Sussex-Wantage swears in new board members

SUSSEX BOROUGH — The Sussex-Wantage Board of Education welcomed three new board members to its first regular monthly school board meeting held Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017: Nick D’Agostino, Coleen Ranzan, and Georgeanna Stoll.
D’Agostino, a Wantage resident, shared that he is “really excited” to serve his one-year term on the board, replacing former board member Steven VanNieuwland.
D’Agostino attended grammar and middle school in Sussex-Wantage and now owns motivational speaking company UP from Here, LLC, which allows him to inspire non-profit agencies, middle schools, and high schools through sharing his life, stories, ideas, and humor.
“I believe that community involvement is the most important factor in a child’s receiving a good education.”, D’Agostino said. To that end, in his time on the school board, he’ll be working towards getting parents to meetings and involved in the decision-making process.
“I’m big on keeping the community involved and informed (because) the best decisions are made at the local level.” D’Agostino believes the district should employ up-to-date technology to become more accessible to the community.
“As a district, we’re transparent, but in this day and age, accessibility and involvement go hand-in-hand. (New technology) could speed up that process.” School enrollment tops D’Agostino’s list of challenges facing the district. “We have our enrollment going down. As it goes down, we’re looking at ways to cut budgets to remain fiscally responsible.”
Coleen Ranzan lives in Wantage, and has a daughter attending High Point Regional High School and a son at Sussex Middle School.
A special education instructor at Lounsberry Hollow in Vernon, Ranzan is “all about education.” During her three-year term, she “would like to see more rich programs curriculum-wise” and is currently developing a program she hopes to see adopted. “A well-rounded curriculum that goes in-depth with their learning” is the most important factor in a child’s receiving a good education, says Ranzan.
Additionally, Ranzan stated, “Technology has come a long way, but I want to offer teachers resources. I want to get them money to avail themselves of those resources.” As far as the biggest challenge facing the district, Ranzan feels it’s parents’ perception of district schools as unsafe or not rich in curriculum, resulting in kids leaving district schools for charter schools.
“It doesn’t have a really good reputation, but I have never felt it unsafe for my two kids.”
Stoll hails from Sussex Borough and has a daughter who attended High Point Regional High School. Until recently, she worked as a collector at Valley National Bank.
“Your education is what’s going to take you through life,” said Stoll, “Good teachers, good parents and a good community” together result in a good education.
Stoll believes the board “needs to spend more time keeping the budget in line” and hopes during her three-year term to “make the best decisions for everyone involved (because) that’s what your job is to do.”