HOWELL – Several candidates are competing for seats on the Howell Board of Education which will be decided in the November election.
School board races are supposed to be nonpartisan, so the candidates aren’t referred to by their political party. Instead, they are allowed to have a short slogan after their name.
A total of four candidates have filed for three, full-term seats on the Howell Township Board of Education. Three current members who are seeking re-election are Albert “Al” Miller, Ira Thor, and Denise M. Lowe. Newcomer Martianne Degliuomini will also be fighting for a seat on the school board.
Miller is a retired NYC Fire Dept. Emergency Medical Service Emergency Medical Technician who’s been serving on the Howell Township Board of Education for 12 years. He’s also the Past President of the Monmouth County School Board Association and current Board of Directors Delegate for Monmouth County to the NJ Schools Boards Association. In addition, Miller is the Past President of Southard Elementary School, Past President Middle School North PTA, Past Vice President Aldrich Elementary PTO, as well as an active member of Middle School South PTO, Howell HS PAT & Howell HS Band Parent Association.
Thor is the Associate Vice President for University Communications and Marketing/Chief Communications Officer at New Jersey City University and has served as a member of the Howell Township Board of Education for six years. Currently, he chairs the Board of Education Finance Committee, former chair of the Board of Education Policy Committee, member/former chair of the Board of Education Community Interaction Committee, member of the Board of Education Labor Committee, and member of the Board of Education Legislative Advocacy Committee. Additionally, he is a founding member of the Howell NJ First organized effort to stop warehouse overdevelopment in Howell and a member of the Howell Township Lake Restoration & Wildlife Management Committee.
Lowe was previously the Superintendent of Schools in New Jersey. She retired in June 2013 and started as Managing Director of her own business, All Children Can Learn LLC in January 2014. She’s worked with school leaders in Indiana, Georgia, Philadelphia, and New York, and has been working for 44 years in education. Lowe has completed three terms, nine years as an elected official. In addition, she provides a majority of her civic and community service through her local chapter of Lambda Omega Omega, of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. She is also an Associate Jewel in Suffolk County for Jack and Jill of America.
Degliuomini is a 14 Howell Township resident who is advocating for all children. According to her election flyer, education and safety for students is a priority and is a believer in parental rights.
Attempts to reach Martianne Degliuomini were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
What are biggest issues facing the district, and how do you plan on addressing them?
Miller: “One of the issues facing the district is also an advantage. That is the upcoming addition of the full implementation of the preschool 3- and 4-year-old program. While this program will bring free preschool to our 3- and 4-year-old students and get them the early education they deserve and need, it will have an effect on our current student population. We will need to ‘repurpose’ two buildings to make them Early Learning Centers and return to a K-5 model. We will also need to do a reconfiguration of our school district so this will affect even some middle school students as we ‘right size those buildings.’ Our last reconfiguration lasted nine years and the students that entered kindergarten will have left our district in 8th grade knowing their path. So, the promises the district made were able to be kept. In this plan those promises of entering preschool and leaving 8th grade on the same path will also be our goal.”
Thor: “The biggest issues facing our schools are the remaining cuts expected by S-2 legislation in the next few years and the impact on taxpayers, continued education loss as a result of the pandemic including concerning test scores, labor shortages for bus drivers, substitutes and aides, the rebalancing of our schools after the pre-school expansion approval, and the nationwide erosion of parental rights in the education of our children.”
Lowe: “I see the biggest issues facing school district is the loss of learning when schools were closed. It’s been documented the loss for all students K-12 nationally. In Howell providing programs and interventions to address the loss is critical. The Social Emotional learning for all students, staff and parents. The last issue facing school districts is school funding in general: what happens after the federal COVID funds expire in 2024.”
Is there anything new that you would want to do for the schools?
Miller: “Some things I would want to do or continue to do would be things that I am running on such as: strong focus on academics; transparency; being fiscally responsible with taxpayer money; providing for equal opportunity for all students; making sure I am a voice for the community; parental rights in all areas.”
Thor: “Now more than ever, we need Board members with both leadership and practical, professional experience. For six years I have been a trusted, articulate, visible member of our Board of Education who has positively represented our community, children, and families as an invested parent and transparent advocate. Given some of the difficult problems our district is still facing, national educational concerns expressed by our families, and exciting new opportunities with our pre-K program, my experience as a leader on our Board of Education is critical for another three-year term. Hundreds of families in this town have personally reached out to me for assistance over the last six years, and it’s a responsibility I take very seriously to be able to help our children and families. I look forward to continue serving our community.”
Lowe: “In Howell we are in the last year of our 5-year strategic action plan that guides our work as a board. We will start planning now for the development of a new 5-year plan. We will evaluate the previous plan and goals this year and planning will start next year with bringing all the community together. I am running again; if successful I will be part of the 3rd 5-year action plan and bring my knowledge and experience to that process. The biggest reason I choose to run for another term is our federal pre-school grant our district received. It was a competitive grant and we were one of a few districts in the state to receive the funding. The research is evident on the benefits of pre-school. As a result, we voted to have five K-5 elementary buildings and convert two elementary schools to early childhood centers and keep both our two middle schools. This is amazing for our community and the children and families in Howell. I look forward to be a part of an excellent school district in supporting the superintendent in this major educational endeavor.”
