Del Sardo and Walsh: Improve Test Scores, Meet Adequate Yearly Progress Standards, and Offer a Diverse Number of Electives for Students

Darrren Del Sardo and Joan Walsh want to finish what they started three years ago.

Del Sardo and Walsh are running together for re-election to the Wayne Board of Education.

“We want to continue to enhance education in Wayne while being fiscally responsible,” Walsh said.

The incumbents said asking questions is an important part of being a trustee. Knowing what questions to ask is just as important as knowing when to ask them.

“You cannot just make a decision just because everyone else is okay with it,” Del Sardo said. “Because we’ve been on the board for three years, we know what questions to ask. It’s important to put your personal feelings aside and work in the best interest of the taxpayers and the children.”

It takes time to learn the intricacies of how the board operates.

“You depend on each board member to take their area of expertise and fine tune it,” Walsh said. “Then you share your knowledge and information with each other.”

Finding the correct permanent superintendent is a priority for the pair, and the board, as a whole. The board had two candidates recently. One chose to stay close to home. The other opted to retain his position with another district.

“We’re not going to settle for anything less than what we expect from the employees in the district,” Walsh said. “Our parents have come to expect that out of our kids and that’s what we’re going to expect from our administrator.”

Governor Christie has capped district administrators’ salaries at $175,000 — the same amount as he makes annually.

“We’re not going to settle for less because the state says we have to pay someone less money,” Del Sardo said.

Keeping their distance from the district, and individual school’s, day-to-day operations, is part of what being a board member entails, the pair said. Micro managing should not be what board members do. Trust must exist between board members and the district’s administrators and teachers.

“We’re overseers. You have to know your boundaries as a board member,” Del Sardo said. “We use facts and data to make our decisions. We try to ask as many questions as possible.”

Increasing elementary school students’ scores in language arts is an important issue facing the district. However, initiatives such as the Gates Program for gifted and talented students, should help those test scores to rise in the coming years, Walsh said. There are 213 students enrolled in the program, 137 in math and 76 in language arts.

Having all of the district’s middle schools meet Adequate Yearly Progress standards is a priority for the pair. An after-school tutoring program has already been implemented.

Giving high school students a diverse choice of elective courses, despite an decreasing ratable base and 2 percent property tax increase cap, which affects the tax levy, is also important.

“You don’t know why a child is coming to school,” Walsh said. “If there’s a program that draws them into that building we want to ensure it continues.”