MONMOUTH COUNTY – Freehold Regional School District voted to fill its empty seat at a recent Board of Education meeting.
Alison De Noia, of Colts Neck, attended the meeting and was allowed to speak at the podium to discuss her qualifications.
Peter Bruno, a board member from Howell, thanked De Noia for volunteering for the position. Zack Metzger, also from Howell, asked De Noia about her qualifications before the vote. “What do you see as this districts biggest issue?” said Metzger.
De Noia spoke about the two issues she saw as impacting Freehold Regional School District: state aid funding and rising healthcare costs.
After a brief session of questions and comments by board members, the board left to go into executive session to vote on De Noia’s appointment. Within minutes, the board returned to unanimously vote in their newest member.
Upon being voted to the board, De Noia was an active member. She was then sworn in by Alex Ferreira, Assistant Superintendent for Business / Board Secretary, and took a seat on the panel for the remainder of the meeting.
“I left the Colts Neck Board of Education in 2024,” De Noia told The Howell Times while the board was in executive session. “I would’ve loved to have served another term, but it didn’t work out that way and I’ve been actively politically involved and engaged in my community, as well as in the county and the state and federal level. I wanted to find ways for me to get involved.”
“It’s a little tough in Colts Neck,” said De Noia. “But this opportunity came up and I decided to take it.”
The term she is occupying ends in December 2026. She would have to run for the seat once again in November.
When asked about what she is looking forward to, De Noia spoke about the board itself and future projects. “I look forward to working with this board. I am not familiar with the projects as of yet. It would be my goal to do right by the folks in Colts Neck.”
Construction Updates
Dr. Nicole Hazel, Superintendent of Schools, gave comments to the public about construction work. “As you go past any of our high schools in our district, you’ll see extensive work going on; both outside and inside the buildings,” said Dr. Hazel. “In five of our high schools we are renovating a science lab in each of the buildings, a complete demolition.” The labs are getting “state-of-the-art equipment,” along with new furniture, new flooring, plumbing, and electrical equipment.
Additionally, the district has broken ground on new tennis courts along with “extensive roofing work” at Howell High School, she said.
Hazel also spoke about “extensive work” on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems across all six schools. All schools will be getting roof top units.
Updates to the district’s security camera systems should also be complete and ready for the fall, she said.
Cell Phone Ban
During the meeting, policy updates and revisions were introduced to the public, including a new cell phone policy that will be reviewed by the board policy committee. This brings the district in line with a state law passed this year.
“It is a ban on cell phones, bell to bell,” said Hazel. “Students will not have access to phones at any part of the day. Those phones will need to be put away.”
There will be severe consequences for any violations of the cell phone ban policy. “We are looking at confiscating phones this year,” she said, referring to the new school year starting in September.
This new policy is aimed at keeping the students engaged while in school, she said. The cell phone ban policy will include smart watches, tablets, and smart phones. The policy will be reviewed and presented at the August 27 Board of Education meeting.
Another policy that was revised and presented to the public was Policy 0162. Diana Cappiello, a board member, said notice of School Board meetings was revised to eliminate the need for the Board of Education to publish legal notices in the newspaper. The new law requires the board to publish the meeting notices on their “free and accessible website,” according to Cappiello. Meeting dates will be available on the school’s website via a hyperlink.
Other important items of note in the Board of Education minutes included approval of insurance coverages. These included bids awarded to Utica National Insurance Company for insurance on property, general liability, crime, and automobile. Cyber security coverage was awarded to Travelers. Also in the minutes was approval to hire an architect to conduct an Energy Savings Improvement Plan for the district. This was awarded to Spiezle Architects to investigate any potential energy savings.
