October 30, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 15 Letters to the Editor (continued from page 14) my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ ChristopoulforFLBOE, and ask me any questions you might have. After doing so, it is my hope you will agree that I am the right choice for our town and will cast a vote for Christine Christopoul for BOE. It would be my honor to continue to represent the stu- dents and taxpayers for a second term. Christine Christopoul Franklin Lakes (The opinions represented in this letter are Ms. Christopoul’s and do not reflect those of the board of education.) BOE needs Kathie Schwartz Dear Editor: After a brief hiatus, it is time for the voters of Franklin Lakes to welcome Kathie Schwartz back to her seat on the board of education. Kathie has shown an unwaver- ing commitment, regardless of which side of the table she was positioned - as a board trustee or as a parent. Unfortunately, over the past year, our board of education has been characterized by turmoil and partisan- ship. To use the New Jersey catch phrase, we must now rebuild. Kathie Schwartz possesses the qualities a board of educa- tion trustee should embody. She is logical, objective, responsible, and dedicated. It is a pivotal time in our schools, imple- menting both the new Common Core Stan- dards and new teacher evaluation models, which come with higher expectations of both our children and teachers. The bar is steadily rising, and I would like to have Kathie on the BOE to help us navigate and meet these new challenges. We will also be hiring a new superin- tendent - a crucial decision that requires a sound, balanced, experienced board that will work together to make the right choice for our students and our community. I sincerely hope you will join me and vote for Kathie Schwartz on Nov. 5. We need her back in her seat. Michele De Luccia Franklin Lakes Offers experience and leadership to BOE Dear Editor: During my four years on the Franklin Lakes Board of Education, we kept tax increases very low, we kept class sizes low, we added and improved programs for our students, we made difficult decisions about employee benefit plans, we planned strate- gically, and we proactively explored ways to achieve operating efficiencies to maxi- mize our return on our tax dollars. Your schools were very well run and I am very proud of the great things that were accom- plished. Right now we have a relatively inexperi- enced board working to rebuild our admin- istrative team, in the midst of critical state education mandates. Let’s get back on track. The board needs knowledgeable, experienced board mem- bers who understand the role of a board member, and who make fact-based deci- sions about our district with a vision and plan for the future. I am passionate about Franklin Lakes as a top tier and model school district, both for my own children and those who come behind mine. In my four years on the board, every decision I made supported that vision of building great schools in which our entire commu- nity can have pride. If I am elected in November, I will continue to advocate for rigorous curricu- lum that exceeds state standards, prudent spending with an eye toward long term and strategic investments, and attracting and retaining the best and the brightest talent for our district. It is in all of our best interests to have informed voters go to the polls in Novem- ber. If you have a question as to where I stand on a particular issue, please ask! I am happy to share my thoughts and I would like to hear yours. All of my contact information is listed on my website: www. vote4prideinourschools.com. I would be honored to represent you on the board of education again. Kathie Schwartz Franklin Lakes School board elections (continued from page 9) strong leadership, and making decisions that are strategic, well focused, and trans- parent.” Valvano grew up in the Shadow Lakes area of Franklin Lakes and attended the Woodside Avenue School and the Franklin Avenue Middle School. He graduated from Ramapo High School. He now has two sons at the Franklin Lakes Middle School and a daughter in kindergarten at the High Moun- tain Road School. He is a certified public accountant, having earned a BS degree in accounting from William Paterson University and an MS degree in taxation from Fairleigh Dick- inson University. He is chief financial offi- cer of Flowers National Bank. Valvano is an assistant coach of the 13U and 11U Franklin Lakes War Eagles baseball teams and coaches in the town’s recreation basketball program. Previously, he served as president and was a riding member of the Franklin Lakes Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Zolfo was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved to Franklin Lakes in 1999. He has three children, including a daughter at the Franklin Avenue Middle School and twin eight-year-old sons at High Mountain Road School. He earned his undergraduate degree from St. John’s University and his law degree from the University of Miami. He began practicing corporate law in 1986 and has worked for various Fortune 100 companies during the span of his 27 year career, the last nine with Express Scripts Inc in the borough. RIH Regional School Board The candidates for the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School Board of Edu- cation are Lynn Budd and Thomas Bun- ting, both of whom represent Wyckoff, and John Butto, who represents Franklin Lakes. There no open seats for Oakland represen- tatives on the board this year. Budd was appointed to the RIH Board of Education in 2009 to fill the unexpired term of Kathy Scarpelli. Budd was elected to the board the following year. She has served on every board committee during her tenure, and has chaired several of those committees. She has also been the board representative to the APTS from 2009 to the present and has served as the board’s county representative and liaison to the Wyckoff Board of Education. She was elected vice president of the board in 2012 and as board president in January 2013. Currently a managing partner in a small software development company, Budd was previously employed by IBM for eight years in several areas, including human resources, compensation, and executive development. During that time, she developed a separate and unique program with Syracuse Univer- sity to enable IBM executives to complete their undergraduate degrees in short, inten- sive residential programs. Budd holds a Ph.D. in comparative Renaissance literature from Fordham Uni- versity. Prior to working for IBM, she spent seven years as assistant dean of students at Fordham, where she had previously taught undergraduate English for three years. Bunting grew up in Haledon and grad- uated from Manchester Regional High School. He has been a resident of Wyckoff since 1996, when he graduated from Susque- hanna University with a bachelor’s degree in finance. He has worked in the insurance industry and has managed an investigative unit for an insurance company. Bunting’s children have attended the public schools in Wyckoff and Ramapo High School. He has been active in Wyck- off’s recreation programs for years, having been a football coach and the township’s travel basketball director. Butto joined the regional high school board this year to fill the unexpired one- year term of Wayne Peterson, who repre- sented Franklin Lakes on the board. Butto received 22 write-in votes, the highest number of the eight people who received write-in votes to fill that position for which there were no official candidates in the school board election. Butto has lived in Franklin Lakes since 2003. He grew up in Hasbrouck Heights and attended Corpus Christi Elementary School and graduated from Bergen Catholic High School. He has been the senior financial manager for the Beyer Automotive Group and has been in the automotive industry for 28 years. Conference they learned to their peers.” The Center for Alcohol and Drug Resources provides community and school-based education programs about alcohol and drug abuse and advocates for responsive prevention and treatment ser- vices. The center’s offices are located in Hackensack and its services are available throughout Bergen County. Children’s Aid and Family Services is a leading nonprofit human services orga- nizations serving northern New Jersey. The agency is fully accredited and has served the community for more than 110 years. Its mission is to preserve, protect, and, when needed, provide families. For more information about Children’s Aid and Family Services, call (201) 261-2800 or visit www.cafsnj.org. (continued from page 6) let these kids know they have the power to take positive action.” The high school students worked most of the summer to prepare for the confer- ence, with the guidance of Jamie England, a prevention specialist with The Center for Alcohol and Drug Resources. “I’m proud of the high school students and their commitment to mentoring the younger students,” England said. “They are passionate about making the commu- nity better. We want the eighth grade stu- dents to be role models to the rest of the school and bring the important messages