On Tuesday, Nov. 8, Secaucus residents voted to return two incumbents to the nine-member school board: current Vice President Jack McStowe and member Kathy O’Connell. Also winning was a member of a third slate, Sharon Dellafave.
The final tallies were O’Connell with 2,770 votes, McStowe with 1,862 votes, and Dellafave with 1,834 votes, Tom Troyer with 1,368, Steven Kilawattie with 1,118 votes, and John Gerbasio with 983 votes.
What’s next
McStowe has been on the board for nine years. He will also become school board president, taking the place of current President John Gerbasio, since Gerbasio was just appointed to be a town council member beginning January.
McStowe has lived in Secaucus since 1974. He is also currently the director of the Secaucus soccer program, and has been for 18 years. He said starting in January the board will be working on implementing a full-day of school for preschool students.
According to O’Connell, the board will also focus on a permanent superintendent of schools to replace Interim Superintendent Kenneth Knops. The search will begin in January.
The board will also focus on a permanent superintendent of schools to replace Interim Superintendent Kenneth Knops.
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O’Connell said Secaucus residents know her as Kathy Huber, and putting Kathy Huber-O’Connell on her cards that she gave to residents helped with re-election. She is related to the person for whom the Huber Street School is named, and Huber is her maiden name. “A lot of people know me in town. I’ve been here my entire life, and I’m very active in town,” O’Connell said.
Since one of her two children is still in Secaucus High School, many parents are familiar with her also. She designed her home to welcome friends for her two sons. “I turned my garage into a man cave for the boys, and a big fire pit in the backyard, because I’d rather have everyone at my house so I know where they and I know everyone they’re with,” O’Connell said.
Newcomer and retired Secaucus High School English teacher Sharon Dellafave said she’d like to focus on improving student education. According to Dellafave, a way to do this is through better communication between students, administrators, and parents.
Dellafave said, “I’m going to study hard to be the best board member I can. I will always put the students first and foremost. We have a lot of work to do, but I believe we can do it.”
Dellafave has been a teacher for over 31 years, and said that this reputation helped her win the election.
Others
Candidate Steven Kilawattie said he’ll be focusing on his grades in college now that the election is over. He said in an e-mail after the election, “After this semester, I am going to take time to reflect and learn about the mistakes I made in this race, and see where I will go next in politics. I want to help people. I want to solve problems. It’s what I enjoy doing.”
Kilawattie has lived in Secaucus his whole life, and graduated from High Tech High School in 2013. He’s been involved in the Junior State of America, an after-school program that studies politics and debating.
Kilawattie added, “I’m a young man, a 22-year-old, one who represents the diversity that has evolved in his town, and runs to make a difference against the old politics in Secaucus. That’s why this year’s race was so unique.”
According to Kilawattie, there could have been various reasons he didn’t win the election.
“I didn’t have enough money to spend on advertisements,” he said. “In comparison with other candidates, I wasn’t as well connected with people in town. Some people were hesitant about electing a young person to the Board of Education, and to them I was different.”
After the loss of this election, former board member Tom Troyer said he might want to run for another office.
“I really don’t know about running politically, but I have to sit down after the first of the new year,” Troyer said.
Troyer was elected to the board three times before he lost his seat in 2012. Troyer lived in Secaucus since 1959. He was teaching in Union City for 45 years before he retired. He has also been involved with the Housing Authority in Secaucus.