In the News

As a brand-new reporter sent by my editor at the News Transcript to cover the Marlboro Board of Education in 1982, I was very fortunate to come into contact with John Dugan, who was the Marlboro School District's business administrator and board secretary at that time.

Dugan, 83, died on Feb. 15 in Freehold Township. He was a native of Marlboro who was the school district's business administrator and board secretary for 27 years, according to his obituary. He retired in 1988.

Having not hung around school district administrative offices before I was assigned the Marlboro beat, I had no experience writing about school boards or the business they conducted.

As it turned out, however, I was quite fortunate to meet Mr. Dugan. He, along with Frank Defino, Marlboro's superintendent of schools at the time, and several very fine board members always took the time to answer whatever questions I had about the district's business.

At a time when they had plenty to do during the day, Mr. Dugan and Mr. Defino always answered my calls and provided whatever explanation was required on a specific topic. That cooperation is something any reporter can appreciate, and I certainly did.

After all, the reporter is not seeking the information for his own use. He is seeking information on behalf of his readers and must be able to communicate that information in a way the readers can understand.

When incomplete answers are provided by government or school officials, it leads to a lack of understanding on the part of the reporter, and it inhibits the reporter's ability to accurately communicate the story to the public.

I found out during my time covering the Marlboro school district that Mr. Dugan was following in the footsteps of his father, Frank J. Dugan, who had been the secretary to the Marlboro Board of Education from 1943 to 1960.

I was at the board meeting on the night when Mr. Dugan was informed by the board members that they had decided to name a new elementary school that was going to be built on Topanemus Road the Frank J. Dugan Elementary School in honor of his father's years of service to the school district.

Mr. Dugan was surprised, moved and honored when that announcement was made. One could almost feel the pride he felt upon hearing about the tribute that was being paid to his father and to his family. It was a memorable moment.

Dugan is survived by his wife, Margaret; a sister and brother-in-law; a brother and sister-in-law; six daughters and son-in-laws; a son and daughter-inlaw; 23 grandchildren, a granddaughterin law, and a grandson-in-law.

I consider myself fortunate to have known John Dugan. I thank him for the patience and understanding he showed a young person who was taking the first steps in a career.

Mark Rosman is the managing editor of the News Transcript.