- Nirav Kadakia, Brian Cohen and Jenna Corraro are running as a team called Partners Improving Education.
- Aldo Patruno, Danielle Bellomo and Gill Iny are running under the banner of Marlboro Values Protected.
- The board includes nine members total. Each candidate is seeking a three-year term.
MARLBORO – School boards are entities that vote on matters as important as hiring a new superintendent, voting on anti-bullying policy and guiding initiatives to improve student’s academic performance.
But the Marlboro Board of Education, which meets once or twice a month and oversees kindergarten through 8th grade, has often dissolved into back-and-forth bickering.
This election, two slates of candidates are running for three seats on the school board. Two incumbents, Aldo Patruno and Danielle Bellomo, are running with Gill Iny under the banner of Marlboro Values Protected.
Nirav Kadakia, Brian Cohen and Jenna Corraro are running as a team called Partners Improving Education. There are nine members total on the board, and each serves a three-year term.
Patruno, Bellomo and Iny did not respond to emailed questions. They did not participate in a debate moderated by the nonpartisan League of Women Voters, writing on Facebook that they believe the organization leans liberal.
In a team response, Kadakia, Cohen and Corraro wrote, “We realize that what’s happening on the current Marlboro Township Board of Education reflects the sometimes toxic and unproductive political environment hampering our federal government. Instead of working together to build consensus and problem solve, the philosophy of some members seems to be to shut others out.”
‘Politically charged rhetoric’
They stated that they believe the “politically charged rhetoric” has demonized people, created divisions and polarized the community, which creates dysfunction and “does a complete disservice to our schools and students.”
Kadakia, Cohen and Corraro wrote that their top priorities include improving the district’s academic performance, changing certain aspects of the district’s special education program, proactively addressing a loss of funding from the state and getting parents involved.
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For improving academic performance, the team wrote that they want to bring the school district “from average to excellence,” stating that while the district means state standards, “we are not always meeting federal standards.”
Using data, they wrote that they believe the district should be “comparing ourselves to comparable districts across the state, as well as Monmouth County, to determine whether we are meeting reasonable expectations for performance.”
For special education, they wrote that staffing and resources have been cut in the last three years while the number of students in need of services have increased. The team said they would like to explore options that bring back students that had to be placed out of district “because Marlboro does not have the ability to meet their needs.”
Out-of-district placements cost about $100,000 per student. Building up Marlboro’s in-house special education program could result in other districts sending special needs students to the district, they argue.
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They wrote, “We need to do a better job planning for future years. Currently we prepare budgets — both operational and capital — on a year-to-year basis, not taking into consideration enrollment trends, program growth, long term planning, growing capital repairs and investment needs or plans.”
And for parental communication, the team wrote that the school district needs to expand its communication format to include emails, fliers, phone calls and a variety of social media platforms to reach a diversity of families, which include less tech-savvy grandparents, those with disabilities and parents whose first language is not English. They also want parent-teacher conferences to return to twice a year.
“Marlboro has a high proportion of working-parent households, and we need to do a better job accommodating the schedules of those families in our outreach,” they wrote.
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When asked about parental involvement in curriculum development during the League of Women Voters debate, they all spoke in favor of parental involvement and the ability to opt their children out of certain lessons.
Kadakia said that in such cases, the policy guideline would be for teachers to find an equivalent book or materials for the student. He said he trusts the schools’ librarians to keep inappropriate books out of the libraries.
Police called in
Much of the board’s recent bickering revolves around the aftermath of a police call on April 16. According to an incident report by the Marlboro Police Department, police were called to the superintendent’s office where board member Aldo Patruno was “speaking loudly with Mr. Michael Ballone,” the superintendent.
Ballone reportedly “did feel threatened during the incident but does not want to sign complaints at this time,” the police report said.
Patruno calmed down and “left peacefully,” according to the report. The incident came shortly before a special education teacher was charged with harassment of a student and a bomb threat closed schools in the district. The family of the student later sued the school district.
Some board members wanted to know why all board members weren’t alerted while other board members pointed to the fact that Patruno “left peacefully.”
