Election Day is tomorrow, Nov. 8, and polls in New Providence will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. The candidates for Borough Council, who are running uncontested, include Councilman Armand Galluccio, Councilman Alan Lesnewich and Dr. Bob Robinson (R). There are also two referendum questions on the ballot regarding the use of Open Space funds and allowing the sale of Liquor Consumption Licenses in New Providence. The exact questions and explanatory statements that will appear on the ballot are: Liquor Consumption Licenses Referendum “Shall the retail sale of all kinds of alcoholic beverages, …

About 60 residents of New Providence flocked to Creative Wallcoverings & Interiors Sunday night for the New Providence Republican Committee's "Meet and Greet Fundraiser" with the Republican council candidates.  Those in attendance included Mayor J. Brooke Hern, former mayor and NPRC Chairman Al Morgan and Assemblyman Jon Bramnick. Incumbents Armand Galluccio and Alan Lesnewich, and newcomer Bob Robinson, are running unopposed for three council seats this November. “My biggest challenge is not to lose an unopposed election,” Lesnewich said. Lesnewich, who has lived in New Providence his entire…

John Wolak was elected President of the New Providence Board of Education at the reorganization meeting last night in the High School/Middle School Media Center. Nancy Opperthauser was elected board Vice President, and Wolak and Ira Krauss took an oath of office for three-year terms. Final results from the April 27th School Election were also announced. Wolak received 1,009 votes, while Krauss received 731 votes. For the General Fund of $30,722,298, 1,064 voted in favor, while 512 voters were opposed. Overall, 1,582 votes were cast in the election out of the 7,920 registered voters in New …

The citizens of New Providence have spoken and the unofficial results are in: the proposed 2011/2012 school budget passed with 1,049 "yes" votes, versus 504 "no" votes. Incumbent John Wolak was re-elected to another term on the Board of Education with 992 votes, along with Ira W. Krauss, who received 716 votes. Gail Libertucci was defeated, receiving 682 votes. Although poll workers told Patch this afternoon that voter turnout was quite good, the unofficial numbers don't lie: Just 1,559 voters, or 21.15 percent of the 7,370 registered voters, came out to the polls today. Wolak, who works as …

Money was on the minds of New Providence residents today, who voted whether or not to approve the proposed school budget for next year. Citizens also cast their votes for Board of Education hopefuls Ira Krauss, Gail Libertucci, and incumbent John Wolak. The majority of voters Patch spoke with Wednesday afternoon said they voted in favor of the school budget, but were reluctant to disclose whom they would like on the Board of Education. Poll workers stated that overall voter turnout was quite good. The Municipal Center, New Providence High School, and Salt Brook Elementary School each saw a …

After working for the New Providence Board of Education for 18 years and retiring just last year, Ira Krauss has decided to run for re-election. Krauss, a town resident for almost 30 years, said he decided to run again because he believes the district made great progress in all facets of the education system during his term and he wants that success to continue. “I think that over those 18 years, there were significant improvements in the curriculum and the facilities,” he said, adding that two bond issues were passed during his term to upgrade facilities throughout the district. “I realized …

After working in educational leadership for the New York City Board of Education for 25 years, Gail Libertucci is ready to break back into the education field and offer New Providence some of her expertise. Libertucci, who retired in January, feels that she can contribute in many ways to the school district as a member of the Board of Education, ranging from financial to academic matters. She has experience with budgets, writing grants and working with corporate financial sponsors as well as experience with curriculum. “I am an experienced educator who is an independent fresh thinker, who is …

Incumbent John Wolak, who has served on the Board of Education for nine years, is ready to fight to keep his seat to help maintain what he calls a very successful school district. “Certainly, nine years of service gives me a good base of experience in dealing with the operation of the school district,” said Wolak, a town resident for about 17 years who works as an attorney. “More experience is better.” Wolak, who thinks the district is in solid shape, said there are still other areas that could always use improvement, like more funding and attention to the special education programs and more …

At the Candidates' Forum last night, incumbent John Wolak, Gail Libertucci and Ira Krauss answered questions from the League of Women Voters and the public. Sponsored by the New Providence Council of PTA Presidents and monitored by the League of Women Voters, the candidates vying for the two open seats on the Board of Education also made opening and closing statements. This video features closing statements from the three candidates. If you missed their opening statements, featured earlier today, you can see them here. Be sure to check New Providence Patch later this week for a transcript …

At the Candidates' Forum last night, incumbent John Wolak, Gail Libertucci and Ira Krauss answered questions from the League of Women Voters and the public. Sponsored by the New Providence Council of PTA Presidents and monitored by the League of Women Voters, the candidates vying for the two open seats on the Board of Education also made opening and closing statements. This video features opening statements from the three candidates. Tune in later today for a video featuring the candidates' closing statements and check New Providence Patch later this week for a transcript from the forum. …

