell phone usage in the classrooms, to a lack of enrichment classes and underdeveloped STEAM programs, our schools have become chaotic and disorganized and the goal of education has become secondary to managing behavioral issues and creating infrastructure.

The former board allowed many supervisory roles to be moved back and forth in a damaging game of musical chairs and allowed a temporary superintendent to play chess with our students for 18 months.

The newly appointed members have shown promise and are poised to improve Holmdel schools for our students. They need more like-minded members who value education over all else to join them in their endeavors. Specifically, more needs to be done about the curriculum, budgeting, and bullying that is crippling our educational environment. Children do not learn if they do not feel safe.

As an individual who has an advanced degree in the sciences, I value the structure and formality of my educational experience and realize the benefits of a positive school culture.

Slates of candidates:

Our slate is Education First. Mat Weisfeld, Joanne Lam, and I are all committed to restoring a cutting-edge STEM/STEAM curriculum that will rival that of the Tech schools, improving fiscal transparency for taxpayers and students alike, and restoring a positive school culture in this post-pandemic society, in order to put education first for our students and their futures.

We believe that a board member should be proficient and experienced in real-world matters in order to vote on them. Each of us brings forth experience and know-how in the current issues facing Holmdel public schools today.

Issues:

Holmdel Elementary school specials like STEM and Language are given once per school cycle, which means students are only receiving them at most three times a month. The curriculum is outdated and not up to current tech standards at rival schools. Some teachers have 600 students per semester. They have admitted to me that they don’t recognize my student and say they are overwhelmed.

Student behavior is at an all-time low with cell phone usage during testing, fights in the bathrooms, defacement of school property, and children feeling isolated and bullied by their peers. The bus ride to and from school has become a battle zone, with students fighting other students as well as the bus drivers. Parents and students no longer feel safe, yet our Board of Education has scored themselves highly on the NJ Anti-bullying Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) annual self-assessment.

With a school budget of over $60 million, students should not be told that we cannot afford to educate them at a certain level nor should we be saying we cannot afford to take measures to keep them safe on their school bus. Yet this is exactly what our administrators are saying. We need to know where our tax dollars are going and assure taxpayers that we will not be raising their taxes due to a deficit in accounting.

What changes or improvements do you see for the district that could enhance educational life and is there a way you might accomplish that?

(1) Renew the focus on a superior academic experience with more STEM/advanced courses, balanced with sports and enrichment programs,

(2) Effectively spend our tax dollars to prevent any unnecessary property tax increases, and

(3) Develop a positive school culture in a safe and healthy environment for our kids and
educators. Some specific examples for item 3 above:

• Assign bus aides on all buses that have reported incidents.
• Promote the current HIB program with HIB reporting encouraged and monitored by increased HIB-certified staff.
• Engage staff and teachers to give them a high level of accountability and power when it comes to negative behaviors and accountability with students.
• A well-developed whole-child approach starting with staff development that will trickle down to the students and address their social and emotional needs.
• Social media guidelines for classrooms with a disciplinary program that encourages positive behavior.
• Big Brother and Big Sister programs for first-year students at each school.
• Peer Mentorship programs for students struggling in academics

Candidates for Holmdel Township Board of Education:

Full Term - Vote for Three

• Deborah Wilson, School Community Advocacy
• Elizabeth Urbanski
• Chris DiMare, Save Holmdel Schools
• Jeff D. Mann, Save Holmdel Schools
• John Buckley, Save Holmdel Schools
• Joanne Lam, Education First
• Alicia Unusan, Education First
• Mathew Weisfeld, Education First