Mayor Anthony Russo’s “Excellence in Education” slate swept the Hoboken school board elections last week despite a respectable showing from newcomer Sean Sovak.
In addition to selecting three board members, the voters also passed a $39 million dollar spending plan that calls for $25 million to be raised by local taxes. This new budget will represent a small decrease in the levy of taxes of local citizens.
The spending plan passed by a vote of 1,368 to 602, according to the city clerk’s office.
“I think what you are seeing is a growing interest from the public, and that all residents are concerned with the quality of education in Hoboken,” said Board of Education President David Anthony. “This new budget shows that residents believe our public schools have become a viable choice for a quality education. More newcomers have decided to stay in Hoboken and are making it a home and are taking advantage of the public schools. When you see the budget with a 2 to 1 ratio, you can tell that people feel that the money that goes to education is being spent effectively and responsibly.”
Anthony has served as board president for seven years. School taxes have stayed relatively stable during that time. In the last few years, charter schools have been added to the public school system.
Regarding the election for the individual seats, long-time board member James Farina was a top candidate, with 1,807 votes, followed by incumbent Theresa Burns, with 1,713, and newcomer George Fonseca, with 1,679. The independent Sovak, a non-politically-connected businessman who was making his first run at local office, garnered a respectable 1,103 votes.
The turnout for the election was better than expected, with 2,560 residents out of more than 23,000 eligible voters, or 11 percent.
“I think this is a wonderful turnout seeing that it was not a heavily contested election,” said Burns, 41, a teacher in West Caldwell. “The primary thing [that the turnout] shows is that people support the public schools, and we are headed in the right direction.”
“I would deflect some of the praise from the members that were elected [Tuesday] and give it to all the hardworking people that have been successful in raising test scores and are in the classroom every day educating our children, they are the ones that really deserve our praise,” she added.
Newcomer Fonseca is a Hoboken police officer and expectant father. “I am excited about being elected and I am truly looking forward to the next four years,” he said Thursday. “I believe I will bring enthusiasm and diversity which will help to lead to good ideas that are going to get parents involved in their children’s education.”
Even though he didn’t gain a place on the board, Sovak was not totally disappointed with the outcome of the election.
“I was truly overwhelmed by the support I received,” he said. “It was a great experience being able to get out in the community and meet so many good people. I have gotten to know the other candidates that were running and believe they are going to do a great job. I knew from the start that it was going to be an uphill battle for someone who, for the most part, was unknown.”
Sovak said that this is not the end of his involvement in the community. He said he and his wife “are making Hoboken our home and I will definitely find other avenues to get involved in the future.”