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Seven people are running for Secaucus school board; voters will choose three. Patch asked all seven the following questions:

Patch Staff

|Updated Tue, Oct 1, 2024 at 10:25 am ET

SECAUCUS, NJ — Seven people are running for Secaucus school board this fall; voters will be asked to choose three.

Patch asked all seven candidates the same set of questions, and all seven responded. Beginning today, we are publishing the candidates' answers in the order they were received.

Can you give a brief bio on who you are: How long you've lived in Secaucus, your career experience, where you currently work, your age.

My name is Monica Berckes, I was born and raised in Bergen County and have lived in Secaucus for over 25 years. I am married with two children, both born and raised in Secaucus. They attend school and sports in-district.

In addition to being a licensed New Jersey real estate agent, I’ve worked at a marketing & advertising agency for 30 years. As a senior director, I manage complex budgets, adhere to aggressive deadlines, and pitch/develop campaign concepts and strategies for some of the biggest brands in the world. I nurture interns and prepare them for their role within our agency or outside. Working in the fast-paced field of advertising requires prompt reaction, strategic planning and execution of tactics across a wide range of traditional print and digital media outlets.

Find out what's happening in Secaucuswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

This and more about me can be found on my Facebook campaign page, MB for SBOE.

Do you have kids or had kids in the Secaucus school system? Have you served on any prior school boards, or worked in education?

Yes, I have two children in sports and school in-district. Yes. I was a substitute teacher in-district for about five years.

What do you think have been the biggest mistakes or failures made in the past four years on the Secaucus school board/in the district? How would you have done things differently?

I can point to a few. Matters surrounding our recent superintendents are cause for big concern. Redistricting and pre-K are others — much of the community knows this already. However, I feel our biggest issue is that we are not acting as a forward-thinking board. There are so many fires to put out; so much attention is placed on short-term solutions and necessary quick fixes. It feels like we are governing our schools by way of looking in the rear-view mirror. The board is required to present goals for each year. We need to develop goals that are forward-thinking and keep clear sight of these goals for the year ahead. These goals are important in the overview of what the board is trying to accomplish, in tandem with managing the daily issues our district faces.

I would concentrate on establishing goals that look forward. And if elected, I would focus heavily on reaching these goals.

If redistricting is again brought up (a proposal last year to put K-2 in Clarendon, and 3-5 in Huber), how would you vote for it? Yay or nay?

Today I am a nay. The benefit wasn’t made clear to me (or the community) when it was presented and it was completely rushed. If we were to consider redistricting, I would want to understand the real benefits and get community buy-in.

Where are Secaucus schools doing well? Where can they be improved?

Our students love their schools. Their teachers, administrators, faculty, staff, aides, coaches and mentors are amazing. There is such a sense of pride in our district. The students are our brand ambassadors and you can see in their smiling faces whether they are in the classroom, field or court, etc. We are succeeding in producing smart, shining future members of society. We should be proud of that!

We can continue to strive for better in our academic, enrichment, and sports program offerings, not to mention other items not even on the table right now, such as introduction to vocational tech programs, expanding clubs that are more relevant to the world ahead, and better guidance programs to prepare them for beyond graduation, to name a few.

What do you see are the biggest issues facing the Secaucus school district in the next 2-5 years? How are you going to prepare for them?

If we continue to fail, my fear is our rankings will continue to cycle downward. This not only affects the students in the classrooms, it affects every single tax-paying resident. People move to towns with great schools. If our rankings decline, so do our home values. No one wants this to happen. We need to fix a lot of things at once. Starting with staff retention, on up to our top superintendent leadership. We need to focus on building "a winning district." And I know I am the candidate with the skills and dedication to get us there.

Who's running for Secaucus school board this year:

The election will be Nov. 5, but you can vote early in person at the Secaucus Rec Center from Oct. 26 - Nov. 3. Hours will be Monday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. and Sunday, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. No appointment is necessary, according to the state of NJ Division of Elections. And there is also mail-in voting.

There is a candidates' forum scheduled for Oct. 24 at the high school PAC, moderated by Secaucus Spectator publisher Don Evanson.

