In a letter to the editor, Bayonne Board of Education Trustee Charles Ryan says that colleagues Mikel Lawandy and Christopher Munoz need to be re-elected to keep the board independent. 
Dear Editor,
I am writing this as a private citizen, former teacher, retired Deputy Chief of Police, and a taxpayer. These are my opinions and not those of the Board of Education nor any of its members or employees.
I am endorsing Mikel Lawandy and Christopher Munoz for re-election as Trustees of the Bayonne Board of Education.
Mike is an engineer and project manager. If re-elected, he will be the longest serving trustee on the board. His experience and financial acumen are invaluable. Mr. Lawandy is always questioning how a decision will affect the district’s budget.
When we discovered our financial crisis, he was among the first to grasp how serious it was and what steps needed to be taken to remedy it. Mike knew the faster we took those steps, the sooner we would recover. And he was right!
The vast majority of the teachers who were RIF’ed have been rehired due to how quickly the damage was contained. He sits on the Finance Committee, the Building and Grounds Committee and the Superintendent Search Committee as well as serving on the Negotiations Committee. Mike is one of the busiest trustees on the board.
Chris is a public school teacher in Hoboken and the parent of two students in the Bayonne School System. He was one of the first trustees elected to the board since the change over to an elected board. Mr. Munoz has helped oversee the changeover from an appointed board to an elected one.
He served on the Superintendent Search and Evaluation Committee, the Arts and Athletics Committee as well as several others. Chris helped to raise the passing grade from 65 to 70.
Both Mike and Chris have worked and continue to work tirelessly on the district’s financial health. They know a return to full fiscal stability is the only way to ensure scholastic opportunity for all the district’s students.
There are other candidates who merit consideration because they have no political ties: Daniel Acosta, Michael Alonso, John Cupo, Anthony D’Amico, and Sharma Montgomery are all independent voices that would like to represent the voter’s interests on the board. I wish them well.
The people of Bayonne clearly want trustees who are “elected” by the voters, not “selected” by politicians. We’ve waited over thirty years for this to happen. It’s not time to turn back now. Let’s continue to keep politics out of the Board of Education.
Please vote for Mikel Lawandy 7J, Christopher Munoz 9J, and a third INDEPENDENT candidate tomorrow.
Thank you for your consideration.
Charles Ryan
Bayonne BOE Trustee
