Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • April 20, 2011 Upper Saddle River On Wednesday, April 27, voters in Upper Saddle River will be asked to cast their ballots on the 2011-12 budget. Voters will also choose two of four candidates for the two, three-year terms on the K-8 board of education and two of three candidates who filed for the two, one-year unexpired terms. Incumbent trustees Kenneth Amano and Jennifer Johnston have filed for the two three-year terms. They will be challenged by Federico “Alex” Berlingeri and Brian Hoffman. Incumbents Peter Koski and Angela Sacco-Torres are running for the two unexpired terms. Newcomer Sharon Reissman has also filed for one of these seats. Amano has been a resident of Upper Saddle River for nine years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Chicago and an MBA in finance and School board election features challenges this year accounting from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. He and his wife Doreen are the parents of Alessandra, a student at Bogert Elementary School, and Caleigh, a student at Reynolds Elementary School. Amano is senior vice president and portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman, LLC. “A year ago, I applied for an open position on the board and was fortunate enough to be selected among several excellent candidates,” Amano said. “My primary motivation was to offer my finance background as well my deep interest in education (as the son of two educators and father of two district students) in order to help guide our district through a difficult economic period. Due to the financial crisis, districts nationwide have been forced to cut teachers and programs. However, I firmly believe that in this time of general weakness, there is an opportunity for our schools to grow stronger due to the wonderful community of students, teachers, administrators, staff, parents and townspeople we have. Due in part to the efforts of the board prior to and since my arrival, I believe our schools have grown stronger in a fiscally disciplined manner, as demonstrated by our proposed budget that includes a tax levy increase of just 0.23% with no teacher or program cuts. With the voters’ approval, I would be honored to continue my effort to maintain one of the best K-8 districts in New Jersey.” Berlingeri said, “As a father of three school age children, I am running because I feel we can use our resources more efficiently. I believe in fiscal responsibility, transparency, and efficiency. In times when families living in our community are feeling the financial pinch it is imperative that we make sure every dollar we spend is the best possible expenditure. “My professional background as a negotiator and purchasing director for multimillion dollar contracts and an operations director responsible for the fiscal soundness of a $50 million company give me the skill set that is needed to make sure we are bettering our children’s education. “Communicating with the community is an important part of the board’s responsibility and we have a lot of work to do in this regard. I intend on making sure you are informed quarterly through an internal e-mail blast of the important issues we are faced with, thus ensuring accountability. “Finally, for those of you who know me, my candidacy is listed as Federico A. Berlingeri, but most of you know me as Alex. I hope you support me in this endeavor and will always be available to any of you to express your concerns. “Now is the time for new voices, new perspective, and new strategies. Please vote.” Hoffman earned a bachelor’s degree from New York University, where he double majored in film and computer science. He received a master’s in computer science from Stevens Institute of Technology. Hoffman and his wife Jennifer have two children who attend the district’s schools. The candidate owns an entertainment, licensing, and marketing company. 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