Meet Sara Weinstein, Running For Middletown School Board

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Five candidates are running for three seats on the Middletown Board of Education this November (election is Nov. 5, same day as the U.S. presidential).

They are: Current Board member Deb Wright, current Board member Joan Minnuies, current Board member Kate Farley, joined by a local mom running with her this year, Sara Weinstein (Farley and Weinstein are running under the slogan of Today's Children First) and Mark Soporowski (Common Sense Education).

Patch asked the five Middletown-ites the same set of questions so they can introduce themselves to voters. All five got back to us and submitted their answers. Here are the responses from Sara Weinstein:

Provide a brief bio on yourself. Age, education, occupation.

My name is Sara Weinstein. I'm a married, 42-year-old mother of a 6-year-old son and have lived in Middletown since 2016.

I am an ad tech industry veteran who was recently promoted to senior vice president of sales, health, by my current employer. I have held a variety of sales positions over the years after obtaining my bachelor of science from the Newhouse School at Syracuse and later, my master of communications and media from Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey.

Where do you think the Board needs to improve?

I’d like to acknowledge that our BOE here in Middletown has done an amazing job in the last four years or so of navigating some of the toughest issues our school system has faced. With time and change, there are always issues that need to be addressed, whether they be recurring or new. These issues stem from changes in our culture, technology and food system. I believe it is a critical time for parents to work together to ensure our children's overall environments are conducive to proper educational and developmental growth. To do so we need to continue to strive to increase transparency, communication and community involvement for our children.

What do you think of the Middletown school board passing its transgender student policy that some say outs students to their parents? If you were on the board, would you have voted for or against the policy?

I support parental involvement in all matters regarding their children and therefore believe the board made the correct decision.

Looking ahead, what are some of the biggest challenges facing the Middletown school district in the next 2-5 years, and how do you plan to confront them?

I believe the biggest challenge our district faces stems from consistent budget cuts from our state government. I want to help work with those in Trenton to ensure our schools receive their fair share of state aid. It's not appropriate to assume our taxpayers should take on this burden, especially given we live in a state with extremely high property taxes and income tax.

Beyond finances, we must also continue to ensure that our 16 buildings remain in good working order for our students and staff members. We must also continue to push the boundaries with our curriculum to ensure ALL students receive a well-rounded, appropriate education that will help them to be successful members of our society. Finally, I want to help our community work in conjunction with the schools on the aforementioned issues stemming from changes in our culture, technology and food system.

Meet your five Middletown school board candidates:

Meet Kate Farley, Running For Middletown School Board

Meet Deb Wright, Running For Middletown School Board

Meet Mark Soporowski, Running For Middletown School Board

Meet Joan Minnuies, Running For Middletown School Board

The election will be Nov. 5, but you can vote early in person at Croydon Hall (in the Assembly Hall), at 900 Leonardville Road, Leonardo NJ 07737, from Oct. 26 - Nov. 3. Hours will be Monday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. and Sunday, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. No appointment is necessary, according to the state of NJ Division of Elections. And there is also mail-in voting.