Dear Editor:
As a trustee of the Secaucus Board of Education for the past five years, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in many important advancements throughout our school system. These advancements are a continuous process and so is the commitment and work we, as board members must do to implement them. Our grammar schools are in the middle of major additions and renovations, thanks to the support of our community. These projects were well thought out and planned. Two very important board members in these projects are Tony Rinaldi and Mike Schlemm. Tony and Mike are both engineers. Tony, a structural engineer, is our chairman of Buildings, and Grounds. He’s working on every phase of this project, from helping to select the architect, design, size and shape, and contractors, just to name a few. Mike, an electrical engineer and member of Buildings and Grounds for three years, is working on all the same phases bringing his areas of expertise into the process. Plus, he leads the way with our advancements in technology.
I can’t stress enough the word “work.” There are workhorses and there are show horses. We, as a community, need to reelect our workhorses. Working together as a board, we not only see the things that need to be done, we work to get them done quickly and efficiently. You don’t change coaches in the middle of a game, nor should you change knowledgable leaders in the middle of a construction project.
Our grammar school projects are on a tight schedule and are moving along smoothly. We need to maintain this progress not to interfere with the education of our students and keep the costs within our budget.
As a member of Building and Grounds for five years myself, I know the need to have these two engineers on our team now and in the future. Please join me in supporting two “proven workers” on our Board of Education and re-elect Michael Schlemm and Anthony Rinaldi this Tuesday, April 17.
Paul J. Amico
Vice President of the Secaucus Board of Education