Cedar Grove BOE campaign gets early start

With the 2017 Cedar Grove Board of Education election decided last month, one resident has already got a jump on next year’s race.

“I’m obviously a plan-ahead kind of person,” Nicole DiChiara told NorthJersey.com, explaining both her early campaign announcement and a qualification for serving.

Incumbent board members Frank Mandala and Peter Prvulovic's seats are up for grabs in November 2018. Mandala indicated he does not plan to run for reelection. Prvulovic could not be reached comment regarding his intentions for another term.

Raised in suburban Philadelphia and a 1987 Springfield Township High School alumnae, DiChiara earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and finance from Rutgers University in 1991. She has been an IT project manager in the healthcare industry for about 25 years, she said.

She and her husband, Michael, who grew up in North Caldwell, have lived in Cedar Grove since 2005.

Their son Benjamin, who attended North End Elementary School, is a sixth-grader at Memorial Middle School. Daughter Addison is a second-grader at North End.

“I absolutely adore North End,” DiChiara said.

Since Benjamin started kindergarten in 2011, she has volunteered at the elementary school, including chairing multiple Family and School Association committees. She was elected the North End FSA treasurer in 2016.

She praised the FSA board’s work in the past couple of years, including President Sabrina Zunic and Vice President Anthony Freitas, particularly the association's assistance during the school's treatment for asbestos contamination.

From September to December 2016, pre-K and kindergarten were taught at the district’s Leonard R. Parks School, while the upper classes relocated to School No. 1 in Woodland Park.

“It went as well as could be expected,” she said of the transitional period.

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Fortunately, the return to North End for the second half of the school year coincided with the year’s biggest FSA fundraiser, which netted close to $44,000, DiChiara said.

The monies are being used to replace some interior fixtures lost due to the contamination, as well as books and other educational supplies, she noted. “We’re still figuring out how to spend that money, based on the needs,” she added.

In addition to her school involvement, DiChiara is a volunteer and girls coach for the Cedar Grove Lacrosse Club. She was captain of her high school lacrosse team and also played the sport at Rutgers.

This is her first run for public office.

DiChiara pointed to her project management, implementation, negotiation and financial analysis experience that she can bring to the Board of Education.

Her professional skills include “whipping numbers into shape and telling you what they mean,” DiChiara touted. “I’m also eager to listen to all sides [of an issue], being fair and balanced, and keeping a level head.”

As demonstrated at the North End FSA, she hopes to continue an “integral teamwork ideology” on the Board of Education, serving the entire community, according to her campaign.

“I’m really pleased with what [Board President] Christine Dye and the rest of the board has done,” said DiChiara, particularly noting the Cedar Grove High School’s advanced placement program.

“I hope to join the bandwagon,” she said.

Email: proctor@northjersey.com