Redistricting Has Nothing To Do With My BOE Endorsement: Gonnelli
SECAUCUS, NJ — Last month, Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli raised eyebrows when he chose to publicly endorse three candidates for school board: Sitting BOE member Melissa Howard, Gerald “Gerry” Lyons and Tatiana Geller.
Did Gonnelli’s pick have anything to do with redistricting, the controversial proposal introduced last winter to house K-2 in Clarendon School, and grades 3-5 at Huber Street?
(Redistricting was first introduced by now-suspended superintendent Erick Alfonso at the Jan. 18, 2024 Secaucus BOE meeting. None of the Board members present that evening, including Howard, raised any objection. Howard said in her election profile and in a new interview below that she continues to support redistricting today.)
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And yet nearly every other school board candidate — and who did not receive Gonnelli’s favor — has been critical of redistricting.
Redistricting had nothing to do with his choice, the mayor stressed to Patch this week. Rather, it is the revolving door of superintendents that has been at the forefront of his mind when it comes to Secaucus schools.
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“I never asked any candidate once about redistricting; I don’t care if redistricting happens,” said Gonnelli. “All I care about is getting a new superintendent. That’s where I’m putting all my effort and all my power.”
“I just want it to be someone good; someone who knows about the town of Secaucus and who knows how Secaucus works,” he said.
Geller, Lyons and Howard all affirmed the mayor never brought up redistricting to them.
“He said nothing to me about redistricting, and has never brought it up to this day,” Lyons said this week. “He just said the board has been having some issues with leadership in the district — the superintendent leaving, the head of special (services) leaving and so on.”
He is referring to Kerry Goldsack, director of special services (special education), who resigned in June. The position has still not been filled.
Lyons said “someone else in the room” (presumably a Secaucus councilperson) once asked for his views on redistricting, and Lyons gave an answer similar to what he said in his profile: “That I could not give an opinion on it. I need to see more data. I think my answer frustrated the person who asked, but that’s the truth.”
“We never talked about it (redistricting). Our conversations were about my background and my general views on education,” said Geller Thursday.
“Mayor Mike did not ask me anything about redistricting. It was not a conversation we had,” said Howard. “I’m not sure of the criteria that was used to pick the endorsements he chose.”
Gonnelli says he asked Lyons to run after learning that he had been on the Jersey City school board for 10 years, and had recently moved to Secaucus. And Gonnelli said he asked Geller to run after learning about her background in special education (she’s a speech pathologist in Jersey City public schools.)
After town-wide backlash, the school board decided to table redistricting. But it will be brought up again for discussion in 2025.
Speaking to Patch Friday morning, Howard said she continues to support redistricting.
“I supported it (in January) and I support it now,” she said. “I think it would be a good thing for our schools because it would allow us to offer more educational opportunities for our kids. For example, we could offer a STEM program. Right now, it is very expensive to roll out a program such as STEM in two different elementary schools. So we are limited.”
Also, Howard said she did not think it is right that all special-needs students are housed in Clarendon School.
“Right now, they are the only kids who need to re-district. So they can play with a kid in their neighborhood, but not go to school with that same kid. I think by housing only special needs in one school, we are highlighting things we shouldn’t be highlighting.”
“I feel it was rushed the way they tried to do it in January,” she added.
Secaucus Mayor Endorses Lyons, Geller, Howard For School Board (Sept. 13)
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