Ramapo-Indian Hills School Candidate Profile: Marianna Emmolo

WYCKOFF, NJ — Two candidates are vying to represent Wyckoff in a seat on the Ramapo-Indian Hills Regional School Board: Marianna Emmolo and John P. Kinney Jr.

Wyckoff has its own K-8 school board, but sends students to both Ramapo and Indian Hills high schools. The regional school board has representatives from Wyckoff, Oakland, and Franklin Lakes. Wyckoff residents can vote only on Wyckoff representatives. See the list of all the candidates here.

They'll be on the ballot along with the presidential and other candidates running in the Nov. 5 General Election.

Patch will only be running profiles of the Ramapo Indian Hills candidates, but the others can post releases, letters, and events on Patch for free any time. Here are the instructions.

Want to know who else will be on the ballot, as well as public questions and countywide races? See your sample ballot here.

There has been some controversy on the Ramapo-Indian Hills board in the last two years. Read about it here.

Patch has received a profile and answers from Emmolo. They're posted below.

Name: Marianna Emmolo

Age: 53

Education:Degree from Passaic Valley High School, Little Falls NJ

Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing, minor in Psychology from Seton Hall University

New Board Member (NBM) Boardsmanship Certification, first tier of the NJSBA Board Member Academy Certification Program

Occupation: Healthcare Industry Sales Specialist

Past volunteer service:

I have devoted my free time to the Wyckoff Washington Elementary School, Eisenhower Middle School (EMS) and Ramapo Indian Hills High Schools. I have volunteered for many PTO events, most notably theme days at our elementary school and chaired the annual EMS Fall Dinner fundraiser "Our Night in Blue" for 4 consecutive years, including a gap year when my children were no longer students at EMS. Community Volunteer highlights include but are not limited to: currently in my third year serving as an elected official/ member of the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional Board of Education. Created and co-chaired the annual Wyckoff Food truck and Music Festival for two years which thousands of Bergen County families attended. Over a span of 4 years, I directly helped fundraise over $100,000 for EMS. The money provided for opportunities to enrich and ensure a wonderful EMS experience for our children, teachers and staff. I was very proud to be part of the EMS 3R’s Day and Relay for Life of FLOW fundraising committees, two incredibly meaningful student events. I was honored with the EMS PTO IKE Award for my outstanding dedication and commitment to volunteering. I continue to volunteer my time every year to Relay for Life of FLOW and the Emmanuel Cancer Foundation/ Northern Region which are both near and dear to my heart, I am a member of their event leadership team subcommittees. I am also a Religious Formation teacher and active member of St Bonaventure's Catholic Church in Paterson NJ. Giving back to my community and our schools will always be a priority in my life.

Other experience relevant to the position:

This is my third year on the RIH BOE, in my tenure I have: I am currently Vice President of the Board 2024, Finance & Facilities Committee member in 2022, 2023, 2024 and Chair of the F&F committee in 2023 and 2024, Education & Personnel Committee member 2022 and 2024, Arts, Athletics, Extracurricular & Communication committee member 2023, Chair of the Negotiations committee 2023 (successful contract negotiations with RIHEA), assist the 2024 Negotiations Committee members and Chair, Board Legislative Representative 2022, New Jersey School Boards Association RIH BOE Representative 2023, Wyckoff Township Liaison for RIH BOE 2024. In 2023, when other Board members refused committee seats and stepped down, I stepped up and took on more responsibility and represented Wyckoff on three Board committees and chaired two. True leaders of their community step up, they don't step down. Achieved New Board Member (NBM) Boardsmanship Certification, the first tier of the NJSBA Board Member Academy certification program. I am the only Board member on my current Board to have achieved this, to date I have earned forty three professional development credits, the certificate only requires ten. I aspired to take my training to a higher level to better serve you. I have a very firm foundation in board governance skills to carry out my responsibilities with confidence that I possess the experience and expertise to do a great job.

