On April 18, voters will have a chance to choose three representatives for the nine-member volunteer board that oversees the city's public school system. Duties include formulating a $38 million-a-year budget, negotiating contracts with teachers, administrators and other staff and setting education policy for the schools. Unlike recent years, in which many school board members ran for re-election unopposed, this year's election pits two slates and two independents against each other. Winners will serve three-year terms. In one corner stands the "Excellence in Education" school board slate of three candidates - David Anthony, Michele Russo and Wanda Santana-Alicea. - whose campaigns are backed by Mayor Anthony Russo. (Michele Russo is Anthony Russo's wife.) "Hoboken Parents United," a political committee formed by State Sen. Bernard Kenny and City Councilman Dave Roberts, has a slate of its own to counter the mayor's. Their slate includes long time board members Perry Belfiore and Sandra Ramos as well as political newcomer Francis Rhodes Kearns. Caught somewhere between the crossfire are independents John Scutellaro and Jerry Forman. Over the last two weeks, each of the candidates were contacted and asked their views about the challenges that the school board faces, and the personal and professional experiences that they believe would help them improve the quality of education in the mile-square city. Michele Russo Michele Russo, 50, has spent much of her adult life involved with children and education, whether it was serving as a member of the PTO in the Hoboken schools that her three sons attended, or coordinating the activities of the Hoboken Recreation Department's cheerleaders. Now that her sons have grown up, she says that she wants to win a seat on the Board of Education to help "bring the school system into the 21st century." "My dream is to put a computer on every desk of every child in every school," says Russo. "Even though Hoboken is a rich community, I don't think our schools are rich. There is a lot of money out there in matching grants and I don't think that we are getting enough it. I want to explore opportunities to work with corporations and local institutions like Stevens to bring more technology to the classrooms." Russo, who currently serves as a commissioner with the Parking Authority and a Democratic Committeewoman in Hudson County, has never held citywide elected office, but she is no stranger to the idiosyncrasies of town politics, since she is Mayor Anthony Russo's wife. "Being a candidate is kind of a new role for me," Russo says. Other ideas she would like to implement if she is elected include holding a handful of board meetings a year at the Hoboken Housing Authority. "It's a long walk for those parents all the way up to the board's offices at 11th and Clinton streets," she said. Sandra Ramos Six-year board member Sandra Ramos, 47, says that one of the biggest challenges facing our school system today relates to the training of teachers. In particular, she wants to work to ensure that teachers have the training they need to provide instruction to students using computers. "We could have computers in every classroom, but unless you have the staff trained on how to utilize them properly, they will be wasted," she explained. Ramos, whose son Ruben Jr. currently serves as a city councilman, also wants to take action to ensure that students whose first language is Spanish, receive a high quality education. "Forty-two percent of our students speak Spanish as a first language," she said. "We need to re-evaluate our bilingual program so we can expand the services to involve parents." Ramos says that one of the most rewarding aspects of working on the board has been her involvement with individual families and students. "I have helped a number of parents and their children resolve problems they may have been having in the school system," she said. "My door has always been open and will continue to be open to all parents and students." In addition to her school board duties, Ramos spends most of her time caring for her son Ruben Jr. who is battling cancer. She also is a delegate with Puerto Rican Statewide parade and the Vice President of the Hudson County School Board Association. Jerry Forman Jerry Forman, 73, has a wealth of experience in a variety of fields ranging from serving in the Navy to being employed by the city's Welfare department that he hopes to bring to bear as a member of the school board. Among his many community-oriented activities, Forman used to teach dentistry at the Hudson County Vocational School. The experience left him wondering why Hoboken's schools do not invest more heavily in vocational training. "I believe that all schools should have some type of trade training," Forman explained. "Not everybody is going to be a lawyer or a banker. Our kids need training in plumbing and carpentry too." Forman also touts his credentials as an independent, pointing out that he will owe no one a favor if he is elected. "I have no affiliations with [Mayor Anthony] Russo's group or the anti-Russo group," explained Forman, who raised 12 children and six foster children. "I owe them nothing and I am not asking them anything. If I am elected, I will never hold a job in the city or in the schools and I will even sign an affidavit to it." The feisty independent is no stranger to campaigning. He has lost elections in the past for county sheriff, where he ran as a Republican, and county freeholder. When he faces the voters this time, he said that he does not expect to spend more than $100. Finally, Forman points out that he is the only senior citizen in the election, and with 14 grand children and 13 great-grandchildren, he has a vested interest in ensuring that the Hoboken school system is as strong as possible. David Anthony David Anthony, 48, has been president of the school board since he was first elected to the volunteer committee that oversees the city's public school system six years ago. Anthony, who used to host his own talk show on PBS, currently operates a short order restaurant at Sinatra Park. As he runs for re-election for a second time, Anthony points to his record of achievement. "Test scores are up and school violence is down," said the board president. "Spending has been cut or remained level for six years in a row. I don't think that there is another school district in the state of New Jersey that can say the same thing." Anthony also says that he is proud to have played a role in bringing the 3-year-old and 4-year-old programs, school choice, and fiber optic cables to the Hoboken school system. Even though he is proud of how far the school system has come, Anthony recognizes that there are still a lot of improvements that can still be made. "My background is in communications, so part of my hope is to bring the Internet, educational television and radio to the public schools," said the father of three girls. "I want to have the schools producing their own television shows by next year." If he is re-elected, Anthony says that he will devote a great deal of energy towards increasing the level of parental involvement in the schools. He also says that he will continue to work with City Council President