Election 2022: John Camera, Colts Neck Board of Education

COLTS NECK, NJ — John Camera is one of six candidates seeking three full-term seats on the Colts Neck 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.

Camera is running on the Colts Kids First slate and says his work as a business administrator in local government capacities has given him experience in reviewing and improving school budgets. he also advocates more local input and decision making and facility upkeep and improvements.

Read more from candidate John Camera:

Name: John Camera

Age: 66

Town of residence: Colts Neck

Position sought: Colts Neck Board of Education, full term

Are you an incumbent or have previous school board or civic experience? I am not an incumbent, but I have over 30 years experience working for municipal government with some of my responsibilities having been review of school budgets.

Do you have a campaign designation or slate? Yes, "Colts Kids First"

Campaign website: Colts Kids First on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ColtsKidsFirst/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/coltskidsfirst/ )

Family: Married to my wife, Phyllis, for 15 years, four children together, all in Colts Neck schools, as well as two adult children of mine.

Education: Some college credits

Occupation: Berkeley Township Administrator

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

I became aware of how dismissive and disrespectful the current school board was to parents when I attended meetings over the past two years. During my 25 years as a councilman and administrator in Seaside Heights, part of my job was reviewing defeated school board budgets and working with the boards to develop changes and improvements to those budgets.

Additionally, my experience as the business administrator for both Seaside Heights Borough and Berkeley Township qualifies me for budget work, facility maintenance and contract management and employee relations.

Slates of candidates: If you are running as part of a slate of candidates, please explain the main positions of the slate if there are agreed upon positions. Please name your slate and its other candidates.

"Colts Kids First" is our slate of three candidates, including Jessica Ramirez and Matt Fonte. We stand for open meetings allowing for input from all stakeholders, providing a safe and healthy environment for our students and staff, conservative economics, traditional, exceptional academic studies, local input and decision making, and facility upkeep and improvements.

Name what you see as the top issues currently facing your district and how you plan to address them. These can be local issues and/or statewide issues.

The top issues are:

• Fair and open meetings where public input is welcome. From our first meeting in 2023, public input will be solicited and embraced.
• Getting air conditioning in all of our buildings. The current board has been holding air conditioning and other needed capital improvements hostage to bond referendums for 10s of millions of dollars. We would immediately undertake modest improvements to get the basics accomplished.
• Teaching traditional health education with an age appropriate curriculum. The current board has an opt-out health curriculum. We would make changes to that curriculum a priority.
• Improving academic studies and test scores, and operating under a conservative budget. The current board has made choices which put more money toward administrative positions than teachers and we would do the opposite.

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

Providing a safe and healthy environment where children are encouraged to interact with each other and their instructors. The current board went way too far with restrictive requirements which limited healthy interactions and taught kids to be afraid of each other and afraid of normal healthy contact. There should be more class trips (including overnight ones), special projects, and school events which include parents to make school something the kids enjoy participating in.

Candidates for Colts Neck Board of Education:
Full Term - Vote for Three

• Erin Molinaro
• John A. Camera Colts Kids First
• Matthew Fonte Colts Kids First
• Jessica Ramirez Colts Kids First
• Marian Castner Experienced, Transparent, Pragmatic
• Danielle M. Alpaugh