At board meetings, educators, parents and board members debate the merits of a school uniform policy, which could be implemented as soon as the coming school year.

Anthony Blanco

Age: 77

Education: Graduated North Arlington High School, bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Montclair State University

Occupation: Retired North Arlington School Superintendent.

Family: Married with two sons, both North Arlington High School graduates.

Background: Began as a teacher in North Arlington in 1955 and went on to become the first vice principal at North Arlington High School, the school’s principal and the district superintendent before retiring in 1991. He served in the U.S. Army. He is a former varsity basketball coach, former president of the North Arlington Teacher’s Association and a former president of the library board of trustees. He is a 42-year member of the North Arlington Lion’s Club and the current president, a member of the Supervisory Committee of the West Hudson Teacher’s Federal Credit Union and served on the State Curriculum Group.

Age: Did not respond

Education: Did not respond

Occupation: Union Glazier for 25 years. Works with glass in construction for both commercial and residential use.

Family: Did not respond

Background: Board of Education member for the past three years. Previously, he coached for the recreation department for 12 years. He coached baseball, basketball, girl’s softball and football. He is currently an assistant coach for the high school football team on a volunteer basis.

Age: 44

Education: Graduate of North Arlington High School and Mountainside Hospital School of Nursing

Occupation: Director of Nursing for PHI

Family: Married for 19 years to William, mother of two children, both North Arlington High School students

Background: Currently serving third term as North Arlington Board of Education Trustee

Deborah Wetralik

Age: 53

Education: Graduate of Lyndhurst High School with some college

Occupation: Legal secretary, president and founder of Special Angels Recreation and Putting the Pieces Together Support Group

Family: Widow, one daughter and two grandchildren, all in North Arlington

Background: Den mother for Tiger Scouts in North Arlington

*Incumbents

Why are you running for a position on the North Arlington Board of Education?

Blanco: I feel that my 40 years of experience in the school system would lend itself in a positive manner to a job that, today, is very, very difficult because of the number of factors, cost of running a school system being a major one. I think my experience might help the entire board in maybe looking at a particular situation and maybe be able to come up with a better way of doing it economically and for the children.

Frato: I have decided to run for re-election because I believe our town is at a critical point in time. I am not the type of person to give up when times get tough. I have dedicated myself to this board, and given time and energy to help make our district one to be proud of. Things don't change over night. We have more work to be done. I believe our board members have been true to the  pledges they made when they were elected. And I'm proud of them all, and I don't intend to walk out on them now. If I do not win in this election I will try to be more involved as a parent than I was before I won this seat. I also promise to help our district from afar in any way possible.  

Palatella: I am running for re-election to the North Arlington Board of Education because I would like the opportunity to continue working towards providing the best possible education for the children of North Arlington. Over the past nine years, our district has made some remarkable changes, which include improving test scores, adding programs and upgrades to our facilities. I would like to be able to continue moving the district in this positive direction. Being able to give back to the community where I grew up and where my kids are growing up is an honor and privilege that I take very seriously.

Wertalik: We’re at a crossroads in education not only in North Arlington, but throughout New Jersey and I want to play an active role in shaping the future. Our taxpayers face the financial challenge of making ends meet. Our children face a future that demands mastering more and more complex subject content. Our school district is challenged to meet the needs of both while offering all children an equal opportunity to learn. My personal experience in providing education and recreation opportunities for children with special needs, identifying alternative funding and locating facilities will be an asset to our school district. We succeed each day in meeting our goals through sharing services and finding alternative funding sources when there seemed to be no money available. I would like to bring that experience to the BOE if elected. I would also like to build on the Education Fund so we can supplement our budget and take some of the burden off the taxpayers. Shared Services between the Borough and the BOE is something that should be looked into. We have one taxpayer and two budgets. Schools are being challenged to be more consistent, efficient and certainly more effective in delivering educational services. Now more than ever we need to unite administration, teachers and parents, identify and define the real issues, discuss them and move forward to a resolution. I have two grandchildren that are in our school district one in special education and one entering regular education so I have a vested interest. I want to make a difference and plan on working hard for our children to provide quality education, shared services and alternative funding saving tax dollars. I feel education is the single most important service we can provide our children.

Proponents of a school uniform policy say it will create a better learning environment while critics remain unconvinced and believe it is unnecessary. How would you address the uniform issue and why?

Blanco: I think we have a number of other major priorities. That would not be to me, at this moment, a priority that we should give a great deal of time to. I think that there are other issues that we have to give more of our time to. I’m not saying that, somewhere down the line, maybe looking at that again and seeing the pluses and the minuses and go at it with some direction. At the moment, I feel we have other issues that really should be addressed first rather than that one.

Frato: At first, I was very surprised about the strong reaction against the uniform proposal from some parents and equally surprised about the lack of response from the parents in favor of the uniform proposal, considering they were in the majority according to the survey response from our elementary schools. As I’ve stated recently at our B.O.E. meeting, I am in favor of the uniform policy but only if there is at least 90 percent participation. I don’t feel this would work if half participate and half do not. The only ones who will suffer are the kids if their parents decide not to participate, and refuse to have their children wear the uniform shirt. The kids will do what their parents tell them to do. Ultimately, the parents will decide on this policy and we should abide by their decision. I will not vote for it unless these conditions are met. As to the people who would choose to vote against the budget or myself because of the decision made by the B.O.E. of a proposal that may or may not pass, is not wise in my opinion. If the budget is not passed the municipality would have the right to request cuts in the budget; cuts that may effect programs that our kids enjoy and deserve. I don’t think they would do that. Their kids are also in our school system, but it is possible. I for one would not take that chance. In closing, let me say that I would regretfully give up my seat on the board to ensure that this budget passes.

