Dominic Ferry, Line 1D
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COMMON QUESTIONS
Q: What does the phrase “parental rights” mean to you and what should the role of parents be in public school education?
Ferry: I understand why there are certain situations and circumstances where children just don’t have support, potentially, at home, but under 99.9% of the circumstances, parental rights are the right to raise your kid your way. I understand there are circumstances where children have questions; children are unsure about themselves, and they do not feel comfortable at home, maybe expressing those in a household that is, what you say, rigid. But I still believe it’s the right of the parents to make almost any and all decisions for their children. I would not want the school district to hide anything from me to circumvent my right as a parent to parent with my ex. We co-parent very well. And she does live an alternative lifestyle. We navigated through that; our children have a better understanding that people are different and we need to respect that, and I wish every child could have parents that would be sensitive to that because we never know what someone’s going through as a child. It’s a very tough time to navigate if you feel that you’re different. And you’re in a tough situation if let’s say you’re in a very close-minded area where you live. So you may need to go to a counselor. You may have someone to speak to in the school. But I think when it gets down to, let’s just say transgender situations where parents have a right to know, I do not think that the school has a right to hide that from the parents. I think they should navigate that together. So I guess that’s where my stance is. I don’t think the school or anyone in the district should have a right to circumvent the parents’ right to know specific and serious things about their child.
Follow-up
Q: You frame this in terms of a lifestyle situation that a child may or may not be facing. But parental rights have also extended into curriculum in many districts. How do you square parental rights and curriculum?
Ferry: I like to focus on the curriculum. That is what is going to prepare our children for the next level of education or potentially careers. And it’s the curriculum that sticks to those core values of the strategic plan that we want to do. I don’t think there’s a place for politics in school. And I think that’s where we’re going with these parental rights issues. Let’s just educate our children. Let’s teach our children to be good human beings. I think that starts at home more than in the school. I know what I teach my children here. I know that there’s a higher standard. I have a higher standard here than the school district on how my children should behave towards other people and the rights that this school has in certain areas have gone too far. I want to phrase this very carefully: The school should stick to the core education that our children need to excel and to move on in their careers and the next level of education. That’s my feeling on the curriculum. And I think this district does a good job in balancing that. I want to continue to be a part of that and being an understanding that some of this curriculum is about inclusivity and equity. It’s touching on those subjects, but I don’t think that it should be the core of our curriculum.
Q: What should the BOE be doing to support LGBTQ+ students?
Ferry: Well, I think every student regardless should feel comfortable that education is a right. And I think every school district in the country, not just in New Jersey, not just Verona should make every student feel comfortable that we can foster a learning experience for these kids somewhere where they feel comfortable. They can go in and get the education that they need. I think they have a responsibility to make sure everybody is comfortable.
Q: The BOE is the most demanding community position in Verona, often requiring upwards of over 10 hours per week of unpaid time from its members. What in your current job roles and responsibilities might prevent you from fully carrying out your duties on the BOE? How will you find time to commit fully to the work of the Board?
I have approximately 36 years in my career and I do a lot of consulting. I own my own consulting company. I work with engineering firms. I work with the biggest water utility in this state, Passaic Valley Water Commission; I’m their licensed operator. I have a lot of freedom in those careers as a consultant. In Nutley, I’m winding down. I should be retiring within 12 to 18 months. I have a lot of time I need to utilize, that’s why I felt like I wanted to run now, and even before when I lost to Lisa (Freschi, in 2014). I was upset. No one wants to lose a race. But I think she was the perfect person to win that race at that time. I did not have the time. My children were young. That was nine years ago and now everything is in a perfect situation. My children are older. I’m in a totally different position career-wise, where I pretty much dictate my hours where I work. I do have some emergency jobs. I understand I work in the utility industry. I understand there are situations where I will be called away. But in most cases, I make my schedule and I’ve chosen to take those free hours and dedicate it to the community.
Q: Verona limited in-person learning during the COVID pandemic. That kept infections and deaths low but there were learning losses. What did you learn from the experience and how would you approach the next public health crisis?
Ferry: I have a little bit of a different opinion on that. What I will tell you is that, learning loss specifically, I saw it in my household. I saw my son’s struggle. I saw him be totally disengaged. It was the lack of personal time with his friends, his peers, his classmates. That was detrimental in my family. That’s what I saw. But what I’ve seen, and I’ve spoken to many elementary school teachers in this district and in Nutley where I work, and I have a lot of friends in the West Orange district. Kids had fallen, specifically in the kindergarten. The younger ages have fallen so far, far behind and we’re going to have a hard time catching up. So the pandemic and handling a health crisis. I totally understand it was something we hadn’t seen ever in my lifetime that I remember. I remember swine flu when our children were young and they were thinking they were cleaning the schools at night. It was the first time I remember anything at that level. You know, maybe I was just ignorant and not paying attention, too caught up in my own life. But as this health crisis came, you know, when it started we were unsure, everyone was saying different things. So it was conflicting messages: Could masks help? It was very polarizing politically. I don’t ever want to see that again. I hope that we as a community and a country can not make these political issues. Let’s make decisions that are based on what is best for our children. And I believe what is best for our children is to keep them in school. I understand people with pre-existing conditions. We have to be very careful. You know, my mom is going to be 82. We were very careful with her. But that’s something we did as a family. With the children. They are so resilient. They have immunities that we can only wish to have at my age, or my mom’s age. So I think having children stay in school as much as possible. I understand you need breaks. We needed to get through, but we went through it way too long. It was a burden on families. There were so many issues. I’m not going to get into it because it’s going to touch a personal spot but it created so much divisiveness in our community, in our country. In my opinion, we need to keep the kids in school and I hope we never have to come to a decision like that again.
