BERKELEY – Al Aires and George Dohn both served six years on the Central Regional Board of Education, and took the time to talk about those years with The Berkeley Times.
Aires said he served as an advocate for kids, taxpayers, and staff. It’s a board member’s job to make sure the district is offering a complete package for students, which includes curriculum, activities, and more.
“Even though I’m more of an athletics guy, it’s the whole person,” he said.
Aires was humble, saying he is just one vote out of nine on the board, and attributing Central’s successes to a team effort. The board works to support the administration’s goals.
“It really starts with the vision of the superintendent and is supported by the board,” he said.
“(Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides) has a great vision,” he said. “Business administrator Kevin O’Shea does a tremendous job with the books.”
Introducing an assistant superintendent position was a big step in that direction, Dohn said. This helped the administration achieve more.
He also praised the synergy that the board had.
“There’s a lot of people with different experiences,” he said. “We each had a piece of the puzzle. At times, we didn’t agree but we tried to do that in closed session.”
Whether it was facilities, curriculum, sports or activities, the board was united in making the district better for the kids, he said.
“I’m very happy with what we could accomplish as a team in my six years,” he said.
He said he would have loved to have seen a pool built during his tenure, and eventually an ice rink. This would be a similar situation to the turf fields and the track that was already built.
“It’s hard to get swim time and our kids have to wait until late” to practice, he said.
The Election
The incumbents were running under the slogan “Honesty Integrity Safety.” Aires and Dohn were challenged by Merissa Borawski and Heather Koenig who ran under the slogan “Supporting Parental Choice.”
The vote totals were as follows: Borawski received 6,338 votes and Koenig received 6,091 votes. Aires received 4,454 votes and Dohn received 4,029 votes.
Aires said a lot of voters were focused on the gubernatorial election, a statement that other politicians have said as well. “The board of education is an afterthought.”
Looking at the vote tallies, the candidate in the first position had the most votes, followed by two, followed by three, with the fourth position having the lowest. It was likely many people just pushed the buttons that fell under the candidate for governor that they wanted whether they knew the names or not, they said.
The election was definitely more online this past year, rather than standing outside ShopRite, Aires said. Especially because of the pandemic, going door to door meeting people or having an event to meet candidates is too difficult.
Dohn agreed that the first two on the ballot historically have a favorable chance.
If it had been a school board election only, then there would have been a better opportunity to get their word out, he said.
“I wish them the best of luck,” Dohn said of the newcomers. “I hope they contribute as much as anyone else (on the board).”