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Kadakia, Cohen and Corraro wrote that to combat the bickering, they would like to see restructured committees that would “reflect balanced viewpoints and ensure that the hierarchy within each committee is committed to making sure that all members work together and reach consensus.”
They want board members to be better educated on their roles and to be held accountable for their own behavior. And they say they want the board to listen to the wider community outside of “one toxic social media group.” They are proposing a working group of parents and school professionals that would represent the diversity within the district and would periodically report to the board.
“We firmly believe that when our community works together, meets face to face, and speaks civilly and constructively with one another, people will again realize there is more that unites us than divides us, and we can accomplish so much more. We are stronger together,” they wrote.
‘Parents, not the government’
Patruno, Bellomo and Iny are running on a parents’ rights campaign, which, according to their website, is “crucial to ensure that parents, not the government, have control over their family’s values and upbringing. Parents know what is best for their kids and should have a say in what is taught.”
They wrote that they prioritize local control in education to “reflect local values and priorities” and to only allow age-appropriate education to introduce “concepts and material that align with their developmental stage and capacity for understanding.” They wrote “this approach supports healthy learning progress and protects children from exposure to topics beyond their emotional and cognitive readiness.”
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They also wrote that they support community involvement to “fosters a sense of shared responsibility for student success and strengthens the connection between schools and families.”
Community involvement could come in the form of administration-hosted workshops, parent forums and coffee chats, according to the campaign’s Facebook page.
The slate also believes that test scores should be improved by focusing on increasing instructional time in core subjects, which include math, reading and science, according to their Facebook page. They also believe in investing in teacher training that emphasizes “effective strategies for teaching core subjects, with a focus on data-driven instruction and curriculum enhancement.”
They wrote that students will be assessed on the core subjects to identify strengths and weaknesses, tailor instruction and “provide targeted interventions for struggling students.”
The candidates
Brian Cohen served as vice chancellor and a member of the City University of New York Chancellor’s Cabinet. As a senior member of the university’s leadership, he participated in the Board of Trustees meetings. He managed the university’s IT department, which had up to 250 employees, an annual budget of over $80 million and a five-year capital plan of over $300 million.
According to Cohen, his “experience spans all aspects of university operations, including personnel management, facilities, construction, labor and union negotiations, executive performance reviews, legal matters, and handling thousands of procurements, including RFPs and strategic sourcing contracts.”
Jenna Corraro is a former public-school teacher, who now works as an instructional designer. She teaches faculty about different educational technologies and has taught workshops about using tools such as artificial intelligence in their curriculum. She co-chairs the Staff Association, where she coordinates events to build morale and connection among school staff, faculty, students and the larger community.
Nirav Kadakia has been on technology boards that focus on “shaping security and compliance policies, driving the implementation of best practices, and reviewing architectural frameworks.”
He wrote that his company is currently working through its own AI policy that would “safeguard our intellectual property and ensure robust data privacy.”
Aldo Patruno is an incumbent board member who was elected in 2021. According to his slate’s website, he has served on the building and grounds committee as well as the policy committee.
“Aldo is running for re-election to build on the progress he has helped drive over the last term,” according to the website. “He is committed to continuing to bridge the gap between parents and the school district, while also providing fiscal responsibility and oversight.”
Danielle Bellomo is an incumbent who took over a vacancy in 2023. She works in marketing and volunteers as a Girl Scout leader, PTO president and softball and soccer coach, according to her slate’s website. She chairs the buildings and grounds committee on the school board and serves as voting delegate for the New Jersey School Boards Association.
Gill Iny is a retired entrepreneur. According to his slate’s website, his main business was the selling of telecommunication devices and electronic equipment to wholesalers including Verizon, T-Mobile, Best Buy and GameStop.
He wrote, “I will be applying the same successful business and financial leadership skills which are so desperately needed to hold the Board of Education accountable and transparent with the education and safety of our children.”
Olivia Liu is a reporter covering transportation, Red Bank and western Monmouth County. She can be reached at oliu@gannett.com.