The Little Egg Harbor Board of Education picked a new member at its Oct. 13 meeting.

There were three candidates to replace Christine Snyder, who had tendered her resignation from the board on Sept. 28. She was the third BOE member to resign this year.

Interviews of all three candidates were held in public session. Each candidate was asked the same six questions during the interview, with the other candidates sequestered so they could not hear each other’s answers before their interviews.

The first candidate was Joseph Delissa.

Board President Chris Filiciello asked the first question. “Please tell us about yourself and why you would want to serve on the board.”

Delissa said he was a proud parent of two children who were LEHSD students and he was a proud member of the LEH community.

“I often see and hear that it is easy thing to talk about change. It’s an easy thing to complain about change. But it’s not always an easy thing to set forward.

“I feel that if I want to be a part of change I need to step forward, I need to present myself to be ready, willing and able to be representative of this community.”

Board member Dennis O’Keefe asked the second question. “What do you see as the biggest challenges facing our school district today?”

Delissa said the biggest challenge of not only the district, but everybody today was “financial,” how to provide the district’s students with the best education possible while remembering the community was also involved because of taxes.

“I believe finding balance and working with our community to provide for our students is where we need to be.”

The board’s newest member, Philemon Asfena, asked the third question. “What do you believe is the proper role of a school board member?”

“I always kind of see the school board as the governing body; policies, procedures come from the school board. Our superintendents lead, our principals lead, they direct.”

Board Vice President Laura Erber asked, “As a school board member, how would you ensure taxpayer dollars are spent effectively?”

“I think I would have to handle it as I handle my own finances,” said Delissa. Just as he had a budget to support his children, the district has to have a budget that would provide for its children. But there’s also a financial responsibility to taxpayers. A key point, he said, was the board being open and honest about everything the district is doing and how the board is spending its time.

Board member Greg Leszega asked, “What methods would you use to keep the community informed about board decisions?”

“I come from the telecommunication industry for 20 years,” said Delissa. “One thing that works great for communication is the process of procedure. It is simply about communicating through all avenues, not just relying on one avenue. If one avenue goes down, you need to have the secondary – social media, newsletters, emails, all of these things that are tried and true.”

Board member Tiffany Middlecoop was absent, so Filiciello asked the final question. “What would success look like at the end of your first term?”

Delissa answered that it wouldn’t be his assessment that was important, that the public’s assessment was more important.

David Little was the next candidate to be questioned.

He said he was a U.S. Navy veteran who spent time in Lebanon and did long deployments. He said the military had taught him about leadership, capabilities and learning procedural processes. He then worked for a company called MRO Corp., which was a defense contractor at that time. He worked out of Washington, D.C. for 10 years before being transferred to Indiana and then back to the Pentagon for five more years in the 1990s. He then took a job with a library system, which introduced him to the public sector, learning computer systems and access to the internet and social media, social media problems and bullying. He moved back to this area about 15 years ago, bought a house in Little Egg and has a toddler in the Early Childhood Center and one who will be attending next year.

“I’m familiar with the struggles, a lot of the community struggles that fit the community.”

Little said he would love the opportunity to serve on the board to see if he could offer help and also learn a little more.

As for question two, Little said the biggest problem was “budget constraints” and “social communication.”

Question three – Little said a school board member was “a manager, you’re also an accountant, a principal at times, a superintendent at times. You’re the one that does checks and balances. … So, you know, there’s a problem with a superintendent, teacher, teacher issues with students, whatever the case is, the school board is what’s supposed to put stuff right in or ask the questions to ask for guidance. … Hopefully the decisions are made correctly and it’s back on track.”

As for ensuring that taxpayers dollars are spent effectively, Little said, “The goal is to reach the middle of the road.”

When asked about keeping the community informed, he said, “I believe you have a good web page system.” However, he was aware that members should remember the board operates as a team, not “as an I.”

As for success at the end of his term, he said, “The impact that was made would be a positive impact, not a negative impact. Success should be measured as a board, as a team, not individually.”

The third candidate was Katie McVey, a lifelong resident of Little Egg Harbor who had interviewed for a BOE seat before.

She said she’s a LEHSD alumna, and has three children, with her oldest currently attending the district’s Early Childhood Center. She’s a math teacher at Southern Regional High School. McVey said she was running for the school board because she wants to take an active role in the education of her children and also wants to give back to the community.

When it came to the biggest challenges question, finding a new permanent superintendent was the first one she mentioned. “While we have a lovely interim (superintendent), it would definitely be good to move forward with somebody who has long-term goals with the district.” Earning back the community trust in regard to the district’s transportation system was the second, and she said the hiring of a transportation supervisor at the evening’s meeting was a good first step.

Regarding the proper role for a school board member, McVey said the main goal is to create policies for the district and then to work collaboratively with the superintendent to make sure those policies are being administered.

She then answered question four – how would she make sure taxpayers dollars are spent effectively?

“Just make sure that every expenditure has a clear purpose and supports student learning and supports the effective operations of the school.”

When it came to methods to use to communicate with the public, she said she believes the district already does a decent job by using the district’s website. “I think all that information is very clearly posted, old board meetings, live stream.” As for social media, she said it wouldn’t hurt to share information on it as well “because a lot of people use that as their news source.”

Regarding what success would look like at the end of a first term, McVey said that would entail having a stable and cohesive board and also, ideally, a new superintendent who has the same visions as the board.

After going into executive session to discuss the interviews and giving the public a chance to talk about what they had heard, with no one stepping forward to do so, the board voted unanimously to seat Delissa as its newest member.