Rutherford Board of Ed Elections

This Tuesday is the Board of Ed election and School Budget vote. It has been very difficult to find information on the candidates, so here's what I've found:

Summary:

-Rutherford receives about 9% of its school budget monies from the state.

-This year $1.8 million, or about 58% of its aid from the state is being cut.

-The current school board put together a budget for next year with a 2.9% increase in school taxes and 26 layoffs.

-The average tax bill would increase $160 with the proposed budget.

-If this budget does not pass, deep cuts that will significantly impact the education in the borough are next.

Candidates:

There are 7 candidates running for 3 spots on the Board. They are 3-year terms. One candidate is running for re-election (Kevin McLean) and one sits on the Board by appointment (Richele Scuro) but this is her first election race. The candidates are:

1. Matthew Gilson - recent Rutherford HS graduate and full-time student at Seton Hall University. He has a lot of fresh ideas and his Facebook page is pretty great.

2. John Grande - small business owner of a bakery/cafe

3. Mary Lanni - former teacher and retires Principal of St. Mary's High School

4. Kevin McLean - manager in the pharmaceutical industry, parent of Rutherford students. Current Board member.

5. Richele Scuro - project manager for Liz Claiborne. Current Board member.

6. Sally Suarez - retired nurse.

7. Frank Wilson - Industrial engineer who works for UPS. Used to own Clubhouse Cards & Comics in Rutherford.

You can find out more about the candidate and read Q&A with them in todays article on NorthJersey.com or in a similar article in The Leader. They also ran an article about the planned layoffs and proposed budget.

The proposed school budget is available for download here.