Retired Educator, Fireman, Wants to Give Back to Berkeley

Salvatore P. Ferlise's quest for one of the three seats on the Berkeley Township Board of Education is his first venture in running for public office.

"It's time for me to give a little back," he said. "I've never run for anything before. This is it."

Ferlise, 74, is running on a slate with and for the three, three-year terms on the Board of Education. He lives on Sandlewood Drive in the Bayville section of the township. Ferlise is married with three children and eight grandchildren.

The cornerstone of the team's campaign is the eventual merging of the Berkeley Township and Central Regional school districts into a single K-12 district.

"I think it's going to be extremely hard to do, but not impossible," Ferlise said. "There are going to be some legalities involved. I hesitate to quantify them."

The Central Regional district accepts middle and high school  students from Berkeley Township, Seaside Park, Seaside Heights, Island Heights and Ocean Gate.

Ferlise said he will push for more shared services with Central Regional and other area districts, until the merger takes place.

The team will also lobby for the passage of the Senior Citizen Stabilization bill. If adopted, the legislation would generate an additional $500 in state aid per child — for an additional $1,875,000 in property tax relief, Ferlise said.

While Ferlise thinks the fifth-grade annual trip to Stokes State Forest in Sussex County is a great idea, he doesn't think the cost of the trip should be included in the district budget. He supports the nonprofit foundation recently set up to fund-raise and search for donations to pay for the Stokes experience.

"I think what they are doing right now is smart," he said.

Ferlise also drove a bus for the Berkeley Township school district after he retired and ferried students up to Stokes and back.

"I've been there with the kids," he said. "It's wonderful for those kids.  It's really a learning experience."

Ferlise also supports schools Superintendent Joseph H. Vicari's return to the Berkeley school district on April 1. after a nearly two-year absence when a previous school board declined to renew his contract. Vicari has said his departure was politically motivated by the previous school board and the local and county Democratic organizations.

Ferlise is a retired elementary and middle school teacher. He taught in Catholic schools in Newark and Caldwell. He also worked as a firefighter in Hackensack. He graduated from William Paterson College and is state-certified to teach grades K-8.