Holmdel School Board Candidates' Forum Is Thursday

One third of the seats on the Board of Education are up for grabs. Five candidates are vying for the volunteer positions.

Candidates seeking seats on the 9-member Holmdel Board of Education will introduce themselves and state their priorities at a candidates forum on Thursday from 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. at the Satz School Library.   The five candidates are  Joseph D. Hammer, incumbent Chiung-Yin Cheng Liu, John A. Martinez, Peter Reddy, and incumbent Robin Wetmore.  The candidates will be given the opportunity to offer a two minute introduction, and a trained representative from the League of Women Voters of Western Monmouth will read questions submitted by the public on index cards. The questions, which do not have to be signed, can be directed to one or all candidates.  "All five of the candidates have indicated their participation," said the League's Sharon …

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Guest Column

Guest Column: Looking Forward to the New School Year

Holmdel Board of Education member Chiung-yin Cheng Liu writes about the improvements at the school district.

  You may be curious about what’s new in the school district this year. I am delighted to share some coming attractions: we welcome two new assistant principals at Holmdel High School (HHS), replacing Mr. Katz who retired and Mr. Bals who left to become a principal in another school district; we have updated and planned new courses for our HHS and Satz students; Writers Workshop will be implemented at Village and Indian Hill Schools, further developing writing skills through a program that works in parallel with Readers Workshop; Power School’s Parent Portal will be introduced to all parents at Indian Hill School; a new Athletic Handbook is available for HHS sport teams; the HHS Auditorium renovation is under way; and the installation of …

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Guest Column

Thoughts on Holmdel's Graduation Day; And Where The Class of 2012 Is Going

Holmdel School Board Vice President and parent Robin Wetmore writes about "where has the time gone." Also, a list of the colleges welcoming HHS grads this fall.

  As I drove around Holmdel on June 20th I saw Holmdel blue graduation balloons attached to mailboxes and this year a balloon magically appeared on our mailbox! Thank you to the HHS PTSO and junior class parents for continuing this Holmdel tradition.  Over the years we watched our children progress through the grades, marked by milestone events: the Tin Can Derby, Heritage Day, Colonial Day, the Ice Cream Social, the Sixth Grade Electricity Project, the Ellis Island trip and the Washington D.C. trip.  In addition to what was being taught in the classroom, they participated in field trips, talent shows, musical performances, plays, clubs and sports. As parents we encourage our children and watch them grow and change, moving toward the goal …

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Letter to the Editor: Court Ruling Further Calls Holmdel Disciplinary Policy into Question

By Michael L. Collins, former Holmdel Board of Education member.

Under the current Holmdel High School code of conduct, high school students are disciplined for traffic offenses committed off-school grounds. When this driving policy was first discussed years ago, I served on the Holmdel Township Board of Education and argued that this policy both creates poor public policy and exceeds state law. Several board members agreed with my position, but ultimately we were outvoted 5-4 on the issue. First, I joined fellow board member Ms. Ana Vander Woude in presenting a written statement expressing our policy disagreement with discipline for traffic tickets off-school grounds. While we did not condone poor driving, we wrote that school policies involving such out-of-school issues are “harmful and intrusive as …

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Mike Sockol

6:26 pm on Sunday, August 12, 2012

Hi, Tom. Sorry been away for a few days, and I just saw your posting. I think Barbara Garrity's letter in the Patch http://holmdel-hazlet.patch.com/articles/letter-holmdel-board-response-on-ramapo-ruling] should answer your questions, but if you need more details, feel free to either give me a call or send me an email, and I'll get you a response as soon as I can.   more ›

Peter Reddy, Candidate for the Holmdel Board of Education

Reddy works with school districts in his present occupation.

Name : Mr. Peter Reddy Date of birth : 09 April 1972 Place of residence : 7 Rustic Lane, Holmdel, Nj Attended college : Yes College : St Johns University Degree : Bachelor of Science Year of graduation : 1994 Has served in the military: Yes Rank : Captain United State Army Date when discharged from duty : 10 September 1998 Job titles held : Operations officer, Platoon Leader, Executive Officer,Sales Engineer, Account Representitive, Account Executive Employers : Johncon Controls Inc, Honeywell International Running for position: Holmdel Township School Board Chamber/district: Holmdel Township Incumbent: No Previous elective offices : n/a Unsuccessful bids for elective offices : n/a Number 1 goal is to improve the quality education township…

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Guest Column

Guest Column: The School Year Draws to a Close

Holmdel Board of Education President Barbara Garrity looks back on the board's accomplishments in the past year.

As graduation approaches, we look back on a year in which some things have changed while others remained much the same.  On the change side, we introduced a 10 minute longer school day this year.  The added time was used to support character education in grades K-8, which dovetailed nicely with the increased focus on anti-bullying.  At the high school, coupled with a few schedule tweaks, it allowed us to add 3 minutes to each class period, yielding added instructional time each day.  We also outsourced the remaining 40% of our busing, and relocated the school district’s central office to Village School, both of which changes help us focus our financial resources on educating Holmdel’s children.  Among many constants is our focus on …

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Guest Column

Guest Column: The 2012-13 Holmdel School Budget

Mike Sockol, a member of the Holmdel Board of Education Budget and Finance Committee, talks about the 2012-2013 school budget.

Over the last decade, I’ve had many conversations with friends, neighbors, and residents about Holmdel’s schools, and inevitably two questions surface. What can we do to keep taxes manageable?  And probably even more important, what can we do to make sure we spend our money wisely? Our mission as a school district is to provide our children a through and efficient education.  We have to continually balance our desire to provide one of the best public educational experiences in the country, while keeping costs at a level this community can afford.  You can’t achieve both goals by accident—it takes careful planning, fiscal prudence, and some tough choices. Or as a noted former student at the London School of Economics named Mick Jagger once …

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Mike Sockol

4:38 pm on Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Rick, here is a link to a column I wrote last year regarding how we are playing for maintenance and repair projects within the school district, which should help answer your question. If you send me your email address, I can get a more complete list for you. http://holmdel.patch.com/articles/managing-maintenance-in-the-school-district   more ›