For more information about M.E. - Facebook/ Marianna Emmolo Ramapo Indian Hills HS Board of Ed Member-Candidate or Email M.E.: MEmmolo4RIHBOE@gmail.com

Do you have any relatives in town government or the schools now, or working on town boards or schools? NO

How long have you lived in town, and where did you grow up?

My family and I have lived in Wyckoff for 14 years. I grew up in Woodland Park and Totowa NJ.

Answers To Questions

What do you think are the most important issues facing your constituents, and what will you do to address them?

Our top priority is meeting the needs of all students. I will address this by working closely with our new superintendent, administrators, and staff. Each plays a crucial role in achieving these goals. Their top priorities include:

Improve graduation readiness, math and science preparedness through an updated and revised Program of Studies focusing on relevance, student interest, and variety. In addition, update and revise the curriculum to a user friendly design for staff, students and families; curricular content consistency

Change to a daily block schedule to improve productivity and increase student focus. This change will include later school start time supporting research that helps the "Teenage Brain", increased instruction time which equals greater depth of learning, one unit lunch resulting in expanded peer opportunities.

Enhance communication and connections with all stakeholders through a new marketing and communications initiative designed to address the current disparity in school population between the high schools, maintaining and building equality within our properties, facilities, and technology etc.

Continue to upgrade Health, Safety and Security measures. Upgrade and improve physical security, cybersecurity, prevention, and social and emotional learning.

Develop and integrate programs to advance the district in performance and notoriety. Add CTE programs; internship/work experiences, increase AP opportunities; explore joint programming with other schools. Continue expansion and enhancements to Special Education Services and Wellness programs.

Concentrate on the population disparity between the two schools. Dispel perceived disparities and address identified disparities. Explore solutions.

Why should someone choose you over your opponent?

Three years ago I decided to run for this position because I was very concerned about the decline in our academic performance during my opponent's tenure on the board from 2019 - 2021. Under his leadership, there was no meaningful strategic plan in place, and our AP, SAT, and ACT scores, especially in math and science, were on a serious downward trend. He and the majority members on the board prioritized social engineering over academic excellence, focusing on areas such as gender orientation, social justice, and progressive studies instead of core critical skills like reading, writing, math, and science.

My goal is to ensure that every student receives a high-quality education in a supportive, inclusive, nurturing, and inspiring environment, and to teach them how to think, not what to think. I believe in a fact-based curriculum without ideology and indoctrination. During my tenure on the board, we supported the creation of a new 5-year strategic plan that focuses on improving our students' academic capabilities and addressing the disparities between the student populations in our schools, among other important priorities.

I am a very principled person and will not compromise my integrity even if it means that my constituents may not fully understand why I voted yes or no to a Board resolution due to confidentiality requirements. Leadership involves making difficult decisions. I have the courage to say yes or no in the best interest of the district, students, staff and our community regardless of how it may be perceived.

Should you win, how would you get people more involved in the issues who aren't currently involved, or who supported your critics? How can town politics become more inclusive instead of divisive?

From day one, I voted to reinstate a policy that allowed parents, students and staff to speak during both the first and second half of our board meetings, an opportunity the previous board removed. I believe that transparency and open communication are the best ways to identify barriers to participation. It's also important to make engagement accessible with targeted outreach and ease of access to the board and the district. That's why I advocated for a complete overhaul of our school website, the creation of dedicated/official RIH social media platforms/networks, a weekly school newsletter, and a Public Relations/Communication Consultant to assist the district in reaching a wider audience beyond our student, parent and staff population to better connect with all FLOW residents. Our school administration must focus on education rather than marketing. I also encouraged PTO’s to record their meetings so more parents can learn from them to inspire community engagement. Additionally, I support gathering feedback through surveys supported by a quantitative data collection platform to optimize community engagement.

Critics are part of the job. I make a dedicated effort to attentively listen, thoroughly review all information provided to me, and ask lots of questions before making any decision on behalf of my community. Listening to all stakeholders with an open mind, keeping our students at the center of all the decisions I make, and advocating for every child, parent, and employee of our district to be treated with respect and compassion is very important to me.