At tonight's public hearing, members of the Board of Education will present the 2011/2012 proposed school budget and welcome feedback from residents. Although the board originally proposed a preliminary budget with a 1 percent tax increase in January, the proposed budget now includes a zero percent tax levy increase due to $322,610 in state aid. “The Governor’s recent budget address included the release of state aid numbers and New Providence is very fortunate to have an increase in state aid from $0 last year,” said John Wolak, Finance Chairman, at the Feb. 28 Board of Education meeting. The…

The second informal Superintendent’s Forum was held Wednesday night, where Superintendent of Schools Dr. David Miceli and the Finance Committee addressed community members’ questions and concerns regarding the proposed 2011-2012 school budget. New Providence will receive $322,610 in state education aid for 2011-2012—a marked improvement from the year prior, when the district received nothing. About $10,000 of the aid will be put towards updating and replacing outdated technology, while the remaining $312,610 will be returned to the taxpayers. The Board of Education expected no state aid, and …

Following Gov. Chris Christie’s budget address last Tuesday, schools around the state will be receiving a boost in state aid, including New Providence. Due to a state aid allocation of $322,610 to the New Providence School District, there will not be a property tax levy increase under the proposed 2011/2012 school budget. “The Governor’s recent budget address included the release of state aid numbers and New Providence is very fortunate to have an increase in state aid from $0 last year,” said John Wolak, Finance Chairman, at Monday night’s Board of Education meeting. The Finance Committee …

New Providence Public Schools will receive $322,610 in state aid under Gov. Chris Christie's budget proposal for the 2011-2012 school year.  In his budget address on Tuedsay, Christie promised that every district in the state would see an aid increase, which is a part of a $250 million boost to education aid overall. The governor sharply reduced aid to schools last year, including New Providence School District and several districts in Union County. At the time, many districts had been making plans for their budgets based on suggestions of more modest cuts by the state Department of Education…

In his budget address on Tuesday, Gov. Chris Christie outlined a spending plan that is less than last year’s and includes cuts to state agencies, along with an increase in education funding and proposals regarding pension and benefit reform for public employees. To help you better understand the governor’s proposal, Patch has compiled frequently asked questions regarding the governor’s proposal and the process going forward. Is state aid for education increased? Christie has proposed an increase in state education aid by a total of $250 million. This is an increase in the total amount for the…

Governor Chris Christie vowed on Tuesday afternoon to continue with what he called a “new normal” in New Jersey, calling for a reform effort that “marks the line in the sand that separates the way things used to be, and the way they are going to be.” Christie said his budget reduces government spending 2.6 percent from last year’s $30.2 billion budget and “marks a departure from the Trenton tradition of budgeting to meet deficit projections that embrace wish-list spending by legislators and assume continuous funding increases that irresponsibly ignore actual revenue sources.” Instead, his …

Gov. Chris Christie began his annual budget address at 2 p.m. Tuesday, outlining plans to cut spending overall, boost school aid, and cut taxes by $200 million. The transcript of the speech, as provided by his office, is below: Madam Speaker, Mr. President, members of the Legislature, people of the State of New Jersey: It is my pleasure, and my duty, to present to you my budget for the year ending June 30, 2012. Early last year, I took my first major budget actions in two separate budget presentations to the legislature and the people of this state. First, we had to stop the hemorrhaging and …

Feeling pressure from economic troubles, technological advancements, evolving national standards, and concerned parents, the Board of Education convened Thursday, Feb. 9 to discuss plans to adopt a new curriculum for the 2011-2012 school year, and a budget update pending Gov. Chris Christie’s Feb. 22 address. Sandra Searing, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Supervision, began the meeting with a presentation concerning the new curriculum. “We’re focused on what our students need to be successful in the twenty-first century,” she said. According to Searing’s presentation, the curriculum…

The Board of Education began planning the 2011/2012 school budget last July. At last night’s informal Superintendent Forum, Superintendent of Schools Dr. David Miceli said planning ahead allowed him, the members of the Finance Committee and Business Administrator James Testa the time to come up with the best budget under the state’s 2 percent cap increase. “In a normal budget process, we would kick off around October or November,” Miceli said. “So we felt like we needed to be out in front on this, ahead of the game, and try to move forward with as many things as we could so we could get to a …

The Board of Education presented the school district’s preliminary 2011/2012 budget at a Jan. 27 meeting, citing a 0.88 percent increase in expenses, amounting to $280,000. Based on the average assessed home, the tax levy will be $38 for each half of year in this proposed 2011/2012 budget, or just under 1 percent, said John Wolak, Board Finance Chairman. Also under the proposed budget, there will not be any cuts made to teaching staff, other than through retirement, or from curriculum, athletics, co-curricular activities or extracurricular activities. But the district will not have any …