Election 2022: Marian Castner, Colts Neck Board of Education

COLTS NECK, NJ — Marian Castner 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.

Castner is an incumbent, seeking a third term on the Board of Education. She points to board accomplishments such as improving facilities, making schools safer and bringing her business experience to budget planning. "My leadership as chair of the Curriculum Committee led to the unanimously-approved complete revision of the Health and PE curriculum, which reflected Colts Neck’s family values and parental right to not participate in a specific PE/health class when the parent is uncomfortable with the subject matter," she says.

Read more from candidate Marian Castner:

Name: Marian Castner

Town of residence: Colts Neck

Position sought: Re-election to the Board of Education

Are you an incumbent or have previous school board or civic experience? Yes

Do you have a campaign designation or slate? "Experienced, Transparent, Pragmatic" (no slate)

Family: Husband, Bill, and twin children Eric and Kathleen

Education: B.A., University of Pennsylvania

Occupation: Mom, Certified Financial Planner, media publisher, small business owner

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

I have proudly served on the Colts Neck Board of Education for the past six years.

During the COVID pandemic, I worked with every board committee and member to not only
ensure the safety of all students and staff, but also to provide an opportunity, while definitely not
ideal, but a way for students to continue learning while supporting our hard-working teachers
and administrators.

Schools are meant to provide the best education by our educators and should not be a pawn in the game of political or personal gamesmanship.

My leadership as chair of the Curriculum Committee led to the unanimously-approved
complete revision of the Health and PE curriculum, which reflected Colts Neck’s family values
and parental right to not participate in a specific PE/health class when the parent is
uncomfortable with the subject matter.

As a member of the Finance/Negotiations committee (recently appointed chair), I have
always focused on providing effective, efficient and prudent budgeting, while being fair and
working well with all our bargaining units during any negotiations.

There are many goals that I still want to achieve in our district. My board experience, 30
years of business experience, and most importantly, the experience and empathy learned as a
long-time parent, has prepared me for this position on the board.

It is important to continue to achieve the highest success for every student in our District. We might be a public school, but we provide a private school experience like nowhere else.

Slates of candidates: I am not running as part of a slate, but my campaign slogan is, “Experienced, Transparent, Pragmatic.” I support the re-election of Danielle Alpaugh and first-time candidate, Erin Molinaro.

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.

Being on the Board of Education is about goals and accomplishments. I have proven accomplishments over my years on the board.

I believe that the most important issue for any parent is to know that their child will be safe in
school. During my tenure on the board, we have made security a priority by adding SLEO III
(retired police officers), security monitors, and security vestibules at the entrance to each school
in the district.

Over the years, our relationship and collaboration with local law enforcement and Naval Weapons Station Earle continues to be a model for other communities. Our Superintendent, Dr. MaryJane Garibay, is a strong advocate for security not only locally, but on a state level, and is able to share the concerns of our community to statewide legislators and security experts.

Continuing to improve our aging infrastructure is another issue of concern. While the
community failed to approve two prior referendums which would have brought immediate
improvements, the board has been able to work within its budget and recent COVID funding to
continue to make improvements in each school. We have also begun the ESIP (Energy Savings Investment Plan) process to further investigate potential savings (solar, lighting).

A third important issue is communications. Our Board of Education must communicate better
with our community. I want to improve the way that information from our district is transmitted to our families. We have started quarterly “coffee chats'' where community members can informally speak with the superintendent and Board of Education members.

We also started monthly newsletters from the board and continue to make improvements to our District website. We are working on a district app that can make finding district information easier for all families. This area is definitely a work in progress.

Finally, we recently started an Advocacy Committee to address many issues, both locally and
on a state level. The early issues have included reducing arduous testing requirements,
reducing costly state aid-in-lieu payments, and making sure that curriculum and other school
decisions stay in the hands of the local school districts rather than the state mandating our
district decisions.

It is also important that our school district remains mindful of the town’s “COAH'' projects. The school board must work together with the Township Committee so that Colts Neck will be able to maintain its small class sizes and top-ranked schools when these new developments increase the student population substantially.

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

As our Superintendent Dr. Garibay often reminds us, “our budget is a statement of our
priorities.”

While we all know that keeping taxes lower, property values high and being fiscally
responsible is essential, at the end, it all comes down to the needs of all the children of our
district. As a district, we are committed to continue to strive for the best achievement of each
student, both inside and outside of the classroom.

Mental health has become as important component of the classroom experience. Our special services programs are a model for not only other New Jersey districts, but nationally. We need to develop healthy children in a safe and welcoming environment with strong values and respect for all. While we are already a “high-achieving district,” we continue to search each day to make the best learning experience in our schools.

Collaboration is the cornerstone of our district. Together as one community we need to
continue to bring together administration, staff, students, parents and community members,
with a shared responsibility to every child. With collaboration, we are able to accomplish great
things together.

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