Giving students a quality education, making sure taxpayers’ money is used productively and supporting the teachers and staff in Delran schools were three of many issues addressed during the Meet the Candidates event on Sept. 15 in the Middle School media center.
Sponsored by the Delran Education Association (DEA), some 17 interested teachers and residents listened as the five candidates vying for three seats on the Board of Education talked about their vision and goals for the school district, if they are elected in the General Election on Nov. 3.
“I want to make sure all general education and special education students have the best possible curriculum,” said Danielle Arangio, a 14-year resident of Delran and a teacher in the Delanco school district.
Incumbent Jeff Dzuranin, a teacher at Rancocas Valley High School, said his top priorities will be “student safety, spending the taxpayers’ money wisely and supporting the staff and teachers.”
Kristen Holcomb, a teacher in the Palmyra school district said she wants “the students and staff to be the best they can be and even better than the towns around here.”
Mark Chierici, who previously served for nine years on the BOE, said “students are my main priority.” He also wants to create a better financial plan and go over the many line items in the school budget.
Daniel Riola, a resident of Delran for 12 years and a software engineer with a technology background, said his priorities are the “teachers, students and taxpayers” and would like to focus on the STEM program.
The candidates were then asked a series of questions by DEA President Jonas Pope, including what they would do about “teacher and staff retention, which has become a glaring problem. We are losing quality people here.”
“Teachers need to feel valued. I would make sure the staff is being paid for what they’re worth,” Arangio said.
“I am on a negotiating team in Palmyra. We need to listen to the teachers and negotiate sincerely to build morale,” Holcomb said. “Delran needs to invest in their educators.”
“Salaries are always an issue. We need to remain competitive with other districts,” said Chierici, adding that increasing salaries is “a gradual progression that could take a while.”
“I don’t know why good teachers are leaving. We need to get as much information as possible to find out why,” Riola said.
“Why is there a high administrative turnover? We need to do some investigation into why administrators are leaving,” said Dzuranin, adding that another issue facing the school board is preschool expansion. “It’s a big topic that needs to be addressed.”
Currently, the district’s preschool program operates on a half-day format with morning and afternoon sessions that are limited to students requiring special education services, due to the lack of classroom capacity to accommodate the larger student population.
“The pre-K program works in Palmyra,” Holcomb said. “We need it in Delran.”
Studies have shown that preschool for three- and four-year-olds helps with social, cognitive and emotional growth and helps them transition into kindergarten. The children also learn basic math and vocabulary skills.
All the candidates said they would also represent the taxpayers by taking a careful look at the annual school budget and spend their tax money responsibly.
“Close to one-half of their property tax bill is for education,” said Chierici, adding that finances “are challenging. It costs $25,000 a year to educate a student in Delran.”
“We need transparency,” said Riola, pointing out that the taxpayers should be provided with cost, schedule and performance results.
The Meet the Candidates event was very informative and educational for the attendees, and a chance for the five candidates to present their views to the voters before Election Day on Nov. 3.
