March 6, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 3 Ramsey Four candidates vying for three board seats Four candidates have filed for the three Ramsey Board of Education seats that will be available in the April 16 school board election. Challenger Reena Chawla and incumbents Timothy Finnegan, Claudia Monteith, and Carrie Williams submitted petitions by last week’s deadline. Chawla has been a resident of Ramsey since 2008, although her association with the town and its families goes back to 2005, Ramsey High School recently held its Scholastic R Awards Program, at which 223 students in grades 10 through 12 were honored for their scholastic achievements during the 2011-12 school year. To be eligible for this recognition, students must have achieved a 3.0 (B) grade point average or better in every course for the previous year. Kira Schiavello Larson, a resident of Saddle River and a valedictorian from the Class of 2004 at Ramsey High School, was the keynote speaker. A scholar, athlete, leader, and a creative and caring student, Larson proved to be a renaissance woman while attending RHS. She quoted renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci, in her remarks to the Scholastic R recipients, saying: “People of accomplishment rarely sit back and let things happen to them. They go out and happen to things.” Larson was recently married and is working successfully in the field of engineering. She shared her experiences with the award winners and their families and was well-received. The Scholastic R Program was originally scheduled for Oct. 29, 2012. Due to Larson addresses scholars when her children joined the local Cub Scout Pack. The candidate is an electronics engineer and is currently working on an MBA specializing in entrepreneurship and strategy from Babson College in Wellesley, MA. She will graduate in May. Her work experience has primarily been in the IT consulting arena. In 2005, she founded a social enterprise in the area of preventive health and fitness. She is also a member of the Woman’s Club of Ramsey. “I have always been passionate about education, and maximum availability of avenues to children that match their strengths, learning styles, and interests,” Chawla said. Chawla is married and has two boys who attend Smith Middle School. Her sons have been part of the Boy Scout program for many years, and both boys now belong to Troop 31. Finnegan won his current term in 2010 and is now seeking a second term on the board. He is serving as chairman of the board’s Finance Committee and as a member of the Personnel and Community Action committees. A 16-year borough resident, Finnegan has been involved in the Ramsey Junior Football Association and the Ramsey Baseball Association. His three children attend Ramsey’s schools. Finnegan holds a bachelor’s degree from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He is a managing director at JP Morgan Chase, where he has been employed for 15 years. Monteith was a Ramsey Board of Education trustee from 1996 to 2007, when she opted not to seek a new term. In 2009 she returned to the board, replacing trustee Erik Endress, who resigned. She is a graduate of Ramsey High and of the University of New Hampshire, where she received a bachelor’s degree in microbiology with a minor in chemistry. Now retired, she worked for over 30 years in the diagnostic/biotechnology industry. Her community involvement has included work with the local Boy and Girl Scout organizations. She has also been a Sunday school teacher at the First Presbyterian Church of Ramsey, where she is currently serving as a deacon. She and her husband Bob have two children, both of whom are Ramsey High (continued on page 8) Ramsey High School Principal Dr. Michael J. Thumm and Kira Schiavello Larson. (Photo courtesy of Keith Nixon RHS.) the arrival of Hurricane Sandy on that date, the ceremony was moved to early this year.