Four Seeking Board of Education Seats in Shrewsbury

Three candidates are vying for three year terms and one candidate is seeking a two year term on the Shrewsbury Board of Education in the school board elections on April 27.

Seeking a three year term are incumbents John Smallwood of Dorchester Way, Vincent Costa, Beechtree Lane; and newcomer Karolanne Konefal, of Blades Run. Running for the two-year seat is incumbent Patricia Hennelly, Beechwood Drive.

There is one school in the district, the Shrewsbury Elementary School at 20 Obre Place.

Patch asked each candidate two questions: What is great about the Shrewsbury School District and what was left undone from the current school year and priorities for the 2011-2012 school year.

Costa, 48, who is seeking his second term, said what makes the Shrewsbury School district great is that "it is K-8 with the school itself in the center of Shrewsbury, and it is in the center of our wonderful community."

Costa added that having the superintendent of schools live in the borough is another example of what makes it a standout school district in the state.

"Our superintendent (Brent A. MacConnell) resides in Shrewsbury, and is a former teacher who came back to run the school a few years ago," Costa said.

Notably, Costa said that the "superintendent has raised the bar for educating our students by revising the curriculum, improving our technology, increasing professional development for our teachers."

Another example of what makes Shrewsbury a great school district according to Costa is that district teachers have taught students for many years.

"We have a group of experienced teachers who have been with us for a long time, and understand our students and the community very well," he said.

On what has been left undone in the current school year and his priorities for 2011-2012, Costa said that technology stills needs to be improved.

"Given the budget cuts last year we had to be prudent about improving our technology infrastructure so we want to be able to integrate technology for the classroom experience."

Another area left undone in this current school year is language arts. "We want to continue improving our language arts skills," he said.

Costa noted that the district has progressed very well in its Math program over the past few year and he doesn't want to see language arts lag behind. "We have made great strides in our Math programs and scores, and I want to do the same thing for language arts in 2011-2012," he said.

Smallwood, 43, who is seeking his second term, said what makes Shrewsbury a great school district are four pivotal ingredients.

"Its the kids (students), the community, teachers and our administration," Smallwood said.

"All of these and, the children’s' families together provide a great educational experience," he said.

On what is left undone in the current school year and priorities for 2011-2012, Smallwood said he "wants to continue making the enhancements to the educational experience for our students that we started on three years ago."

Konefal said what makes Shrewsbury a great school district is its class size where the per pupil to teacher ratio at the Shrewsbury Elementary School is small, and better for educating students.

"I like the small class size, the K-8 model, and the quality of education," she said.

On her priorities for 2011-2012, Konefal said that being a parent of two school-aged children helps her better understand the needs of all district students.

"I would use my experience in education and as a parent of two school-aged children to maintain and improve the district as necessary through the 2011-2012 school year," she said.

Hennelly, who is seeking the two-year term summed what makes Shrewsbury a great school district in one word: Commitment.

"By that I mean commitment by our teachers, administrators, and parents to the goal of providing a high quality education to our children, and we all believe in this goal and work very hard to achieve it," she said.

On what is left undone from the current school year and expectations for 2011-2012, Hennelly said that for 2010-2011, budget cuts from Gov. Chris Christie's state budget made it a difficult year, however the district was able to make it through the school year in pretty good fiscal shape.

"2010-2011 was, from a fiscal perspective, a very challenging year. Fortunately, we managed our expenses and were able to provide additional services for our students," she said.

She noted that even as Christie's budget cuts are not as deep as last year, there will be less revenue to provide for education.

"In 2011-2012, the Board of Education, administration and teachers must work together to establish our priorities as we learn to provide a higher quality of education with less dollars," she said.