BOE Candidate Profile: Jack Martenak

This year’s Board of Education race is unopposed. Current President Bruce Carney and current Vice President Jack Martenak are back on the ballot for another term.

Lacey Patch asked the candidates some questions so you could get to know them and where they stand on certain issues.

Today, we will be featuring Martenak, who has served two terms since 2005.

• Age: 46
• Address: 217 Aimee Way, Lanoka Harbor
• Occupation: Engineering Manager
• Marital Status: Married with one son, a senior at Lacey Township High School

Q: Bio

A: I was born and raised in Pennington, New Jersey, and moved to Lacey with my family 14 years ago. We moved here in large part because of the good reputation of Lacey Schools and have not been disappointed. My son is now a senior at Lacey Township High School and will be attending George Washington University in the fall.

I received a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey), and an MS in Aerospace Science from Embry-Riddle University. I am currently employed as an Engineering Manager with the U.S Navy at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

I have been on the Board since 2005 and have previously served one year as Vice President and one year as President. I have also been the chairman of several committees, including the Solar Referendum committee. While I am committed to the education and development of all of our students, I do take a special interest in our math, science, and technology programs.

Q: What skills and experience do you bring to the table?

A: I have found that the skills and experience I use in my day job leading an organization with over 300 employees and a 58 million dollar annual budget are transferrable to being part of a team that leads the Lacey Township School District.

Q: Why did you decide to run in the first place?

A: I first ran in 2005. I have a child in school and I’m very interested in education. I’m very interested in the importance of education to the future of our country and the future of our economy.

Q: What are some things you initiated during your other terms?

A: One of the biggest things was that I was the head of the solar referendum committee. The project included solar panels on roofs and other related work- heating system, boiler room (60 year old system) in Forked River School, new roof on Lanoka Harbor, and windows on the Lanoka Harbor School and Forked River. All that was paid for with the profits from the solar project from being able to sell the SERC and save almost 500,000 a year on the electric bill.

Q: What are some of the challenges that the board currently faces and will face in the future?

A: The two biggest challenges are the reduction in state aid from the legally required amount and the increase in costs passed on by the state, including increased payments to the State for pension contributions and to the State Health Benefits plan.

Q: What are your visions and ideas for the upcoming year?

A: My approach to being a BOE member has been based on the belief that Lacey Township has a very good school district, but we can always improve. We are always looking at curriculum changes, staff development, and program changes to keep up with changes in technology, changes in the workplace, and changes in community expectations.

Planning for the changing fiscal environment that we’re in. The district has gone from a district that has been growing for 20 years or more to one where enrollment is now stable. Now the focus is adjusting to the current financial crisis that the state is in and the district is experiencing while also being able to improve in certain areas. We’re always looking to get our test scores up.

We’re always looking to get our students interested in science and technology, and engineering careers. I’ve been involved in the educational partnership we have between the Lacey Schools and naval engineering center. I’m really interested in that particular aspect- an engineering preparation program.

I personally have an interest in increasing student interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) subjects and have been involved in a number of efforts on this front. I think it’s not only key to the economic competitiveness of our country, but it also opens the door to some great career choices for our students.

Q: What changes, if any, need to be made to the BOE, budget, cuts, schools, teachers, ect.?

A: The school district needs stability from the State both in terms of aid and costs. Wild fluctuations in both over the six years I have been on the Board have made long term planning very difficult.  Just phasing in a new elementary math curriculum over two or three years, for example, becomes a challenge.

Q: What are some of the major issues that need to be addressed?

A: I think we need to clear up the misconceptions regarding the Solar Project, for one.  Continuing to implement a new elementary math curriculum is another. Lastly I have an interest in increasing both the level of involvement and the number of offerings in advanced math and science courses at the high school level.

Q: Comments regarding the proposed budget?

A: The amount raised by taxes is essentially the same. If I’m not mistaken it’s within tens of thousands of dollars, which is essentially a zero tax increase to the residents of Lacey Township. It’s been in the range of $39-40 million.

Q: Will any programs be cut?

A: That was one of our goals as we started to work on this budget and it was a big question mark until we knew the state aid values were going to be. But our goal was not to have to cut any programs and not to have to charge any of our students to participate in athletic programs or other co curricular programs. It was also a goal not to have layoffs because we don’t want to increase our class size. We worked very hard to maintain reasonable class sizes. Because that is key to the education our students receive. Also, positions are being vacated through retirements that we’re not going to backfill.

Q: Are there plans to implement new programs?

A: Superintendent Richard Starodub mentioned the introduction of a new math curriculum for grades K-2, an upgrade of computers for the middle school, and the implementation of the scholastic read 180 program to help special needs children in the intermediate grades who have trouble reading.

Those are the only significant new programs, given budgetary limitations. The Special Education initiative is key because under No Child Left Behind there is the expectation that every student, including every Special Ed student, perform at grade level on standardized tests, and that's a pretty high bar for some students.

Q: The budget seems to have been maintained from last year. In this economic climate, why no reductions?

A: If you look closely you will see that we have achieved savings through things like transportation jointures, energy savings, and the elimination of some positions through attrition.  We tried very hard not to impact class sizes, programs that are key to a quality educational experience, or programs that parents expect us to maintain.  At the same time we were able to offset some cost increases thanks to the solar project and the ongoing savings from the pay freeze every employee of the district took this year. The result is a no tax increase for the residents of Lacey.

Q: Comments on the solar panel project?

A: Well it’s providing about 1.2 million in SERC revenue. And we’re also saving approximately $500,000 on our electric bill so that comes out to about $1.6 to $1.7 million that either we would have raised from the taxpayers of Lacey Township by raising the taxes or we would have to find cuts and layoff probably 30 staff members. That makes a big difference in what we’re able to do with the budget.

Q: Where do you stand on education reform including the possible overhaul of tenure, implementation of merit pay, and a change in performance standards?

A: I assume you are referring to the recommendations of the New Jersey Educational Effectiveness Task Force. The interim report serves as great place for a start on reform discussions. I, and interestingly enough some teachers, have found elements of the plan intriguing. For example, to alleviate the concern that one test score will determine a teacher’s fate, the plan proposes using a combination of multiple subjective and objective elements in the new evaluation system.  My concern, as I said earlier, is that the devil can be in the details.  As ideas become legislation, and legislation becomes regulations, which are then implemented by the Department of Education bureaucracy, the potential is there for unintended consequences. Hopefully Boards of Education and teachers will be allowed to be part of the implementation process, and we stand ready to engage.

Q: Other issues include public sector employees paying more towards benefits and pension reform. Where do you stand?

A: Lacey School District employees will begin contributing toward their health benefits next year. At my place of employment I pay approximately 28% of the cost of health insurance, but I do have some heartburn with asking our low paid employees to contribute a large percentage of their salary towards health insurance. Their low salaries were based in part on the assumption that they would receive health insurance.

I think what people are missing is the more important issue in our town, state, and nation, and that’ s the increasing cost of health insurance overall. It’s killing not just public employers, but private employers as well, yet the federal reform passed last year focused on universal access, not cost control, and the Governor has yet to do anything about the continuing rise in the cost of the state’s public employees plan. I think the focus of all this anger at hard working and often low paid employees is misdirected. We need healthcare reform that focuses on cost control, for everybody’s sake.

Registered voters will have the opportunity to cast their ballots on Wednesday, April 27. For more information on voting read “”