Yodice was officially elected to the three year seat in April 2007. A community leader, he’s been active in local and high school sports leagues for years.

Yodice graduated from PVHS and went on to earn a bachelor of arts degree in history from Montclair State University. He served as vice-president of WPB&GC from 2004-2006, and was elected its president in 2006 to present.

He is currently on the football coaching staff at PVHS and is a member of the borough’s recreation and community relations committee. He has been a baseball umpire and basketball official for over 10 years. He is also affiliated with the National Alliance for Youth Sports and the Positive Coaching Alliance as well as a member of the Passaic County Coaches Association.

Yodice originally set out to run for a board of education seat in the school district in order to take part in the educational aspect of the community in order to "directly impact the academic curriculum."

"The reason why I ran for a seat was that I wanted to help students reach their highest maximum potential," he explained. "You must allocate the time for the seat because many important decisions are made in terms of school curriculum, the district’s budget, staff hirings, teachers’ tenure, what books need to be ordered per grade level, etc."

Holding a board of education seat is also a huge fiscal responsibility, he said, and it became more difficult to dedicate the time necessary to remain in the seat. He had taken a leave of absence over the winter due to his time consuming work as an environmental consultant.

"My job takes me all over the tri-state area and it became difficult to remain on the board of ed. It was a tough decision and I did it with a heavy heart but it’s not about me, it’s what’s best for the children of this school district. It just made sense to vacate the seat and I’m confident that they’ll get a dedicated person who will be readily available to assume the duties and responsibilities of the seat."

Yodice said that the year and a half he spent on the board was a rewarding experience.

"In my short time within the district, I can’t say enough wonderful things about the teachers, administration, staff and all the people I’ve encountered. I especially feel that the leadership of our superintendent, Mr. Scott Rixford, has taken the district to new levels. I’ve appreciated everyone’s professionalism, especially those on the board regarding my departure. They’ve all been great about it and there’s nothing negative I could possibly say. I hope this school district will keep moving forward towards a brighter future and I’m confident that will happen. I wish the students all the best."

When an elected seat is vacated, there must be an appointment made by current board members for an interested candidate to fill the seat until the upcoming elections held in the spring.

The deadline to submit a letter of interest was last Friday, according to Thomas DiFluri, BOE business administrator.

"We will consider candidates for the seat after they’ve sent letters and/or resumes to the board of education office," he said. "There will be a BOE workshop meeting this Thursday evening at Charles Olbon School in the media center. We will be conducting the candidate interviews that evening."

The board has 60 days to appoint a person to the vacated seat. The seat will be filled by the appointee until the spring of 2009, at which time they will run in an election to keep their seat and finish the term through to the spring of 2010, he said.

"The board may pick someone this Thursday evening but we do have two months to make the appointment," DiFluri said. "Sam Yodice is a bright, young man and we wish him well in all his endeavors."