Nellie Moyeno to address the concerns of Hoboken Housing Authority residents through a committee he has recently formed called the Circle of Life. Finally, Anthony says that he would like to look at what the charter schools are doing right and see how much of that can be applied to other schools in the public school system. "I think the charter schools have been a very successful experiment," said Anthony who has placed two of his three daughters in the Hoboken Charter School. (The third attends Hudson Academy.) "One charter school has 400 children on the waiting list. Parents seem to be happy." Anthony says that his slate expects to spend about $20,000 on the election. Perry Belfiore Perry Belfiore, 48, has spent 14 years on the Board of Education (some of the terms were non-consecutive.) Although there was a time that he saw eye to eye with Mayor Anthony Russo, he has decided to split with the outspoken mayor for this election. The construction manager and father of four says that his dissatisfaction with the mayor and his policies began more than two years ago when Russo argued that it would save the schools money if the board were appointed rather than elected. Ultimately, the voters rejected the mayor's argument, and now Belfiore has assembled his own ticket that he touts as a group of independent thinkers whose education ideas are not at all influenced by City Hall. "There is a stranglehold that politics is playing on public policy because of the uniformity of policy ideas coming from the same group," explained Belfiore. "Their vision is myopic. If the head of the city organization were Einstein, it would still be bad if he had absolute power. And if there is one thing that this patchwork development of the city shows, it's that we are not governed by Einsteins." "It is to the point now where divergent ideas are sought out and destroyed," he continued. "If the policy of the school board is whatever the mayor wants, the mayor gets than that is constraining on the board." Belfiore says that if he is re-elected, he will focus his energy on breaking down the "divisive barriers" that he sees between backers of charter schools, public schools and private schools. "Everybody is looking for their place in the sun, and they are doing that by casting shadows on other people," said Belfiore. "The way you break that down is by sending the ping pong team to China. I want to see schools do plays together and maybe sports teams. Competition is one thing, but warfare is another." Belfiore also said that he hopes that if he is re-elected he can play a role in "amalgamating, synthesizing, forging alliances and compromising" on the school board. "I think this has become a mean-spirited sort of a city," said Belfiore, "and that has got to change." Wanda Santana Alicea Wanda Santana Alicea, 34, knows what it is like to work with children, teachers and the support staff needed to keep educational facilities running. As the Executive Director of the Union City Day Care Program and Learning Center, she oversees programs that service more than 600 children aged from 6 weeks old to 6 years and she supervises 175 instructional and non-instructional staff people. "My experience allows me to feel comfortable with working with funding sources and budgets as well as working with the teachers and non-instructional staff," explained the mother of two young boys. "I have a good balance there." If she is elected she says that she would like to focus on bringing in the funding necessary to expand the three year old and four year old programs. "I think that it would be beneficial to extend the day for three year olds and four year olds so that they spend the full day at school," said Alicea. "If we could find additional funding, it would be ideal for parents who do not have day care. Studies have found that most children have a sibling that is also in the school system. If we extended the school day, it would mean that parents or caregivers would be able to make one stop to pick up their kids instead of two or three." Alicea, who ran unsuccessfully for City Council in Jersey City in 1990, also says that she would like to encourage more parents to get involved in schools, provide teachers with more training to teach Spanish speaking students, and provide more after-school programs. Francis Rhodes Kearns If she is elected, Francis Rhodes Kearns says that she will work to try and bridge the gap between groups that have not traditionally seen eye-to-eye on school board matters. "For too long there has been a confrontational attitude marking Hoboken school affairs and the city environment in general," said Kearns. "Those born here versus newcomers, those with or without school age children, those allied with whoever is presiding at City Hall versus those who are not. No one can benefit from this, certainly not our children." To overcome this divisiveness, the mother of two says that she will make an effort to reach out and consult with a wide range of people before decisions are made. Kearns is also a strong advocate of arts programs in school. As Vice President of the Brandt PTO, she claims to have worked with parents, teachers and students to put on a play even though the school did not have the resources to have one. This year Kearns proudly announced that the school is preparing for its second production. "The arts are not a luxury, but indispensable to helping our children think creatively and with confidence whether solving a math problem or reading a book," she explained. "I am committed to bringing the arts back to all the schools for all the children." John Scutellaro John Scutellaro, a 34-year-old former Hoboken police officer, is running for the school board to cut down on what he sees as "wasteful spending and improper accounting" that short changes the children that attend the city's public schools. Although his work experience primarily came on top of a motorcycle as a member of Hoboken's finest, Scutellaro says that if he is elected, he will put the accounting degree he earned at St. Peters College to work. "I want to look at the budget, break it down and cut out unnecessary spending," the would-be board member explained. "It seems like we are not spending money in the right spots. We are not spending the right amount on administration for example. That is one area where we could have some cuts." Scutellaro, who plans to spend about $2,000 on his campaign, also said that he would be interested in exploring the idea of leasing the public schools out to a private company. "I would like to start with the grammar schools," Scutellaro explained. "If we leased them out we could pay for everything at a lesser rate." Although he does not have children of his own, he said that he did not see that as a liability in running for the school board. "It's not like they hand out a book to you when you have kids which explains the rules about dealing with children," said Scutellaro, who has not been on active duty since a motorcycle accident left him unable to continue to perform his duties. Overall he said that he hoped that as an independent he could serve as a "watchdog" that would view the board's activities through eyes that were not tainted by any political allegiances.