When voters go to the polls on Tues., Nov. 2, they will elect two new members to the five-member Boardman Board of Education. Current members Mark Fulks and Fred Davis will not seek re-election to the board.
      On the ballot for the two seats are three candidates---Jeff Barone, of 805 Park Harbour Dr.; Frank Zetts, of 617 Forestridge Dr.; and Donald Riccitelli, of 416 Green Garden Dr.
      Barone is employed as a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley and is a lifelong Boardman resident. He is past president of the Boardman Civic Association and the Boardman Tennis and Swim Club. He was also very active in Boardman Band and Orchestra Parents and served as co-chair of the last Boardman Local Schools levy committee, as well as the Boardman police levy.
      Zetts ran for the school board two years ago, during which he made a dismal appearance at a candidate’s forum sponsored by the Civic Association.
      Riccitelli is a car salesman and is a member of the Boardman Local Schools Fund for Educational Excellence board of directors.
      Three candidates, including the incumbent, Larry Moliterno, will be on the ballot for one seat on the three-member Boardman Township Board of Trustees.
      Moliterno, of 427 Gardenview Dr., is seeking his third term on the Board of Trustees, where he has served three times as board president. Moliterno has teamed with fellow trustees Thomas Costello and Brad Calhoun to restore manpower at the Boardman Police Department, and has served as a capable spokesperson and representative of township government.
      He will be opposed by Green Party member Jim Villani, of 4866 Brookwood Rd., who says he is “committed to the 3 R’s of Environmental Stewardship: Reuse, Restore, Recycle.”
      Among Villani’s platforms in seeking the office of township trustee is a pledge to support “student, teacher and parent alliances.”
      According to the Mahoning County Auditor’s Office, Mr. Villani is some $5,145 delinquent in his annual property tax payments, and hasn’t made a payment on the debt this year.
      Also on the ballot for trustee will be Anthony DeFrank, of 7021 Glenwood Ave., also known on Facebook as ‘Tony Danger.’ who is listed as 18th precinct Boardman committeeman for the Mahoning County Democratic Party.
      Running unopposed for his seat as Boardman Township Fiscal Officer is William D. Leicht, CPA, of 8550 Ivy Hill Dr.
      There will be four issues of local note on the November ballot, including two tax levies for the Boardman Local School, a tax levy for the Boardman Police Department and a tax issue for Boardman Park. All of those tax issues are renewal levies.
      Boardman Local Schools seek renewals of a 5.9-mil levy and a 6-mil levy. Those levies bring in a total of some $7.188 million annually to the school district.
      Boardman Local Schools operate on a general fund budget of some $43 million a year and have faced declining enrollment and loss of state subsidies for more than a decade, in addition to a recent declining tax base.
      The Boardman Police Department levy issue seeks renewal of a 3.85-mil levy that raises about $3.5 million annually of the police department’s $7 million annual budget.
      Boardman Park will seek renewal of a 6/10-mil levy that generates $541,725 per year, and represents 45 per cent of the park’s annual income.