Ridgewood April 4, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 5 School board candidates ready for April 17 showdown by John Koster Four candidates for the Ridgewood Board of Education will vie in two contests – one for a one-year seat and the other for a three-year seat -- in the April 17 election. Gina Damasco, an attorney with the U.S. Department of Education and a Ridgewood High School graduate, will face off against Vincent Loncto, an appointed incumbent who earned his MBA and CPA designation. They are seeking a full three-year term on the board. Incumbent Robert Hutton, who has an MBA in accounting and has served nine years on the board, will contest the available one-year seat with Jim Morgan, who has an MBA and a CPA and extensive corporate financial experience. Ridgewood is one of the few districts that opted to retain the traditional April school board and budget election. At last week’s Candidates Night, when the candidates were asked whether they supported April or November elections in future years, Hutton said that while he had voted for the April election in December of 2011, he would consider November elections as an option because holding the school election on the date of the general election could save the taxpayers some money. Loncto said he would keep the school elections in April because Ridgewood school matters deserve specific attention. He concurred that there is a need to stop tax increases, but pointed out that Ridgewood compares very well to other districts in spending for student and still delivers quality education. The four candidates are all satisfied consumers of the Ridgewood school system -- Damasco as a graduate of Ridgewood High School; and Hutton, Morgan, and Loncto as the parents of Ridgewood High School graduates or seniors. All four praised the quality of Ridgewood’s educational system, and all four cited the need to keep school spending under control. Damasco said state-mandated special education is legally and morally necessary, but that savings might be possible if Ridgewood expanded its own qualified special education staff to handle more special students indistrict to save tuition and transportation fees. Hutton cited his role in constructive negotiation with the Ridgewood Education Association. This year’s budget reflects a zero increase in teachers’ salaries, but the new budget projects a two percent increase for next year, though the teachers have no contract as yet. Morgan said he would require that the annual budgeting process be conducted assuming a range of a five percent decrease to a maximum two percent increase in local property taxes. Damasco is a graduate of New York University and Rutgers Law School. She works with the U.S. Department of Education, and has previously been a school board attorney. She has volunteered with the Big Sister program, the Red Cross, and Habitat for Humanity. Hutton, a graduate of Midland Park High School, holds an MBA from Pace University, has extensive experience in financial and property management, and works as a CFO in New York. Loncto earned a degree in economics from SUNY in Buffalo, an MBA from Columbia University, and is a CPA. He served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army artillery, and has worked as a financial officer or CFO (continued on page 12)