BARNEGAT – Five candidates are competing for three seats on the Barnegat Township Board of Education in the November 3 election, with the district’s academic performance, financial pressures and recent leadership changes among the issues shaping the race.
Four candidates have previously served on the Barnegat board, while the fifth brings school board experience from another New Jersey community. Their backgrounds range from public education and business ownership to law enforcement, military service and higher education administration.
School board elections in New Jersey are nonpartisan, meaning candidates do not run under political party labels, although they may campaign together under a shared slogan. Three candidates, Doreen Continanza, Richard Quelch and Sandra Churney, are campaigning together under the slogan “Leading With Experience.” George Fedorczyk Jr. and Ronald Tola appear separately on the ballot.
The election comes as the district adjusts to a new superintendent and changes in other administrative positions. The board has also recently welcomed Alpesh Shah, who was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Regina Tarnowski following her resignation. That appointment is separate from the three seats being decided by voters.
All five candidates were asked the same questions about their experience, the district’s most pressing challenges, oversight of the new superintendent and campaign affiliations. Their answers have been edited for space limitations with their approval. The candidates are presented below in the order they appear on the official ballot.
Doreen Continanza has spent 26 years working in public education and believes improving student achievement must go hand in hand with maintaining financial stability.
Continanza served on the Barnegat Board of Education from January 2017 through August 2021 and returned following the 2023 election. She currently serves as board vice president.
She considers protecting educational and athletic programs while keeping spending under control an important part of the board’s responsibility. Improving academic performance, maintaining district stability and keeping taxes low remain her priorities.
With a new superintendent leading the district, Continanza believes the board should establish clear expectations and evaluate results without interfering in daily operations. She favors examining test scores, academic progress and staff feedback to determine whether leadership changes are benefiting students.
Continanza is campaigning with Quelch and Churney, although her relationship with Churney began as political opponents. The two ran against each other in 2020 before joining forces in 2023.
Their shared priorities, she said, include fiscal responsibility, protecting student programs and improving academic achievement.
Richard Quelch wants the district to demonstrate that students are receiving a quality education and taxpayers are getting value for their investment.
Quelch served on the Barnegat Board of Education from 2020 to 2023. He said that experience gave him firsthand knowledge of the challenges involved in balancing educational needs with financial responsibilities.
He identifies academic performance and responsible financial management as the district’s two most pressing challenges. Quelch advocates reviewing student performance, identifying weaknesses and establishing measurable goals for improvement.
He also wants careful scrutiny of district spending, particularly as residents face increasing financial pressures. Budget decisions, he believes, should support educational opportunities without placing unreasonable burdens on taxpayers.
Quelch considers leadership stability and staff morale important measures of the district’s direction. He believes the board should evaluate the superintendent through academic results, regular reviews and feedback from the school community while respecting the superintendent’s authority over daily operations.
He is campaigning alongside Continanza and Churney, sharing their emphasis on academic achievement, responsible spending and accountability.
Sandra Churney points to Barnegat’s ability to preserve educational and athletic programs during difficult financial periods as one of the board’s accomplishments.
A local business owner, Churney has served six years on the Barnegat Board of Education, including four as chair of its Education Committee.
She said the district-maintained programs while other school systems made significant cuts, an achievement she attributes to fiscally responsible decisions. Churney identifies three priorities: improving academic achievement, controlling spending and keeping ideological agendas out of classrooms.
She expressed confidence in the district’s new superintendent but believes his performance should be evaluated through measurable academic improvement and financial responsibility. Feedback from administrators and families should also help determine whether leadership changes are working.
Churney’s campaign partnership with Continanza developed after the two competed in 2020. She said subsequent discussions revealed common goals, prompting them to campaign together in 2023 and again this year.
Churney also ran with Quelch in 2020. Their families have spent years coaching recreational sports, a connection she cited in describing their shared commitment to Barnegat’s children.
George Fedorczyk Jr. believes improving student achievement begins with addressing a fundamental problem: too many students missing school.
Fedorczyk has more than 30 years of public service experience, including 18 years in law enforcement and 23 in the New Jersey Army National Guard. He retired as a major following deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and currently leads a statewide law enforcement agency.
He has served four years on the Barnegat board, including 2021 and from 2024 to the present. He considers preserving staff positions despite budget pressures among the board’s significant accomplishments.
Fedorczyk identifies chronic absenteeism and standardized test performance as the district’s greatest challenges. He wants administrators to examine why students miss school, strengthen family communication and develop targeted academic interventions.
He believes hiring qualified administrators is important during the leadership transition. Staff retention, morale and student achievement should help determine whether those decisions succeed.
Fedorczyk, whose ballot slogan is “Integrity, Transparency, Accountability,” said his independent candidacy allows him to make decisions based on his judgment rather than allegiance to a group or agenda.
Ronald Tola believes Barnegat’s schools need a comprehensive management strategy that looks beyond day-to-day problems and prepares the district for long-term success.
Tola served three terms on the Hamilton school board in Mercer County including time as president. His professional background includes senior facilities management positions at The College of New Jersey, Old Dominion University and Haverford College.
A Villanova University graduate, he also helped establish a special-needs baseball program and has spent decades in volunteer leadership positions.
Tola identifies shrinking budgets, unfunded government requirements and growing demands on teachers as significant challenges. He also raises concerns about parental involvement, student behavior and increasingly complex educational needs.
He wants the new superintendent to develop a management plan that identifies district strengths, weaknesses, priorities and available resources.
Tola also advocates expanding relationships with businesses and community volunteers to strengthen educational opportunities. He believes the district can improve statewide test performance and better prepare students for the future without placing additional burdens on teachers.
Running under the ballot slogan “Quality Education,” Tola’s candidacy is separate from the other campaigns.
