Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Candidate Positions topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Candidates stress communication, community engagement and support for staff in East Brunswick board interviews
Summary
Four finalists for a board vacancy emphasized respectful dialogue, stronger communication with families, collaboration with staff and targeted parent-engagement strategies during interviews; candidates offered different emphases—finance and budgeting, educator perspective, and volunteer leadership.
During interviews to fill a vacancy on the East Brunswick Board of Education, each candidate outlined priorities they said they would bring to the board if appointed.
Denise Katrino emphasized respectful dialogue and improving communication with residents, saying she wants to "build trust within the community by listening to them and responding to them." She cited prior service on the town council and long-term volunteer work.
Tatiana Jordan, who identified herself as an ENL teacher with 16 years in the classroom, said she prefers the word "collaborate" over "consensus," noting that board members must "have open, respectful, honest dialogue" and "ask critical questions" while centering students and giving teachers and support staff a voice.
Neil Shaw described his volunteer leadership experience and said consensus is achieved through respectful listening; he pointed to budgeting and finance as strengths he would bring, saying his ability to "take in numbers" could help the board curb spending where appropriate.
Maryanne Tanos, an alumna and PTA leader, said she wants to sustain the district's existing strengths for roughly 8,100 students and stressed community engagement and collaboration with staff and families.
Several candidates suggested practical ways to increase family engagement. Jordan proposed parent-engagement nights that offer student-supervised childcare by high-school volunteers so more parents can attend events. Katrino and Tanos both cited clearer, more consistent communication channels as ways to reduce confusion that currently circulates in informal WhatsApp groups.
The candidates answered questions on teamwork, personal challenges and how they would serve as ambassadors for the district; the interview session concluded with one-minute closing statements from each candidate.
