A New Slate Is Formed

This is what running for the Board of Education looks like: a table filled with papers, notecards, campaigning materials and three people with differing opinions, but the same overall goals. 

The race is heating up, and the newest—nameless—slate is ready to take on Kids First and Real Results.

The somewhat unusual partnership of president of the resident council in the Hoboken Housing Authority Kyelia Colon; Ken Howitt, who is involved in the boy scouts, and former mayoral candidate Patricia Waiters was formed after Frank Raia pulled out of the Board of Education elections. 

The three are now joining forces, trying to unite the East Side with the West Side of Hoboken. Although they say their opinions and backgrounds differ, they all have a common goal, which they've encapsulated in the slate's slogan: "Kids are our Priority! Not politics."

"It's important for board members to reach divides," said Howitt, 55. Howitt's two older children—one is currently enrolled at Rutgers and one at Columbia University—completed Hoboken public elementary schools. His youngest son is currently enrolled at County Public School High Tech High.

The three also share a common discontent with the current Board of Education and its (what they call a) lack of transparency. 

"I'm fed up," said Waiters. She said she has witnessed enough Board meetings to  know that she can do a better job, adding: "I really want real reform."

For Colon, the most important thing on the agenda is finding the district a new, qualified superintendent. Frank Romano, an assistant superintendent in Fort Lee, was picked by the school board in a divisive 7-2 vote on Feb. 9, but decided to withdraw his candidacy after not being able to come to an agreement about his contract with the Board. 

Colon said the district needs a superintendent who knows how to deal with issues related to the Hoboken Housing Authority. She is running primarily to represent her community. Colon is a lifelong resident of the Hoboken Housing Authority.

"We're always underestimated," said Colon, 35. If elected, Colon said she wants to make sure that parents in the Housing Authority know that there is someone on the Board who listens to them. Colon has four children in Hoboken's public schools.

Waiters, mother of three Hoboken public school students, said improving parent involvement is on the top of her to-do list. "Parents are not going to get involved until something escalates," Waiters, 47, said. 

Howitt, who lives in Uptown Hoboken, said cutting funding for programs are among the issues that trouble him most. Interim superintendent Peter Carter recently announced that 14 non-teaching positions will be cut. This means the theater program will be losing its director, which is an issue close to Howitt's heart. The International Baccelaureate Programme will also be cut from the Hoboken Public Schools.

Howitt, who is running for a one-year term, said that potential program cuts will have a significant impact on students who live in the Hoboken Housing Authority. 

"You're robbing them of a way out, you're robbing them of a future," Howitt said, explaining that athletics and theater programs often offer students a chance to get scholarships to go to college. 

The three candidates weren't sure about the exact cuts, and the precise impact on the schools, which led them to talk about another shared grievance about the current school board.

"There's no transparancy," said Waiters. "We have questions."

Howitt agreed. "That's what spurred this union," he said. "I don't feel we get the full truth from the Board of Education." 

Currently Colon, Howitt and Waiters are getting ready for Monday night's debate, in which they will answer questions from the public. "I am just familiarizing myself with the issues," said Waiters. "I'll be ready."

In the coming days, the three candidates will meet up, discuss strategies and hand out cards that Howitt had printed with the slate's slogan and the three candidates' names on it. 

"We have the same issues," said Howitt, "we just come from different sides of Hoboken."