LACEY – A group of impassioned residents have thrown themselves into the race for Lacey Township Board of Education this year, intending to “restore Lacey pride” or advocate for the taxpayer.
Running against two incumbents, Board President Robert Klaus III and board member David Silletti, are four residents that have made quite a name for themselves in recent months.
New Candidates
Regina Discenza said she is running on behalf of the taxpayer. A former board member herself from 2015-2017, Discenza claims perfect attendance at Lacey school board meetings for the past 48 months. A regular attendee at Lacey Township Committee meetings, Planning Board Meetings, Municipal Utility Authority meetings and Lacey School Board meetings, Discenza has proved a community involved resident over the past 15 years.
She emphasized that being a member of the board is quite a demanding role. “Most people that do it take too much for granted,” she said.
Discenza’s campaign slogan describes her as an “Experienced Taxpayer Advocate.” One of her main goals, should she be elected, is to work against the recent state cuts to school funding.
“State funding cuts must be stopped,” she said. Discenza is also big on heading straight to the source: the governor. At the Sept. 17 meeting, “I told the School Board to ask for a personal meeting with the [Governor]! Start at the top when there is a problem.”
She explained that $583,000 has been cut from this year’s budget; one of many local school budgets to be severely slashed by Gov. Murphy’s aid changes.
Discenza intends to go after this fervently, stating “I don’t take no for an answer easily.”
While Discenza is branding herself as a “taxpayer advocate” she also emphasized that students always come first. “That is what is taught at NJSBA [New Jersey School Board Association]…Board Members must focus on students,” she added.
Second after students is making sure there is a balance between expenses and raising taxes. “
Discenza leaves you with this message to consider on Election Day: “I will always be there for the students and YOU.”
More information about Discenza and her campaign can be found at her Facebook page: facebook.com/DiscenzaforLaceySchoolBoard/.
Running together are two Lacey residents that have been very vocal at recent school board meetings: Frank Horvath and Amanda Buron.
These names made headlines, literally, back in March of 2018 when Jersey Shore Online reported about how residents lashed back against the school board’s decision to suspend two students over a controversial social media post. Horvath and Buron spoke out against the board’s actions at board meetings, demanding a line be drawn between school and parental discipline.
One half of the pair is Frank Horvath, Lacey resident, parent, and owner of Benjamin Franklin Plumbing and One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning. Horvath is a seasoned business owner and handyman, but he is now breaking out into the political realm for the first time.
“I am a political outsider, and have never even ran for any office before,” Horvath told Jersey Shore Online. “The extent of any civic organization involvement was been limited to Rotary Membership and Chamber of Commerce membership in the past.”
Although he doesn’t boast much experience in public office, he is a longtime Lacey resident with four children, all of whom came up through the Lacey school system.
“I have concerns regarding what I see as a lack of independence and oversight of the school administration,” said Horvath.
If elected to the board, he intends to make transparency between the school administration and the public a priority, as well as “support students and parent’s rights, and exercise fiscal responsibility.”
Horvath’s running mate, Amanda Buron, is campaigning along these same principles.
Buron is a Lacey resident and a Product Support Engineer for Zodiac Aerospace. Buron connects the duties of her job to those of a board member, stating: “my duties are to constantly troubleshoot and make design improvements.”
Buron also claims experience in public office as a former treasurer, vice president, and president of the student chapter of the Society of Women Engineers at Trenton State College. “In support, neither my running mate Frank Horvath nor I have any connections that would cause conflict of interest or force us to abstain from voting on any matter brought to light,” she added.
She was also formerly a Girl Scout leader, is a current certified volunteer for the NJ Sharing Network, and has taken part in various local fundraisers.
Buron cited school funding as the biggest concern facing Lacey right now, stating that she and Horvath are “ready to take the fight to Trenton” to ensure that Lacey schools receive the required amount of state aid, as well as “vigorously oppose any new tax abatements issued to developments in the town.”
A major facet of the Horvath/Buron campaign is transparency. Buron stated that she and Horvath “would like to immediately implement a comprehensive transparency and accountability plan to bring the public into the decision making process.” The plan would make meetings more open and accessible, by either televising them or making changes to the meeting times so that more residents can take part, she said.
“We will also seriously consider exploring better options for the provision of district legal services, such as an in-house counsel rather than appointed law firms in order to save the taxpayers money,” said Buron.
Part of changes to legal services would also include a revision of the district’s OPRA compliance to maximize transparency with residents, Buron added.