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SECAUCUS, NJ — Mayor Mike Gonnelli endorsed Gerald "Gerry" Lyons and Tatiana Geller as candidates in this year's Secaucus Board of Education election, which will be held Nov. 5.

Gonnelli also endorsed sitting BOE member Melissa Howard, who is running for re-election.

As Patch told you would happen, Gonnelli announced his endorsement Thursday night at his meet-and-greet campaign event at the Harmony hotel. Howard, Lyons and Geller were in attendance, as was candidate Jamie Fisher and several sitting members of the Board of Ed.

The plot thickens: After learning that Lyons had recently moved to Secaucus in the past year, Gonnelli was the one who actually asked him to run for Secaucus school board.

"Once I looked at his resume, I asked him to run," said the mayor, who is a popular and influential figure in town. "If you look at his resume, you will see he really has the background and knowledge to sit on the board."

Lyons used to live in Jersey City, and he served on the Jersey City school board for 10 years; he was also president of the board. Lyons is a longtime public high school teacher and also used to be the principal at the Hudson County Schools of Technology, now located in Secaucus. Lyons moved to Secaucus in the past year and he is a newcomer in town.

"No, I did not ask him to move to Secaucus," said the mayor. "But I was looking for candidates to run. Once I learned he moved to town, I looked at his resume. He taught in Secaucus, he knows the town and the school system. He really is the best candidate."

As for Geller, Lyons' running mate, Gonnelli said Councilwoman Orietta Tringali told him about her. After looking at her resume, Gonnelli said he endorsed her as well.

"She is a speech pathologist, she has a lot of experience working with special-needs kids. She lives in Harmon Cove. The only bad part about both of them is they are unknown in town, so I have to introduce them to people and get them out there."

"And I think Howard could be a very good Board member," he said. "She really could be very good."

In his 15 years as Secaucus mayor, Gonnelli has never publicly endorsed a school board candidate.

"The school district needs a change," said the mayor. "We've had six superintendent in the past seven years and guess what, we are still paying all of them. All of them got paid and weren't working. Some people on the Council have been saying that I should appoint a board. I don't want to do that. So I am endorsing candidates."

On Nov. 5, Secaucus voters will be asked to choose three from the following:

Here's Who's Running For Secaucus School Board This Fall (Aug. 16)

Seven people are running for Secaucus school board; voters will choose three. Patch asked all seven the following questions:

Patch Staff

|Updated Mon, Oct 7, 2024 at 3:29 pm ET

SECAUCUS, NJ — Seven people are running for Secaucus school board this fall; voters will be asked to choose three.

Patch asked all seven candidates the same set of questions, and all seven responded.

Can you give a brief bio on who you are: How long you've lived in Secaucus, your career experience, where you currently work, your age.

I am a 65-year-old educator who has been teaching for 38 years in Hudson County. I have seven teaching certifications and two master’s in education. I currently teach ESL to adults at Hudson County Schools of Technology and a master’s class in education administration at Saint Peter’s University.

Most of career has been with Hudson County Schools of Technology. Our students are from all over Hudson County and many have been from Secaucus. We moved to Secaucus in 2023 and are very happy with our decision.

Find out what's happening in Secaucuswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

I was on the school board with the Jersey City Board of Education for around nine years, and president of the board for my final year. It was an extremely educational experience with each year served allowing me to become better in my role. I received the status of “Certified School Board Trustee” from the New Jersey School Board Association.

Do you have kids or had kids in the Secaucus school system? Have you served on any prior school boards, or worked in education?

I have no children but have taught somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 students over my career and I am pleased to still be in contact with many of my former students, some from the 1980s. I thank God for this wonderful opportunity.

What do you think have been the biggest mistakes or failures made in the past four years on the Secaucus school board/in the district? How would you have done things differently?

One thing that I learned from my time as a board trustee is that communication and transparency are extremely important. I also know that the board is often aware of private information that cannot be disclosed while cases are active. It would be unfair for me to state that the board had made any mistakes or failed without having additional background information.

One issue that I might have had a different vote on would be putting someone out on administrative leave. Having fought against that while on the Jersey City Board of Education, I have watched my concerns about resolving the issue as opposed to a paid leave come true. I don’t know all the details, as they are private, but I would use an administrative leave as a final option. Possibly the board did this.