What is one local issue that no one really talks about, or has spoken publicly about, that you think should be addressed while you're in office?

One local issue that has been overlooked by many is the growing disparity in school populations between Indian Hills and Ramapo.

Since 2018, Indian Hills has experienced a decline of approximately 440 students, while Ramapo's student numbers have remained the same. Indian Hills has been facing this crisis for quite some time, and it has only recently, during my tenure, gained attention and made a priority for action.

In 2023, as the Chair of the Finance & Facilities committee, I advocated for addressing this population disparity by calling for a new long overdue demographic study to be conducted. I have also been a big proponent of maintaining and building equality within our properties, facilities, and technology; supporting infrastructure projects that enhance Instructional delivery, Athletic, Arts and Wellness programs.

Additionally, I supported:

Assigned our communications firm the initiative to showcase the 60th Anniversary of Indian Hills and highlight all the wonderful things about the school and especially its students, teachers and staff.

The initiative to hire a very reputable education research firm to assess our academic programs, aiming to attract new prospective students to IH and enhance our long-term strategic plans for recruitment, retention, and enrollment.

The recommendation to restructure Supervisor roles, consolidating to have one district supervisor instead of having two school supervisors to achieve district-wide curriculum and instruction parity, identify district-wide deficiencies, and create common plans for improvement across the entire district. Overall, the goal was to bring about district-wide change and unity rather than just focusing on individual schools.

To what political party do you belong? Who did you vote for in the last presidential election (if you're willing to say), and do you think it should matter in terms of your candidacy?

It shouldn't matter who I vote for in terms of my candidacy because, as a member of the BOE, I ensure all policies and my decisions are centered around the best interest of our students and not a political or personal agenda. I am a registered Republican, I have conservative family values. I voted for Donald J. Trump in the last two presidential elections. I will be voting for him again on November 5th. I make common sense decisions, I support policies not people. A cornerstone of why I ran in the first place was because I believe that politics and ideology have no place in the curriculum. Quality education focused on Academics, not Activism and I always Lead with Integrity. I am a humble volunteer serving the community I live in and love, I serve with humility and grace. Thank you to all the Wyckoffians who believe in M.E. and trust that I am making the right decisions on your behalf. I look forward to the opportunity of serving you three more years!

What else would you like people to know?

I am eager to continue my journey as a member of the RIH school board, building on our successes. We have made significant progress and have the promise of much needed stability we have been seeking the last few years. I look forward to continuing to work with our highly qualified and experienced new Superintendent and Curriculum Director, who I strongly believe align with our district goals and community values. RIH is finally "on the Right track" to ensuring success for our students! Our district's achievements have been numerous, each one a testament to our collective commitment to elevating RIH to new heights. I am dedicated to ensuring the meaningful changes initiated in my tenure are lasting and impactful. With support for a second term, I am focusing on enhancing our curriculum, ensuring it meets the highest educational standards and prepares our students for great success.

To Wyckoff taxpayers, facts matter. Our Interim Business Administrator recently stated, "The audit is underway. Early indications are that the district operations continue its pattern of excellent fiscal oversight." The 2024-2025 budget is within the 2 percent tax levy cap for the first time in three years. The RIH tax levy rate from 2021-2024 has decreased, and RIH revenues have increased in 2023 and 2024 due to an unanticipated source of revenue. By exploring other investment vehicles and negotiating a better interest rate for which I advocated; this resulted in an increase of $574,000 in interest income just in the months of January-June 2024.

Upcoming Deadlines, How To Vote

• Want to vote by mail? The Bergen County Clerk's Office must receive your application by Oct. 29. Read more about that here.
• You can submit your ballot any time through 8 p.m. on Election Day.
• Want to vote on the machine? Polls will be open a few before Election Day for early voting, and then on Election Day from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. See the early voting hours here.
• See more information on the Bergen County website on all three ways to vote, and Bergen County ballot drop box locations, here.

Other Information

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