Palatella: There are many arguments both for and against school uniforms. Some of the arguments for uniforms are easier enforcement of the dress policy, prevention of the wearing of gang colors and reducing distractions. Arguments against include that uniforms create more expense for parents, they discourage individuality and that they may possibly impede safety. These are all good arguments but at this time I feel that the money that would have to be budgeted on school uniforms in our district is better spent on district needs. With the increased costs in the areas of special education, health benefits and energy, we have a difficult budget election ahead. We need to focus our resources on continuing to provide our services and avoiding any cuts in programs. While both sides make compelling arguments on this issue, I don’t feel, financially, it is one that we should take on at this time.

Wertalik: I recognize and appreciate the passion with which both sides represent their point of view. But somehow we are losing site of what the debate is about and opted instead for drawing a dividing line between the very groups we need most to unite. I was at the BOE meeting in March and heard both teachers and parents speak against the uniforms and have since on the street heard parents speak in favor of the uniforms. I know that a unanimous decision was made by the current board in favor of the uniforms. I would like to do some further research on this subject to find out what the uniforms will accomplish. We need to find ways to lower the taxes not raise them and a lower budget would mean lower taxes. I plan on speaking with the teachers, BOE members and parents in the upcoming weeks to find out what can be done to keep our children safe. Safety is an important issue. Facilities need to be upgraded, classroom materials need to be more plentiful and current, teachers need to be supported and encouraged to expand their mastery of content and teaching methodologies. We need to expend this energy and passion on educating our children about the dangerous activity of gangs, teach them decision making skills, educate them about choices/consequences, promote self-esteem, motivate them to learn and prepare them meet the challenges the future will demand of them when they leave the protected environment of home and school. You can’t put that on a T-shirt, you need to teach it.

The percentage of special needs students in North Arlington is higher than surrounding communities and the price of special education continues to rise. How can North Arlington keep taxes down while providing quality education to every student?

Blanco: Special education is a very difficult area. It was one of our most expensive line items when I was a superintendent and it’s gotten even greater. The only thought I have on that is something that I would really like to put a lot of my energies into and that is establishing a receiving district for special ed. students. So, in other words, instead of sending our students out of town, the majority of them, can’t keep them all because there are some that need really special needs, but keep a majority of our students within the district, which I think parents would like, provide them with their needs and at the same time reduce the costs of paying tuitions to other districts, busing the students, et cetera. So I would be very interested in looking at that problem and see if we can establish being a receiving district for special needs students.

Frato: First I would like to commend our mayor and councilmen on doing a great job on their budget with a zero increase in our taxes. Unfortunately, despite the hard work and long hours put in by the B.O.E. members and the extra long hours by Dr. Stringham, our Superintendent and Kathy Marano, whose expertise and knowledge of our districts educational and financial needs, have presented a solid and lean budget. However, our taxes will still go up.  I feel a great burden has been put on our district and our citizens by our state. The state is supposed to pay 40 percent of our cost for special education. We barely get 17 percent. We cannot continue to carry them. We cannot be expected to fulfill our obligations to our kids and our community, while the state does not fulfill its financial obligation to our district. Also, as a district, Dr. Stringham has routinely asked our administrators, teachers and taxpayers to write to our elected leadership to fight for the needs and the money they are required to pay us by their own laws, and to pay in full. We must do a better job at letting them know how we feel; otherwise we will elect someone who will.

Palatella: Escalating costs that are out of our control are impacting our ability to present a budget with a lesser tax impact. Out of district special education costs at an approximately $530,000 increase for next year, along with fuel, health benefit and utility increases have all hit our district without the financial support from the state. We are under funded in state aid due to the 20 percent cap and special education is not funded where it should be as evidenced by the state awarding a waiver in that area. The BOE needs to continue to work with our legislators to ensure we get the funding we deserve. A goal of the BOE has always been to be fiscally responsible, as evidenced by our per pupil spending and the many partnerships and shared services we have forged over the years. We will continue to tap into the low or no cost resources available to us to ensure that new programs can be developed while holding the line as best as possible for the taxpayers.

Wertalik: Being a grandmother that is actively involved with the raising and education of a child with autism gives me a lot of insight on this subject and it’s a plus for a BOE member to have this experience. Bringing our children back to district is the first thing I would suggest. The families will feel part of the community and the cost will be lower. Instead of running our own program as we do now we should get an existing program to run the classes this will give us revenue because they pay us to bring their program here and we can negotiate to have a few of our children in North Arlington tuition free. I have an open line of communication with many programs and can help our district negotiate, provide quality services and bring the cost down. I have been working with families of special needs children for many years and I have many ideas in mind to lower the cost and raise the quality of special education this is where our district needs the most help and I have the experience needed to help.