Upper Saddle River Board of Education
Joy A. McElyea
Current Board member, running for re-election
I'm on the Board because I want the children in our town to have the best education possible, support teachers in a positive environment, and be a good steward of our community's tax dollars.
Six years of effective leadership and fiscal responsibility.
Joy was first elected to the Board in 2020 and is finishing her sixth year. She chairs the Negotiations Committee and serves on Finance and Personnel:
Negotiations
She has worked on agreements with the Upper Saddle River Education Association and the Upper Saddle River Administrators Association, and on two superintendent contracts.
Finance
The committee manages every dollar carefully, evaluating shared services with neighboring districts, cooperative purchasing, and new revenue to protect our students' learning and experience.
Personnel
Establishes policy for hiring the best-of-the-best teachers in a climate of fewer education graduates and more district competition on a strict budget.
Six years of investment in our students
Curriculum
A new math curriculum and a new science curriculum, with English language arts and basic skills at the center of this year's district goals.
ACE
The after-school care program has grown to meet demand and, as an added benefit, provides employment opportunities for USR teens.
Special education
A special education program that has expanded across her two terms and is a model for special ed programs around the county. Her own child flourished through it and moved on, which is the outcome the program aims for.
SPARK
Added targeted academic support, after-school tutoring, and an extra-help program.
School safety
A dedicated Class III officer, hired with the USR Police Department to enhance school safety, and who serves as another positive role model our students know by name.
Why I'm asking for another term.
I ran for the first time six years ago because I enjoyed volunteering for our district and thought my perspective would help the Board. Collaborating with fellow parents, teachers, and administrators to enhance the student experience was rewarding, and I believed I could build on my relationships and my experience as a parent volunteer to be an effective Board member.
Early in my first term, the Board's work was informed by what was necessary in the aftermath of the pandemic. Policy changes and curriculum handed down from the state also required much of the Board's attention in my first term.
I decided to run for a third term while working through the budget last spring with my colleagues. The process strengthened my commitment to the district and my community. Building next year's budget will be difficult again. With lessons learned from the experience last year, my priority is keeping the community informed along the way, presenting a balanced budget that meets the academic standards this community expects, and being mindful of its tax implications.
What I would also like to work on next is something I believe we can do better: communicating to residents the important work of the Board, highlighting our students' success stories, and recognizing the work of the professional educators in our district.
I want the children in our town to have the best education possible, for their teachers to be supported, and for the community's tax dollars to be protected.
Over a decade of commitment to the Upper Saddle River Schools.
Joy and her family moved to Upper Saddle River from western Kentucky in 2014. She chose Upper Saddle River for its school quality. Her younger son attended Bogert and Cavallini. Both sons graduated from Northern Highlands, earned college degrees, and work in the fields they studied.
Before joining the Board, she volunteered in her children's schools as a tutor, a library volunteer, and a grant writer for a district education foundation. She joined the Upper Saddle River Educational Foundation in 2015, worked on the annual gala and the grant committee, was elected Treasurer, and later served as Vice President for Grants. She served as Treasurer, then President, of the Northern Highlands Home and School Association. She continues to serve as a USREF trustee.
Joy is a bookkeeper specializing in environment- and education-focused non-profit organizations.
Two seats. Vote for both.
Tuesday, November 3, 2026.