By PATRICIA MCDANIEL
A high school math educator from the Long Branch district will fill the vacancy on the Asbury Park Board of Education created by recent action by the state.
City resident Kristen Clarke was sworn into the one-year term during a special meeting Nov. 7, in which she and four other applicants interviewed for the position. She is eligible to run for election to the position in November 2025, if she chooses.
Clarke, an educator for over a decade, said in her interview that creating a distric
t in which all students feel “valued, respected and loved” is crucial to successful educational outcomes.
One of the other applicants was Anthony Remy, who had been elected to the board for a second term in 2023, but was removed by the state Department of Education School Ethics Commission effective Sept. 4.
The state determined Remy did not meet annual training requirements or try to complete the requirements after an earlier reprimand by the ethics commission.
Board Vice President Giuseppe Grillo said Remy is appealing the action by the state.
However, the city school board had 65 days from that decision to fill the vacancy left by the state action – or by Nov.9.
Grillo praised the qualifications of all the candidates, saying “We were spoiled by the talent of all the applicants.”
Each candidate was asked the same four questions by the board in separate interviews that were open to the public. The questions covered such issues as the role of a school board member and the strengths of the district – and its challenges.
In her introduction, Clarke said she has been a resident of the city for about seven years, working as an educator in Long Branch for about the same time. She also taught in North Carolina for five years before that in her first role as an educator, teaching middle school and high school math.
She is also the president of the Long Branch School Employees Association, which
represents more than 700 employees in all roles in the district, she said.
According to Clarke’s Linked In profile, she has a BA from Rutgers University in Economics and an MA in Teacher Leadership from Rowan University.
“I know the importance of having quality educators and quality staff and a community that works together for the best possible public schools,” she said in her interview.
She said the best possible school districts are created when there is a good relationship between the school board and the central office and the staff in the district – as well as with the community.
Clarke acknowledged that being a school board member is a “huge honor
and a huge responsibility,” and the board should be a bridge between the community and the district staff. Board members must “do the research” and be well versed in policy matters to provide the best outcomes for the district, its staff and students, she said.
Regarding the challenge of declining enrollment, Clarke said the board needs to encourage students to return to the district and be invested in the district.
She noted the large public turnout at city meetings is a good sign of the partnership between the community and the district – what can be a district’s “greatest strength,” she said.
She said respect for students is crucial to a district’s success:
“When students walk through that door they need to know they are loved, valued and respected by every single person in the building,” she said – from the bus drivers to the central office administration, as well as educators and other staff.
“Kids don’t learn when they don’t feel cared about,” she added.
Six of eight board members were present for the meeting. Clarke was the first of two applicants nominated for the open board spot. When the vote was taken, she received the needed five votes under the rules explained at the beginning of the meeting, with one nay vote by member Jessie Ricks.
Another candidate (not Remy) was also nominated (by Ricks), but no vote was taken for him since Clarke already received the required number of votes.
Remy, in his interview, said he is correcting the training issues and noted that he was the only candidate already elected.
Grillo, who was one of the votes in favor of Clarke, said he believes she will be “student-centered,” adding that student achievement is the major focus of the board.
Grillo also offered congratulations to Ricks, who on Nov. 5 was re-elected to the board, and congratulated the other two members of her team who were elected: Dominic Latorraca and Stephanie Ackerman.
He also thanked the members of the team who did not win, including board member Shadab Maghsood, appointed to the board in January. Danielle Brascomb and Mariella Soria-Flores were the other two members of that team.