CANDIDATE-SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
Q: You interviewed to fulfill an unexpired Board of Education term in 2013 and ran unsuccessfully for a seat in 2014. Obviously you have an interest in the Board of Education. But even without being elected to the BOE, there are many opportunities for community members to help shape the district. What specifically have you done to stay involved in the district?
Ferry: I haven’t been part of the Board of Education. I did try to get on some of the budget committees but I guess they had picked other people and that’s understandable. Some people that were doing more of the heavy lifting, and more involved at the time. And that’s okay. I’m running again. I do have a great desire to be a part of my community. This community has given me so much. I grew up in Belleville, that was my home. I loved Belleville, but it’s no longer my home. Verona is my home. It’s where I raised my children. It’s been so good to us. I’ve been fortunate that this was the town we ended up in and so I was involved in a lot of the sports programs, Eagles, wrestling and lacrosse. I’ve been involved in those, that aspect of, you know, giving back and being part of a system. I’ve come from a long line of people that want to get back there. I’m a civil servant, but I also want to give back my time through volunteerism and I’ve done that. My whole life in Belleville and in Nutley, and I think it’s time on the BOE to do it here, to really give back some meaningful time in the most meaningful situation. Sometimes the most thankless situation, but it’s our children’s education, and education affects this community, and more than the brilliant minds we send out. It’s about our property value or attractability to people that want to come and be the next generation of people that raise kids here.
Q: What part or parts of the newly adopted strategic plan do you find most valuable in guiding the district?
Ferry: To be fair, I’ve gone through it. I’ve given it a little briefing. I would like to look into it more to better answer that question. Our directors of curriculum, they’re so good. They’ve done such a better job with our curriculum because I see it with my children as they’ve gotten into high school. I’ve seen what they offer. I’ve seen my daughter, who goes to college, and I think she’s an average student, and she excels in college. She goes up. She’s a kid that gets through our district. And I think she’s average but I know she’s trying to be social I know. She’s trying to be Miss Popular. She’s not putting the effort in. But it comes out at the next level. The core, the foundation that these teachers have set for my daughter make her get to the next level. All that great foundation that they laid comes out with a kid who’s now on the Dean’s List, not every time, but she is Dean’s List two out of the four semesters, and that comes from the foundation laid by Verona school district I’ve seen bad districts that just turn kids out to graduating. That is when I realized just how good of a job Verona is doing. And I want to be a part of it. I want to continue it. I think we’re on the right path with our superintendent. I want to say another thing about this board. I watched that board the other night. And I watched how friendly and cooperative they were with each other. I hope I can be a part of exactly what they’ve created and the camaraderie and the teamwork that they’re trying to foster moving forward. So I just want to say that if someone on the board sees this, I commend them for working together like that.
Q: You haven’t made any filings yet with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. Have you taken money from outside Verona to fund your campaign or do you intend to do so?
Ferry: No, I will self-fund 100%, and I will be filing regardless. I work closely with the board president in Nutley, and he’s he’s good friend. He and I together run the Department of Public Works and in that way in the water and sewer utility. So he is guiding me on that. I told him I am self-funding. I’m fortunate enough that I can do it. The hardest thing is asking your friends and family for money to fund your political aspirations.
Q: In the most recent Town Council race, one candidate’s history of bankruptcy and arrests was a focal point. A search of your background reveals a citation for making your property available for consumption of alcohol by minors in October 2021. What should prospective voters know about that?
Ferry: With my son, believe me the price he paid at home was worse than what he could have paid legally. Unfortunately, you place trust in your children. You trust them to do the right thing. I was in Edgewood, and I got a call from the Verona Police Department. I rushed home to find chaos in my home. My son had allowed a party to go on. I spoke with the police. They spoke with my son. Unfortunately a citation was issued and it was issued as if I allowed the party, which is nothing could be further from the truth. He cost me a lot of money and embarrassment. But as a family we dealt with it. I dealt with him personally at home. He had to go through some class or program at school, and we satisfied our obligation. It’s no longer on my record. It was just unfortunate, you know. Kids do stupid things and as a parent, I took the brunt of it. And that’s that’s okay. I would do it again for him. Because he’s my son. He’s learned his lesson. He understands the embarrassment he brought to himself and to our family.
I’m so glad you brought up that last election and how downright dirty and disingenuous it got. The other night, Mike [Boone, BOE candidate] and I were talking. I know Mike a long time. His son Noah went to Laning, so he and my Jake were together for a year or two. We had mentioned that Council race and we discussed that that’s never going to happen between us. Mike’s a good guy. I’ve known him a long time. We’re not friends but we are friendly. We see each other and we’re respectful to each other. He wants to be a part of helping out the Board. I want to dedicate some time to help out the Board. That’s what community service is all about, two people maybe with a little bit different ideas. I did speak to him about if it goes his way, I’m a resource to Mike. And I want him to reach out to me. I would want him to be a resource to me, because we are here to help the community, to serve the community. We’re a great community. We’re from Verona together. It’s not me against Mike. I’m not running against Mike. I’m running for a seat.