Jenny Alongi

Louis Bilis

Age: 54

Education: Graduate of the Lyndhurst school system and graduate of William Paterson College with a bachelor’s of science in public safety.

Occupation: Served 25 years with the Lyndhurst Police Department before retiring in 2001 at the rank of detective sergeant.

Family: Married to wife Joy. Have two grown children.

Background: A Lyndhurst resident for 51 years, he is a member of the Polish American Citizen’s Club and Sons of the American Legion, both in Lyndhurst. He also serves as council president of Saint Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lyndhurst.

Thomas DiMascio*

Age: 39

Education: Graduate of the Lyndhurst school system. Graduated Rutgers University in 1990 with a bachelor’s of arts degree in economics. In 2000, he received a master's of science degree from Pace University and followed that with a master’s of business administration in 2003 from Rutgers University.

Occupation: Director of purchasing at DC Comics/Warner Bros. in New York City.

Family: Married to Anna. Have daughter Diana and son Brian.

Background: A third generation lifelong resident of Lyndhurst, he is running for his second term on the board, having served for the past three years. In the community, he is chairman of the Lyndhurst Beautification Commission, has served on the Lyndhurst Grants Committee for eight years and is a member of the Sacred Heart Parish. In the capacity of the board of education, he is the current vice-president, current chair of the finance committee and has chaired the education/curriculum committee for all three years. He has coached football in Lyndhurst for three years and as a high school student, was captain of both the baseball and football teams. In college, he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity and a DJ on WRNU, Rutgers radio station.

John Sedlock*

Age: 48

Education: Graduate of Lyndhurst High School (1978), graduate of Locksmith Institute in Little Falls (1980).

Occupation: Owned and operator of Bergen County Glass, LLC in Lyndhurst for 30 years.

Family: Married to wife Theresa with two sons, John and Joseph.

Background: A board of education member for three years and lifelong resident of the township, he is seeking a second term on the board. In the community, he has coached T-ball for five years, soccer for nine years and has been a Cub Scout leader for six years. He is currently a Boy Scout leader and Scout master for Troop 97 in Lyndhurst, a post held for 11 years.

Stephen Vendola*

Age: 51

Education: Graduate of Lyndhurst High School and has 69 credits from St. Peter’s College.

Occupation: Supervisor of construction activities at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Family: Married to wife Colleen. Have four children: son Stephen and daughters Nicole, Lauren and Natalie.

Background: A lifelong resident of Lyndhurst, he is seeking a second term on the board after having served three years. He is an active member in Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Lyndhurst and involved in the Holy Name Society.

Lyndhurst school facilities are outdated compared to many New Jersey districts. With the looming thought of a massive development in the Meadowlands, how do you see best fit to create expanded educational facilities or update the current ones?

Bilis: While we would all like to see a magic solution come from the "looming massive development in the meadowlands", the reality is no one knows what will happen there and what effect it will have on the school system. The problem with the outdated schools is immediate and until we obtain the resources necessary for new  schools or expanded facilities, our options are limited. We must set our priorities regarding our schools and do the absolute best we can, making certain our students are in a safe and secure environment conducive to learning.

DiMascio: This issue is one that cripples our district and is a constant struggle. First our current facilities, although majestic, they are old; it takes great effort to maintain them. Their halls have seen thousands of students pass through and we are proud of them, but they are expensive and difficult to maintain. Second, the way they are configured does not permit us to teach the students in the most efficient way possible. If we were to start with a clean sheet of paper, the school district would look much different. When you then toss increased enrollment into the mix, the problems increase exponentially. I would hope that our board of commissioners would insist that any development is contingent upon full funding of at least a middle school. A middle school would fill a large hole in our district. Furthermore, each existing school needs both essential repairs plus modernization improvements to the facilities such as media centers for the elementary schools, a new cafeteria for the high school, etc. I could dream on for hours. The reality is that our tax base cannot support a major overhaul of the current facilities. Instead, we, as a community, must approach this task from many angles and take advantage of each viable opportunity. It is an ongoing battle that our community is engaged in.

Sedlock: The only way I feel is to increase facilities in town is to create them ourselves. We should consolidate our elementary schools and eliminate having four elementary schools. We should create a middle school from the existing high school and by consolidating the schools, we would be able to pay for a new high school. Just saving on gas and electric from the closed elementary schools, we could pay off a bond. This is something the townspeople would have to vote on. Nobody would lose their job, it would mean just moving people around.

Vendola: I would really like to see a new facility, either a middle school or a high school. We’re getting into that time of year now where it will be warmer and many of the schools don’t have air conditioning and it creates a tough environment for kids to learn. The PTAs do a great job raising money, but with limited dollars, we are faced with having to pick and choose. We have to take money that’s available to us and put it to the best use.