Believing that the current board is not doing enough to engage with residents, Buron and Horvath intend to change the way things are done to “make the board more responsive to their [the residents’] concerns.”
For more information on Horvath and Buron’s campaign, visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/Elect-Buron-Horvath-for-Lacey-Board-of-Education-1078658595630950/.
The fourth non-incumbent running for a seat on the Board is Gregory Pancza. Pancza’s campaign slogan is “Safe Schools Now.”
Pancza is a former candidate for Lacey Township Committee during the 2014 election and a Bradley Beach Police officer, serving since 2005.
Pancza defines his experience in public office: “I work as a public employee. Additionally, I was the chairman of the Bradley Beach Police Association, and currently sit on the executive board for PBA Local 50. So I’m aware of what public office entails.”
Pancza notes that speedy decisions are part of the problem, when it comes to the board; this is something he plans on changing should he be elected.
“I see issues that pop up from time to time where incorrect decisions are made based on knee jerk reactions. For instance, laying off school security in March 2016 to balance the budget. These decisions either end up costing the taxpayers money unnecessarily, either through poor research, or legal fees.
If the board slowed decision making down by considering all possible outcomes, I’m certain it would have chosen different courses of action in many cases,” Pancza told Jersey Shore Online.
Aligning with all the other candidates, Pancza also cites school funding cuts as a major concern, stating that it “doesn’t help matters any.”
In addition to this, Pancza’s main issue focuses on lack of proactivity with regard to school safety. “There have been several occurrences over the recent years nationwide, that should have triggered more of a response from the board, and it hasn’t,” he stated.
With kids currently matriculating through the Lacey school system, Pancza is particularly concerned.
“I want my kids, and the rest of the kids attending, to be able to learn in the safest environment possible,” he said.
Pancza is also focusing on teacher salary. “New teachers to the school district have a low starting salary. Additionally, there are 20 steps for them to reach top step. This is a concern as our very best, brightest, and most talented teachers will seek jobs that have better salaries elsewhere.
I want to be able to retain quality teachers by giving them competitive salaries, while keeping it affordable to the taxpayers,” stated Pancza.
Incumbents
These four individuals will be on the ballot alongside two who are currently on the school board: Robert Klaus III and David Silletti.
Robert Klaus has spent the last three years on the Board of Education, most recently as president. Although he may only have three years’ experience in public office, Klaus has been a Lacey resident for over 40 years.
Growing up here with his family, Klaus graduated from Lacey Township High School in 1989 and has spent time coaching various club sports such as youth baseball, tee ball, football and basketball.
He is part owner of an IT company. “My role is business development as well as overall management,” he said. “I have been in the Professional Services industry since [1996].”
Klaus cited safety and budget as the two main issues the board is facing.
“We are hitting safety head-on by partnering close with the Lacey Police and the Township Committee. Together we were able to come to an agreement to augment our current security officers with three more Class III officers who patrol each school every day,” said Klaus.
The administration has also been working on training staff and securing entrances to ensure safety on all levels, he added.
In terms of budgetary needs, Klaus agrees that the district needs to advocate for more state funding. “We are working together with many other districts to appeal to the state to reinstate our full state aid,” he said.
However, in the meantime, Klaus said the board’s plan to “attack” state aid cuts is “by generating revenue in the district to offset the losses from the state.”
Running alongside Klaus is David Silletti, current board member. Silletti is now coming up on the end of his term on the board, which has been his first experience in public office. Aside from this, Silletti is a member of the Lacey Republican Club and coach for the Lacey Township Basketball Association.
“I am currently employed by the Township of Belleville as a captain in the Fire Department. I just started my 20th year and I love my job,” Silletti told Jersey Shore Online. “Before I joined the fire service I was a small business owner.”
With a growing involvement in the Lacey community, Silletti cites state funding and safety as priorities for the district, and even the county, as well.
“The fact that the NJ State government decreased our state aid by nearly $600,000 in 2018-2019 and will cut even more over the next few years is a major detriment to all the districts receiving cuts, especially after budgets were prepared with the previous state aid numbers,” he said.
Silletti echoed Klaus’ statements about school safety, mentioning that the district has been working on increasing safety and security measures.
In addition, he stated that maintaining drug and alcohol awareness and education as a focal point for students was key.
“These concerns, along with raising test scores, college and career preparedness and providing a quality education for all of our students is something that I believe is of the utmost importance,” said Silletti.
This year’s election is a highly contested one as these six candidates vie for two spots on the Board of Education. Each of the two elected officials will serve a 3-year term.
Election Day is November 6, 2018.
