Three vying for two seats on Crest school board

Last Updated on Saturday, November 03, 2012 03:11 pm Written by Christie Rotondo Sunday, November 04, 2012 06:05 am

WILDWOOD CREST- Three candidates in the borough are campaigning for two seats on the Crest’s school board in the upcoming Nov. 6 election.

Eric Garrabrant and William “Bud” Morey are new candidates for the board. They face incumbent James Bradley for two seats with full three-year terms.

Garrabrant has lived on Five Mile Island his whole life and has been an attorney for 16 years. He is also a shareholder in the Flaster/Greenberg law firm. He is a committee member for District 5 in the Crest and vice president of the borough’s Republican club.

His two children both have gone to Crest Memorial School, and he went to Wildwood High School.

The budget is a key issue to Garrabrant, and one he sees as facing challenges in upcoming years due to a shrinking population. A key for him will be keeping the school “top notch” while cutting costs, he said.

“I want to examine the school’s budget to determine whether all the other dollars are being used efficiently,” Garrabrant said. “This is an opportunity for me to serve the community and give my time to the board but also I think there are things we can improve on and I want to accomplish that.”

Morey is the cousin of Freeholder Will Morey, who is already serving on the Crest’s board of education. He is a life-long resident of Wildwood Crest and works in the Middle Township School District as technical director of the school’s performing arts department.

His main concern, if elected, will be to transform the district into a “more community-based” school, he said.

“I want to make sure it’s not a burden on the community, but rather a part of the community,” said Morey.

He mentioned that as a parent of two young children in the district, he has noticed a divide between teachers, parents, and the students of the school. If elected, he said he hopes to remedy that.

“There’s too many parts and not enough of a whole,” Morey said.

Bradley has served on the board for more than 10 years, and originally became involved after working as a D.A.R.E. officer at the Crest’s schools, he said.

The largest issue for the school board is the budget, he said. Cuts have become more and more severe, while costs continue to rise, he said.

“It’s a game of trying to stay ahead of the cuts to give the kids a well rounded education,” Bradley said.

To do that, he said the board is currently looking into more ways to share services with the borough and other island school districts. Currently, he said Wildwood and the Crest share the cost of Superintendent Dennis Anderson’s salary, which has provided a way for both districts to save money.

He said the district is also looking at sharing maintenance and upkeep services.

“It has been successful and made us able to keep some money in our pocket,” he said.

The school board election will be Tuesday, Nov. 6, along with the general election.

Christie Rotondo can be emailed at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or you can comment on this story at www.shorenewstoday.com.