Holmdel Board Of Education Election 2024: Jeff Sargent

HOLMDEL, NJ — Holmdel's general election on Nov. 5 has seven candidates running for three open seats on the Holmdel Board of Education.

Candidate Jeff Sargent is running for one of three seats on the board. Opposing candidates include Terence Wall, Mary Corrigan, John Giampolo, Raymond Kim, Kimberly Tuccillo and Surekha Collur.

Are you running for the Board of Education in Holmdel? Contact Sara Winick at sara.winick@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Holmdel Patch.

Jeff Sargent

Age: 52
Town of residence: Holmdel
Education: Bachelors of Science
Occupation: Executive Director, Financial Services Compliance

What drove you to seek public office?
To be honest, being in public office was never on my “to-do” list. I have always had trust in my elected officials and would do my own due diligence prior to voting for someone that I was confident in to protect/speak for my interests. Additionally, my professional career is extremely time-consuming.

However, since Covid, many firms in my line of work have changed, for the better. More specifically they have become more sensitive to work/life balance and have afforded me more opportunities to do things that are important to me outside of the office.

Now I can try and give back to the community and hopefully represent others' important values as they relate to the educational needs of their children.

What sets you apart from the other candidates?
First, I will state the obvious and that is I am running alone.

I had opportunities to run on a group ticket and I passed. I have seen firsthand that those scenarios tend to stick together and vote on issues as a group so to speak, with no to limited independence.

I want my allegiance to be to the community, not a group ticket whom I am obligated to stick with if I have a different view on an issue.

What do you see as the biggest issue facing Holmdel, and how will you resolve it?
From talking to community members in addition to my own personal experiences, I see 3 priorities:

1. Aligning classroom instruction/testing with state testing (I.e., MAP testing).
2. Bullying - It is too widespread, more needs to be done.
3. Retention of teachers and managing staff.

To answer your question, the first priority is to better understand how a student, or multiple students, can achieve an overall grade of 95 or better and still NOT be able to qualify for honors classes. To me, there is a severe disconnect in what is being taught and tested in class versus what the state is looking for.

I have spoken with multiple community members who have brought this to my attention and shared their personal situations on this topic. A deep dive into teaching policy, testing criteria, etc. would need to be done to see what policy enhancements can be suitable to address this issue and try and improve.

What are past accomplishments or experiences that make you qualified for this position?
I have succeeded in probably the most “cutthroat” industries there is, with the exception of politics, for over 25 years. In my profession, I deal with adversity, budgetary constraints, risk rating priorities, and most importantly, behaving in an ethical manner.

My typical day involves working with some of the smartest people on this earth who have attended the best universities; working together to grow profits for our firms while mitigating risks.

I know how to maneuver around challenges, think analytically, and propose solutions to achieve the end goal.

Name one thing about Holmdel that always makes you smile.
I was born in a small suburb in Massachusetts and moved to Hackensack, NJ when I was 10. To say it was a culture shock would be an understatement.

I went from a tiny suburb to a major urban city literally overnight. Of course, I adjusted to my surroundings and excelled from there, but I always missed that small town/suburb feel. Upon marriage, I moved to my wife’s hometown of Westfield NJSBA where we stayed for 15 years. Although better than Hackensack, still not my lone little Massachusetts suburb with lots of back roads.

Over those 15 years, we realized that Holmdel was a town that not only shared our morals and values but ALSO had that feel I had longed for that reminded me of being a kid in Massachusetts. I truly enjoy the wide array of parks, nearby beach access, and most importantly, the back roads where the nostalgia sets in.

Once we got here, the people in the community that welcomed us were truly amazing, and the perfect ending to our dream of where we wanted to raise our family.