Secaucus Mayor Will Endorse School Board Candidates Thursday Night

SECAUCUS, NJ — Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli will hold a campaign fundraising party this Thursday night, Sept. 12.

Patch usually does not publicize political events, but we are writing about this one because Gonnelli said he will make an important announcement Thursday evening: He will endorse candidates for Secaucus school board.

Who will the mayor endorse? We don't know yet.

Like many mayors throughout New Jersey, Gonnelli usually does not get involved in school board elections. He has rarely endorsed a candidate(s) in the past. But on Tuesday, Gonnelli said "I have to."

He refused to elaborate what he meant by that.

But what Gonnelli is likely referring to is the drama that went down in the Secaucus school district in the past year: First, in January the district revealed it was about to embark on a controversial re-districting proposal, which would have moved around hundreds of students that currently attend Clarendon and Huber Street schools.

Then in late March, all the elected Board of Education members quietly took the stunning vote to place superintendent Erick Alfonso on paid leave, suspending him while still paying his $180,000 yearly salary. The Board never told the public why Alfonso was placed on paid leave. He no longer works for the district.

As if that wasn't enough drama for the tiny Secaucus school district, in June the district announced it had to cancel its offer of free, full-day PreK, as there actually wasn't enough money to launch it. This was embarrassing for the school district, as Gov. Phil Murphy even toured Millridge School when it was first announced Secaucus would launch full-day PreK.

Stay tuned for Thursday night to see Gonnelli's preference for school board. The campaign party will be from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12 at Harmony Suites hotel, 455 Plaza Drive. It is a campaign kick-off for Gonnelli and Councilmen Mark Dehnert, Rob Costantino and Bill McKeever.

The Secaucus BOE election will be the same day as the U.S. presidential election, Nov. 5. There are three seats open, for a three-year term.

Secaucus voters will be asked to choose three from the following:

• Melissa Howard - "Advocate for Education." Currently on the Board, seeks re-election.
• Valerie Giraldo - "Community Winning Resolutions"
• Audry Yule - "Community Winning Resolutions" - Yule ran for a seat on the Secaucus Board of Ed. in 2021 and lost.
• Tatiana Geller - "Excellence in Education"
• Gerald Lyons - "Excellence in Education" - Lyons served on the Jersey City school board for nearly 10 years.
• Jamie Fisher - "The People's Voice"
• Monica Berckes - "A Winning District" Berckes ran for town school board in 2022, with Nick Mattiello, but she did not win a seat.

Here's Who's Running For Secaucus School Board This Fall (Aug. 16)