New Ramapo Indian Hills Trustees Vow To 'Hit The Ground Running'

WYCKOFF, NJ – Two newly-elected Ramapo Indian Hills Regional School Board members thanked voters for backing them on Election Day.

On Tuesday, John Carolan and Robert Fortunato were elected to three-year terms on the regional school board, beating out Marc Schaeffer and Frances Nelson.

They are replacing outgoing trustees Thomas Bunting and Christine Becker on the nine member board as two of the three Wyckoff seats. Both are scheduled to be sworn into their terms in January 2020.

Ramapo Indian Hills Regional BOE 2019 Race Results
2019 Election Profiles: Ramapo Indian Hills School Board

Carolan, who previously served as a Wyckoff school board trustee and township committee member, said, ““We would like to thank all of the candidates who participated in this year’s Board of Education election.”

He added: “It demonstrates that a strong spirit of volunteerism and community is alive and well in Wyckoff when such qualified people compete for positions to serve our children and the residents of our town.”

Fortunato, the current Wyckoff Planning Board chairman and former member of the township’s environmental commission, said, “We are honored to represent the residents of Wyckoff on the Ramapo-Indian Hills School Board and thank them for the trust they have placed in us. We are filled with excitement and ready to begin working on behalf of our community,” Fortunato said.

The two said they plan to spend the next two months before their swearing in “speaking with board members, citizens, staff, administrators, students, as well as reviewing school material, in order to hit the ground running.”

The school district has about 2,300 students enrolled at Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes and Indian Hills High School in Oakland.

Both also said, “We are fortunate to have a high performing school district in our town. In our discussions with residents over the last few months, we shared our belief that the key to any strong organization is an accountable culture and continuous improvement, which results in greater school excellence. At the same time we will look to improve efficiency where possible so that our school dollars go further. Our goal as board members will be to always strive to find the right balance between efficiency and effectiveness so that our whole community is proud of the quality education delivered by our schools.”