“Three Dads” Announce Campaign for Hackensack School Board

HACKENSACK, NJ – Three fathers of city school children who are determined to bring progress and real change to Hackensack public schools are running as a team in the Board of Education election next month.

Michael Oates, Anthony Rodriguez and Chris Coleman are running together as the Hackensack Smart Schools Team.  The “Three Dads” are committed to improving school facilities, student test scores and safety, and to working together with the new school board majority.

“The biggest thing to know about our Three Dads is that we all have children who attend city schools and we really care about every child’s future,” says Anthony Rodriguez, a homeowner with two children in city schools and another son who is a HHS graduate. “Others may rely on administrators to tell them what’s going on. We talk to our kids and their teachers. We are not politicians, we are parents and that’s why we are running.”

Michael Oates is a Lieutenant in the Hackensack Fire Department with three children in local public schools. He says the Three Dads will work to “rebuild trust with residents” after the defeat of the $170 million school bond issue that was overwhelmingly rejected by voters last year. “We all want smaller classes and better facilities but we understand that voters need to believe that their money will be well spent, and not wasted on mismanagement, political patronage and needless lawsuits that waste millions of dollars.”

Chris Coleman says not enough has changed at Fairmount School since his wife was a student there. “Too many of our schools are overcrowded and in unsatisfactory condition,” he adds. “There are serious safety issues that are being ignored and parents are not being fully informed.” Chris is an attorney with three children in city schools.

The Three Dads credit teachers for doing an excellent job, but say that the school district has suffered from mismanagement and lack of leadership at the administrative level.  The Three Dads say they have confidence in Robert Sanchez, the new Superintendent of Schools who was appointed last year and in changes made by new Board President Lance Powell and other new board members who are also part of the Hackensack Smart Schools Team.