Field of four vying to succeed incumbents O.B. school board candidates discuss issues facing district BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer OLD BRIDGE - Three fresh faces will join the Board of Education this April, since none of the incumbents are seeking re-election. Abhishek Desai, Eugene Donofrio and David Josselyn are competing for the seats along with write-in candidate Frank Weber in the April 17 election. Resident Ingrid Andrade filed to run but has since announced her withdrawal from the race due to a private matter. Her name will remain on the ballot, however. Desai, a lifelong resident of the township and a 2000 graduate of Old Bridge High School, is seeking his first term. "I went through the Old Bridge Township school system from kindergarten to 12th grade," he said. "It was superb at the time, and it helped me to develop into the person I am today. I feel it's a very good thing to give back to the community by serving on the school board." Desai holds a master of business administration degree from Rutgers University and is an associate consultant with Price Waterhouse Coopers. He said his background and experience in the business world would prove an asset to the board, and if elected, he would like to work on keeping the budget at a level that works for both the district and the taxpayers. "So far, I think the board is doing as good a job as they can," Desai said. "I think maybe I would just bring a more recent firsthand experience." Having been in the school system within the past decade, Desai said he is in touch with what some of the issues are. Josselyn, who ran unsuccessfully last year, is medically retired from the Army National Guard. Along with raising his children, Michael, 12, and Elizabeth, 5, he also volunteers with the Cheesequake First Aid Squad and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). He, along with his children and wife, Angela, has lived in Old Bridge for 19 years. Josselyn said he is in close touch with the actions of the school board, and has been involved for three years. "I'm there all the time," he said. "I go to all of the committee meetings, or most of them, and the agenda meetings. There are changes coming up that I want to be part of the process with." There were problems in the redistricting process that took place in 2005, Josselyn said, noting that some of what was done was not well thought out, and the parents' voices were not heard by the board. "There was a lot of it that was done right, but there were things that should have been done differently," Josselyn said. "There are too many things that have not been right, and I want to be a part of the process of correction." While Josselyn disagreed with some of the board's actions, he said that over the past two years, they have been moving in a positive direction and have made some strides in achievements for the district. If elected, Josselyn said, he will look to the general public, and more specifically, the parents of students in the district, for input and opinions. All too often, he said, the public's viewpoints are ignored by the board in its decision-making processes. I'm just trying to be able to make a difference," Josselyn said. Donofrio, a general foreman for an electrical contractor, also said it is important that parents' voices be heard by the school board. "I think they lost that one-on-one communication with the parents," Donofrio said. The father of three children, each at one of the district's educational levels, Donofrio said this makes him a true stakeholder in the school system. Of the current board, he said, only one member has children currently in the district's schools. "Being that I'm involved in all three of the schools, I'm there with the parents," Donofrio said. "I'm in the trenches. Their complaints are my complaints. They have the same issues as I." It is also important to involve the township's senior citizens in the board's decision-making processes, Donofrio said. "They were the foundation of this town. Their opinions, their voice, can't go unheard either," Donofrio said. In terms of the school budget, Donofrio expressed the importance of making necessary cuts in areas that will not affect the quality of the children's education. Instead of cutting salaries, for example, he said cuts should be made in areas with less of an impact, like on supplies. "It's time for a change," he said. Donofrio, a 17-year resident of the town, resides with his children and wife, Maria. In his spare time, he works as a martial arts instructor. His three children are very important to him, he said, which is why he hopes to secure a place for himself on the school board. "Next to their health, there's nothing more important than my children's education," Donofrio said. Weber decided to run as a write-in candidate after learning that the incumbents on the board were not seeking re-election. "The board is a mess," Weber said. "Putting three totally inexperienced candidates in there is not a fair choice for the people of Old Bridge." He served on the board for seven years, including a term as president from 2000 to 2002. After losing the election in 2002, he has made unsuccessful bids to return to the board. Weber has been an officer and president of both the boys' and girls' soccer leagues in Old Bridge. He has served as chairman, vice chairman and member of the township's recreation advisory committee, and spent three years serving on the Planning Board. "I've been an activist in Old Bridge on the Board of Education since 1985," Weber said. A township resident since 1974, Weber is an account executive for a large insurance agency. He and his wife have four children, three of whom have graduated from district schools, and one who is a sophomore at the high school. Over the years, Weber said, he has contributed to the well-being of the district in various ways. In 1995, he proposed having only one certified school nurse to rotate throughout the district for teaching purposes, then hiring registered nurses to serve regularly in the schools. He said the change has saved the district $1 million to date. This year alone, it will save over $200,000, he said. When the two high schools in town merged in 1993, Weber said, he helped to ensure that students would not be pushed out of opportunities to play on sports teams by working to expand available programs for them. Weber said he would like to maintain all of the programs and services offered to students in the district, but acknowledged problems with the budget. "We are in an absolute financial disaster," Weber said. "Ultimately, [it's] going to come down to managing the resources you have available to you." Though Weber recently took issue with his exclusion from a candidates' forum because of his status as a write-in candidate, he remained optimistic about his chances. "There is a good amount of positive feedback in the community about having a choice beyond the three candidates," Weber said. The incumbents whose terms are expiring are Board President John Allen and board members Linda Ault McLaren and Barbara Rossi.