The board of education and board of commissioners have began an unprecedented shared services pact in many facets over the past couple years. How would you like to see shared services further utilized?

Bilis: I support shared services when carefully researched, planned and implemented. The benefits of shared services are obvious and it appears to be working well in Lyndhurst. Any future projects involving shared services or the enhancement of shared services between the board of commissioners and board of education must be looked at and examined on a case by case basis, being certain the project benefits everyone.

DiMascio: "Shared services" should be used wherever it benefits the community. However, each and every plan must be analyzed and stand on its own merit. A cost/benefit analysis must be performed. As for new projects, I spoke to the mayor a few weeks ago about a science camp for fifth to seventh graders for next summer (2009). This would be an add-on to the summer recreation program. He loved the idea of a combined education/recreation program. Now it is time to gather the data and see if the idea is feasible. Unfortunately for the community of Lyndhurst, there are individuals who hold politics as their main opposition to any proposal, regardless of its merits. Politics costs taxpayers money and stunts the improvement of the education of our students. That is shameful. The governor, county executive, and New Jersey School Boards Association are all imploring districts across the state to accomplish as much as possible under the banner of "shared services". Lyndhurst has definitely taken the lead. These projects require much effort, however the goal is the benefit and betterment of the entire community in the most efficient manner. The opportunity costs of not combining resources are high. Instead of yielding "x" with each dollar spent, the taxpayers can realize services with a value of "x+10". That’s smart government.

Sedlock: I sure don’t want to share any additional debt. I think there’s a place for shared services and many things it would be perfect for. Grounds maintenance and facilities maintenance and maybe look into some shared personnel, which is used now a little in some of our shared buildings, but see if it could go any further. Shared services is a good idea as long as it saves the district money that can be put toward the children.

Vendola: I think so far, it’s been a big success. When I ran three years ago, the big concern was why the board office was down in the meadows and so hard to get to, why there was no classroom space for the kindergarten, why it was so overcrowded. Then there was the rec. center on Stuyvesant Avenue closing. These were all taken care of and I would like to expand on it [shared services] whenever we can. It’s key that you have a board of commissioners and board of education that want to work together.

The district has received more than $400,000 in additional state aid this year and the number will likely be the same through the next couple years. Should this money be applied for tax relief or new programs as it has this year? Why?

Bilis: We must be very careful as to how we answer this question. With school aid formulas continually being challenged and reviewed, we cannot be certain the aid we expect to obtain in the next few years will be anywhere near what we may actually get. This would make using this aid for new, ongoing programs a bit risky as the denial of that future aid would put a further strain on the budget and existing programs. I also do not believe it is a large enough benefit to be applied to tax relief. I would suggest the aid be applied to current programs and one time material expenses such as computers, books and the likes, which are sorely needed. This would eliminate any possible future problems should aid be cut.

DiMascio: The extra funds were intended for and will be put right into the classroom. The governor is not issuing a credit for tax relief. The state is acknowledging the inequities in state and federal funding and is providing additional funding to help our students. The curriculum committee that I chair has approved a plan that sends the money right back into the classrooms. We are bringing algebra down to the eighth grade; adding staff and classes in the high school, etc. Lyndhurst spends significantly less per pupil than the state average. In 2006-2007 we were 8.7 percent below. The taxpayers of Lyndhurst cannot afford to spend closer to the state average like Rutherford, or 7.8 percent above the average like Tenafly. We are under-funded from the both the federal and state governments putting the burden on the taxpaying residents of Lyndhurst. As the governor begins to realize the disadvantage they are placing on our taxpayers, why should the community of Lyndhurst reject the offer? Education is one of the most important issues facing the nation. Since the battles for improving education are fought on a local level, I volunteer my time on the Lyndhurst Board of Education. If you consider yourself patriotic, I encourage you to get involved in the education of our children too. 

Sedlock: I would have liked to seen it split in half. I’m on the finance committee and we discussed it long and hard. We haven’t had any enhanced curriculum in the district for some time. It was money the taxpayers didn’t have. I’m an advocate of lower taxes and I would have liked to have said, ‘here’s $250,000 toward tax relief’, but we did the math and it would have meant an overall decrease in taxes of about $20 a quarter. That’s a $20 bill that can be used to bring a lot more opportunities to the kids.

Vendola: I was informed that we received the money because we were spending under the state average per pupil. I would really have to see if after we made all our recommended improvements, if the money left over would even make a difference. Those few dollars could go a lot further by putting it towards education. This year’s tax increase comes to about $60, but if the fact was that we didn’t do as much with the aid and reduced taxes by $5, we would have to cut back on a program or a teacher. Our superintendent, who is also our business administrator, I have faith that he has made the right choice doing this.