HOWELL, NJ — Al Miller is one of five candidates, including one write-in candidate, seeking three full-term seats on the Howell Board of Education in the Nov. 7 election.
Miller is the current president of the Howell Board of Education and has served on the school board for 12 years. Other incumbents seeking re-election are Denise M. Lowe and Ira Thor.
Martianne Degliuomini is seeking her first term on the board, and a write-in campaign is being run by candidate Eleonora Calo.
Miller, of the Ramtown section of the township, says he always has taken comments and opinions of parents in the district very seriously and would like to see more parents share their ideas.
His campaign link is www.facebook.com/AlMiller4HowellBOE.
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In these profiles, candidates provide voters with background about themselves and their positions on the issues, as they see them.
Read more from Al Miller:
Background:
Candidates were asked to provide their professional or volunteer information, school board experience, campaign links, and personal background.
I am married with two daughters who went through the Howell Township School districts.
I am a retired Emergency Medical Technician from the NYC Fire Department Emergency Medical Service. This allows me to bring my knowledge in safety to the district.
I am the past president of Southard Elementary School, past president Middle School North PTA, past vice president Aldrich Elementary PTO, as well as a former active member of Middle School South PTO, Howell HS PAT and Howell HS Band Parent Association.
With serving on these PTA/PTO board and/or being involved in the parent organizations, I was able to see and hear the concerns of the parents and the importance of the parents' voice. This is something I take very seriously at every Board of Education meeting and every committee meeting I attend.
We need to have more parents to come out and share their ideas, concerns and comments with our board. Parental involvement and voice are an essential part of a child’s education. I also was a religious education teacher at St. Veronica’s Church.
Top issues:
Candidates were asked about the important issues in their district, and how the school board can address them.
One of the issues facing the district is also an advantage. That is the upcoming addition of the full implementation of the preschool 3- and 4-year-old program.
While this program will bring free preschool to our 3- and 4-year students and get them the early education they deserve and need, it will have an effect on our current student population. We will need to “repurpose” two buildings to make them Early Learning Centers and return to a K-5 model.
We will also need to do a reconfiguration of our school district so this will affect even some middle school students as we “right size those buildings.”
Our last reconfiguration lasted nine years and the students who entered kindergarten will have left our district in 8th grade knowing their path. So, the promises the district made were able to be kept. In this plan, those promises of entering preschool and leaving 8th grade on the same path will also be our goal.
Policy 5756:
Candidates were asked if they wanted to comment on state Policy 5756, which provides guidance regarding transgender students, including communication with parents. Some districts in the state are repealing or amending the policy.
As a candidate, and not speaking for or on behalf of the board: Recently the State Deputy Attorney General James Michael admitted in court that Policy 5756 is not a mandatory policy in school districts. The Howell Board of Education current policy company mislabeled it as a mandatory policy.
So, the district, as well as others, now are in the process of considering abolishing it. I do support abolishing it. If the district abolished it, they would still continue to uphold state and federal anti-discrimination laws.
I would like to see a General Parental Notice Policy. That policy would notify parents if the child’s social/emotional health is adversely affected. If a child feels unsafe at home, districts have the appropriate staff, resources and referrals to assist those students. Parents' voice and involvement are an essential part of every child’s education.
Candidates for Howell Board of Education: (Full term, vote for three)
There are no open spots for the Freehold Regional Board of Education from Howell this election year.
Note: Candidates who have not received their request for profile information from Patch should check their spam folders or can contact Pat McDaniel at patricia.mcdaniel@patch.com for the email with candidate questions.