I would make transparency and communication priorities. I would ensure that meetings were held to get feedback from the community. Before any major decisions are made (i.e., rezoning, Pre-K programs), the community needs to be able to have their say.

If redistricting is again brought up — a proposal last year to put K-2 in Clarendon, and 3-5 in Huber — how would you vote for it? Yay or nay?

Regarding redistricting, comments from the community have been both in support of and against this move. Concerns about traffic across the Paterson Plank Road bridge, having students in two schools, moving kids farther away from home versus perks related to allowing subject and grade teams to work together, having students grouped with similarly-aged classes and consolidating resources have been voiced.

Before any decisions are made, a survey needs to be sent out to every family. The district needs to weigh in to identify any facility issues that might arise. Data needs to be presented on the size of the classes and available space. Concerns about how this decision would affect special-needs or ESL students must be presented. This is a major undertaking and decisions need to be made based on community input, logistics, data on how the move would impact the district facilities, and most importantly, common sense. Stating this, I can not say how I would vote without having an abundance of information.

Where are Secaucus schools doing well? Where can they be improved?

All the data I see on Secaucus schools present a highly successful school district. Areas of concern that have been brought to my attention are services for special-needs students, problems with bullying (HIB issues) and overcrowding in the upper school cafeterias. Having started and administered the LEAP Program (college classes while in high school), I am interested in learning more about Secaucus’ college course offerings and expanding the programs.

While on the Jersey City school board, we pushed for grants and were recipients of numerous different ones. I’m interested in reviewing the current grant programs of the district, as I do not know how proactive the district currently is regarding getting them.

Retention of staff has been an issue of concern so addressing that would be a priority. This issue does not have an easy fix due to a shortage of teachers, especially in areas like special education and ESL.

What do you see are the biggest issues facing the Secaucus school district in the next 2-5 years How are you going to prepare for them?

As mentioned above, special education, rezoning and early child education programs are three important topics. As the former policy chair for Jersey City, I am very interested in being a member of a policy committee. The primary function of a school board is to oversee the safe and successful operations of the district and the policies are the driving force behind this. From attending Secaucus school board meetings, I was pleased to learn that our district has employed a company whose primary function is to ensure our policies are current. The board has options related to policies and these should be discussed during open session, to ensure transparency, to determine if any changes to current policies should be made.

As there is a limited amount of items that can be addressed during the monthly meetings, Board "retreats," held right in our own schools, are a great way of discussing and developing short and long-term goals. These meetings should encourage participation from the community and should provide a detailed report on issues discussed.

Regarding how to prepare for the issues facing the school district, I believe the approach should be the team of trustees working together with the district, our elected officials, and our community to ensure that everyone makes the success of our schools a priority.

I am very thankful that the Mayor has offered his endorsement to Tatiana, Melissa and myself and am glad to be working with them. I am very impressed by their knowledge of, and commitment to the district.

That being said, I have spoken to the other four candidates and believe they have no agenda other than doing what is best for our schools. I think the community is fortunate to have such a great group of candidates to choose from.

Tatiana and I are educators and Melissa has a strong finance background. All the candidates bring something to the table. I’m hopeful that people take this vote seriously and make a decision based on who they believe can best represent our community.

Editor's note: Mayor Mike Gonnelli endorsed Lyons, his running mate Tatiana Geller and Melissa Howard for school board this year.

Who's running for Secaucus school board this year: Seven candidates for three seats:

Meet Melissa Howard, Running For Secaucus School Board

Meet Jamie Fisher, Running For Secaucus School Board

Meet Valerie Giraldo, Running For Secaucus School Board

Meet Audry Yule, Running For Secaucus School Board (running mates with Giraldo)

Meet Tatiana Geller, Running For Secaucus School Board (running mate with Lyons)

Meet Monica Berckes, Running For Secaucus School Board

The election will be Nov. 5, but you can vote early in person at the Secaucus Rec Center from Oct. 26 - Nov. 3. Hours will be Monday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. and Sunday, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. No appointment is necessary. And there is also mail-in voting.

