Three Challengers Vie to Unseat Fair Lawn BOE Incumbents
Residents Mark Spindel, Vladimir Itkin and Jeffrey Klein have filed to challenge Board of Education incumbents Eugene Banta, Ron Barbarulo and Joshua Gillenson in this November's BoE election.
Fair Lawn Board of Education members who, despite initial reservations, voted to move school board elections from April to November this year will be in for a challenge at the polls.
Unlike last year, when Susan Gioia, John Mancinelli and Elyss Frenkel won uncontested three-year terms, all three of this year's incumbents will be at risk of losing their seat.
Residents Mark Spindel, Jeffrey Klein and Vladimir Itkin will challenge the seats of incumbents Eugene Banta, Ron Barbarulo and Joshua Gillenson, according to filings released by the county clerk's office on Thursday.
Two of the challengers have backgrounds in education and all have attended numerous board meetings over the past year.
Spindel is a recently retired Passaic City elementary school principal and member of the borough's Property Maintenance Committee, the Knights of Pythias and sits on the board of the Fair Lawn Community School.
Klein teaches at the Passaic County Technical Institute, a vocational public high school in Wayne, and is a member of the borough's Green Team. He's also a recent inductee of the Knights of Pythias.
Itkin, an inquisitive resident who speaks at nearly every board meeting -- often to offer suggestions to the board -- works as an actuarial associate.
Two of the three incumbents who will be defending their seats have served multiple terms on the board. Barbarulo, the owner of Barbarulo Plumbing, Heating & Mechanical Contracting and an All-Sports baseball league coordinator, faces re-election for the first time.
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In This article
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Fair Lawn Borough Board of Education
37-01 Fair Lawn Ave, Fair Lawn, NJ -
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Fair Lawn Community Adult School
14-00 Berdan Ave, Fair Lawn, NJ
K.
3:24 pm on Thursday, June 7, 2012
Go Vlad!
Tommy P
6:41 pm on Thursday, June 7, 2012
Vote the bums out!
LENNY
9:11 am on Friday, June 8, 2012
could this be the reason we are getting all this news on numbers that make our board look so good. maybe the people on it now are affaird some new blood might start asking why we do somethings and ask questions. maybe the rubber stamp of everything the supit. and upper staff want might come to and end. have to say the out sourceing question was one of the few times some questioned a move. good luck to the new people this election.
Sheryl Cashin
4:42 pm on Friday, June 8, 2012
I have said this in the past and will say it once again...teachers, past and present shoud NOT be allowed to have seats on the BOE. I don't believe they can be objective when making decisions concerning other teachers and issues concerning contracts.
Harry
6:24 pm on Friday, June 8, 2012
You are correct Sheryl.
Bill
10:26 am on Saturday, June 9, 2012
Sheryl - How about taxpayers? Should someone who pays local taxes be allowed to serve on a body that makes decisions that impact on the annual tax bill? How can they possibly be objective under those circumstances?
Joan
11:54 pm on Friday, June 8, 2012
That's like saying no one should run for president of a country if he or she is a life-long politician. An individual can remain impartial regardless of background, and in fact an administrator understands school issues better than most. Marie
Deleted because of harassment
9:27 pm on Tuesday, October 23, 2012
I've known Mark Spindel for years, and I do not doubt for one minute that he has the best interest of the community at heart, and with a background in education, a pretty good idea of the nuts and bolts of running a school district. I think that former teachers, if anyone, would probably have a better insight into what needs to be done to best serve the district. As long as they do not teach in the district, why would they be considered in conflict?