Pilla urges BOE to open school naming to public

VINELAND - A month after the school board rejected her appeal to name the new middle school after a community leader, the sister of a fallen U.S. Army Ranger urged them to reconsider.

Jennifer Pilla faced the school board on Wednesday and asked them to activate a district policy that permits the public to submit nominees to be considered for the naming honor.

After the 6-3 vote in March, board president Jeff Bordley said some board members wanted to spare the feelings of those whose loved ones weren't selected.

“The process for nominating someone allows the family of the nominee a great opportunity to make that candidate known,” Pilla said, adding it’s a way to “make the community aware of outstanding citizens and their accomplishments.”

“If that candidate does not get chosen, it is a still a comfort to the family to share their loved one’s story,” said Pilla, a district third-grade teacher. She is nominating her brother, Sgt. Dominick Pilla.

“We shouldn’t stop honoring great people in the community because we’re afraid of hurt feelings,” said Pilla, “What kind of an example is that to teach our kids?”

Board member Inez Acosta, along with Bordley and Eugene Medio, supported opening the nomination process.

Acosta told Pilla she found comfort in speaking to others about her loved ones who had passed away.

“It brings me joy,” Acosta said. “I get that.”

Board member Tom Ulrich spoke of his support for the military and told Pilla that her brother is an American hero.

Pilla, an Army Ranger, was killed in the Oct. 3, 1993, Battle of Mogadishu, featured in the film “Black Hawk Down.” The 1990 Vineland High School graduate was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star with Valor Device and the Purple Heart.

A reason he cast a no vote “was that this matter was settled by a prior board in 2016,” Ulrich said, referring to the vote to officially name the building Lincoln Avenue Middle School.

“There was a school named the Orchard Road School, that was changed to the Dane Barse School,” Medio said. “The Magnolia Road School, that name was changed to Winslow School; there’s quite a precedent to change the name to honor people who deserved to be honored.”

Nominees deserve to be considered for contributions “above and beyond the call of duty to something, whether it’s volunteerism, work as a community activist or paying the supreme price,” Medio said. “I’m in favor of naming the school after someone, and I’ll continue to try to help a few of my fellow board members to see my way on this issue.”

In addition to Ulrich, those who voted no in March were Nicholas Fiocchi, Cedric Holmes, Chris Jennings, Meghan Spinelli and John Sbrana.

Watch: Lincoln Avenue Middle School Beam Signing

The district policy specifies criteria for a person to be considered for the school naming honor. The person must have contributed their time, funds, efforts or resources to a program, facility or volunteer organization within the school district or city. Policy requires the person must have died at least five years prior to the board vote on the recommendation.

Eleanor Brown and Josephine Wynn told the board members about their brother, U.S. Marine Louis Inferrera, who died while serving in Vietnam. They suggested the school district erect a plaque where the names of all Vineland’s fallen military could be displayed to honor all instead of choosing one.

The district last activated the naming policy last year, which resulted in Vineland High School North dedicated in memory of Dennis Tanner. A VHS assistant principal, Tanner died saving a student snared in a rip current during a 1980 school trip to Puerto Rico. 

District funds covered the $5,790 cost of the Tanner signage, district officials said.

Cara Donato voiced support for naming the school in honor of Dominick Pilla.

If the district was concerned about finances, Donato told the board she believed the community would raise the money needed to pay for the school sign.

The letters for “Lincoln Avenue Middle School” are ordered at a total cost of $2,500, confirmed the state Schools Development Authority, which is funding the school.

The next school board meeting is scheduled for May 2, which is a combination work session, regular meeting and board vote on the 2018-19 budget at the Landis administrative building, 61 W. Landis Ave.

Existing Vineland schools named after notable locals are:

• Casimer Dallago Preschool, South Sixth Street — Dallago, a local businessman, was a former school board president.
• Dane Barse Elementary School, Orchard Road — Barse served on Vineland’s Board of Education for nearly two decades, retiring as chairman in the 1950s.
• Dr. George Cunningham Elementary School, East Avenue — A longtime Vineland physician and advocate for education, Cunningham helped establish Vineland’s first hospital.
• Solve D’Ippolito Elementary School, Valley Avenue — A community leader, D’Ippolito served as a president of Vineland’s school board and the First Federal Savings & Loan.
• Marie D. Durand Elementary School, Forest Grove Road — An active participant in community affairs, Durand helped organize the original Park and East School PTA.
• Edward R. Johnstone Elementary School, Brewster Road — The superintendent of Vineland’s Training School for nearly 50 years, Johnstone came here as the assistant superintendent in 1898.
• Landis Intermediate School — Charles K. Landis founded Vineland after purchasing some 20,000 acres here in 1861.
• Max Leuchter Elementary School, West Avenue  — The former publisher of the Vineland Times Journal, Leuchter had been a longtime proponent for the city’s growth.
• Dr. William Mennies Elementary School, Grant Avenue — A well-known Vineland dentist and civic leader, Mennies was a longtime Board of Education member and president.
• Pauline J. Petway Elementary School, Lincoln Avenue — The district’s first black school teacher, she rose to the position of principal.
• Anthony Rossi Intermediate School, Palmero Avenue —  A Vineland police sergeant, Rossi was a longtime safety patrol adviser.
• Gloria M. Sabater Elementary School, South East Boulevard — A district Spanish teacher with a love for music, who was known for her dedication to the community and the district’s students.
• Thomas W. Wallace Intermediate School, North Mill Road — A local businessman who served as a benefactor to a multitude of school programs, activities and scholarships.
• Dr. John H. Winslow Elementary School, Magnolia Avenue — Winslow performed the first operation at Newcomb Hospital and served for a number of years on the local school board.
• Veterans Memorial Intermediate School, Main Road — Named for those who served in the U.S. military.

Deborah M. Marko; 856-563-5256; dmarko@gannettnj.com; Twitter: @dmarko_dj

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