There is a candidates' forum scheduled for Oct. 24 at the high school PAC, moderated by Secaucus Spectator publisher Don Evanson. Evanson says it will be recorded so people can watch later. Patch will be there covering it and attempting to livestream it. Nearly every candidate said they will be there on Oct. 24.

Seven people are running for Secaucus school board; voters will choose three. Patch asked all seven the following questions:

Patch Staff

|Updated Sat, Oct 5, 2024 at 4:39 pm ET

SECAUCUS, NJ — Seven people are running for Secaucus school board this fall; voters will be asked to choose three.

Patch asked all seven candidates the same set of questions, and all seven responded. We are publishing the candidates' answers in the order they were received.

Can you give a brief bio on who you are: How long you've lived in Secaucus, your career experience, where you currently work, your age.

I am 43 years old and I’ve lived in Secaucus for nearly my entire life. I left a few times here and there, but always seem to find my way back. Secaucus will always be home to me. I am a registered nurse. In addition to spending over 10+ years working in inner city emergency rooms, I have also spent time as a school nurse and working in case management. Additionally I am the founder and owner of an independent business. This has armed me with skills in assessment, planning and coordination, resource management, advocacy, education, compliance and collaboration.

Do you have kids or had kids in the Secaucus school system? Have you served on any prior school boards, or worked in education?

Find out what's happening in Secaucuswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

I have two boys who are recent graduates of my alma mater, Clarendon School. I am expecting my third boy in March and look forward to having another Clarendon Bee in our line-up. For full transparency, neither of my boys currently attend Secaucus Middle School. I believe not currently having children in the school system gives me the freedom to be vocal about issues without worrying about consequences for them. It also assures community members that my decisions are independent of any self interest.

I have not served on a Board of Education before, but I have been employed by several. I’ve worked in several school districts (including here in Secaucus), which gives me a strong understanding of how schools operate, and the challenges students, parents, educators and administrators face on a daily basis.

What do you think have been the biggest mistakes or failures made in the past four years on the Secaucus school board/in the district? How would you have done things differently?

In the past four years, I believe one of the failures has been allowing our district to become a revolving door. This, coupled with a lack of transparency and communication, have been detrimental to the reputation of our school district. I would work on advocating for more effective communication with our community, prioritizing transparency and improving resource allocation.

If redistricting is again brought up — a proposal last year to put K-2 in Clarendon, and 3-5 in Huber — how would you vote for it? Yay or nay?

I am not for or against redistricting at this time, but I maintain that it needs comprehensive planning. There are many questions and concerns surrounding this particular subject that need to be addressed appropriately. All perspectives should be considered and most importantly, the inputs of all parents and community members should be taken into account. I would want all scenarios considered prior to any implementation and contingency plans put in place to deal with any issues that might arise from such an impactful change.

Where are Secaucus schools doing well? Where can they be improved?

I’ve been fairly vocal about how I believe our schools have made great strides in areas such as technology integration and the implementation of social emotional learning. However, there is always room for improvement and in my opinion, the vital need for the return of some core educational values. I am deeply disappointed in the removal of libraries and access to physical books within our schools. I am also immensely invested in advocating the need for additional resources for our educators, especially those who work with our special-needs population.

What do you see are the biggest issues facing the Secaucus school district in the next 2-5 years? How are you going to prepare for them?

One major concern ahead of us is the population growth, causing problems like overcrowding and financial limitations. I also see the growing dependence on technology in education presenting obstacles. Getting ready for these concerns involves taking steps to enhance resources, additional support for our educators and infrastructure preparation.

Who's running for Secaucus school board this year:

Meet Valerie Giraldo, Running For Secaucus School Board

Meet Tatiana Geller, Running For Secaucus School Board

Meet Monica Berckes, Running For Secaucus School Board

The election will be Nov. 5, but you can vote early in person at the Secaucus Rec Center from Oct. 26 - Nov. 3. Hours will be Monday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. and Sunday, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. No appointment is necessary. And there is also mail-in voting.

There is a candidates' forum scheduled for Oct. 24 at the high school PAC, moderated by Secaucus Spectator publisher Don Evanson. Evanson says it will be recorded so people can watch later. Patch will be there covering it and attempting to livestream it.