Vacant Trustee Seat Must Be Filled by Sept. 23

The Board of Education must appoint someone by Sept. 23 to fill the vacant seat left by former trustee, and current councilman, James Jimenez. 

Jimenez resigned his seat on the board July 20, the same day he was appointed and sworn in to finish out Lawrence Maron’s at-large council term. Maron resigned his council seat because he was appointed to a state Superior Court Judgeship in Hudson County by Gov. Chris Christie.

District officials have received resumes from several interested applicants.

“We want to talk with them and find out what their philosophies are and let them know how the Board works," said Board of Education President Don Pavlak Jr. 

Pavlak said the Board would hold a question and answer session with prospective candidates in closed session. He said that an announcement could be made this month but noted that the board does not want to "rush" the process either.

“August would be a fine month to do it because things are a little slower and we’ll be starting up talks on the next budget once school begins in September,” Pavlak said. "It would give the person a chance to become acclimated to how the board works before diving into the budget."

Jimenez said he would run on the Republican ticket for a three-year term in November’s general election. Jimenez will join trustee Franco Mazzei on the ballot.

Mazzei, a civil attorney, will run against Democrat Matthew Giordano for the Ward 3 council seat. Mazzei’s board term was set to expire in 2012. Mazzei currently serves on the Wayne Public Library’s Board of Trustees.

Mark Semeraro, the Republican municipal leader in Wayne, said that Mazzei is a “quality individual.”

“His years of service show that he has a strong community spirit and the bests interests of the community in mind,” Semeraro said. “He’s not doing it for the political perks that go along with being an elected official. He’s doing it to help others.”

Pavlak said that Mazzei and Jimenez have “served the board, school district and community well.”