Dear Editor: Many residents know me from my volunteer activities over the past 25 years. These include working on the many volunteer activities that are sponsored by the Anthony Russo Civic Association, St. Mary Hospital and F.A.I.T.H. Services, as well as organizing and coaching the award-winning Hoboken Recreation cheerleader teams. For those of you who I haven't had the good fortune to meet yet, I would like to introduce myself. I am a candidate for the Hoboken Board of Education. I made the decision to seek such elective office after working so long to elect community leaders to office. The list is long and at the top of the list is my husband, Anthony, Mayor of Hoboken. Throughout the many campaigns and volunteer efforts, my primary objective has been to make Hoboken a better place. I believe we must focus a lot of energy towards improving our public school system. Hoboken public schools have made tremendous strides in the past few years, pulling our school district out of state monitoring and improving test scores. The district was one of the first in New Jersey to offer charter schools, and both of our charter schools have met with resounding success. We have an excellent relationship with Stevens Institute for advanced studies and our public schools offer some of the most innovative programs in the state. I believe we need to continue making positive improvements. Additionally, we should expand our efforts to wire each classroom to meet the demands of a technological education. While raising my three children, I was active in Hoboken's Parent Teacher Organization. I found that many good ideas come from such organizations and that board members should be more attentive to them. If elected, I'll work with the parents of our children, as well as with school administrators, as a voice for all parents. Please consider voting for my running mates David Anthony and Wanda Santana-Alicea, as well as myself in the April 8 school board election. I want to serve you and your children, so we can continue to make Hoboken an even better place to raise a family. Michele Russo