Five West Windsor residents and two Plainsboro residents are seeking election on April 16.
By: Gwen Runkle
Six of the seven candidates running for seats on the West Windsor-Plainsboro Board of Education sounded off on everything from diversity and school equality to field trips and textbooks at a candidates forum Tuesday night.
But while they tackled a broad spectrum of subjects, the hottest topics for debate turned out to be whether to reopen the elementary grade configuration debate, how to improve the board’s communication with both the administration and the public and what to prioritize for the district’s budget.
All of the candidates at the forum, which was sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Princeton Area, strongly emphasized there is no need to reopen the elementary grade configuration debate.
"The decision that was made was proper and it’s time to move on," said Salvatore Astarita, one of the candidates.
Mr. Astarita, a retired manager at AT&T, is running against incumbents Stephen Smith and Linda Geevers as well as fellow newcomers Jaya Enamandram and Michael Newman for two seats reserved for West Windsor residents on the board.
Ms. Geevers was not able to attend Tuesday’s forum, but said later in the week she, too, is against reopening the debate.
The other candidates, Patricia Bocarsly and Jack Greenberg, are running for one seat reserved for Plainsboro residents, which is currently held by board President Cheryl Larrier-Jemmott, who decided not to run for re-election.
All of the open seats carry three-year terms.
The candidates also agreed on the importance of improving communication among the board, the administration and the public, but differed on how this could be accomplished.
Mr. Greenberg, an administrative analyst for the state Department of Health and Senior Services, suggested members of the community be included on the board’s advisory committees.
To encourage such parent and community participation, Mr. Astarita proposed the board conduct a survey first to find out who is interested, to better involve them in the decision-making process.
"We need to build a strong school board so the administration can respect and deal with us on an even plane," he said.
But Mr. Newman, a municipal finance professional, felt running board meetings more efficiently also could improve communication by making the board more accessible to the public. He suggested the board limit the time it spends on each item on its agenda.
"It would require board members to meet informally with the administration and themselves beforehand and allow them to make more concise decisions," he said.
Mr. Smith, who works at Princeton University’s Physics Department, said the board should pay more attention to parliamentary procedure and Ms. Enamandram, a computer programmer, said communication could improve only if parents, board members and the administration had mutual respect for one another.
Ms. Bocarsly, a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark, liked the idea of community-committee participation, but stressed that the board needs to actually listen to such input. She also said the board needs to remember not to micromanage every issue and that the administration needs to be impeccable with its numbers to facilitate meaningful discussions.
Ms. Geevers said later in an interview a return to "strategic planning" will bring key stakeholders together to lay out plans for the district over the next five years and enhance the probability of community support for decisions.
"A review of our mission statement, goals, growth issues and many other areas can all be addressed under the umbrella of strategic planning," she said.
In terms of the budget, candidate views differed widely. Ms. Bocarsly said her budget priorities include hiring a professional grant writer, improving pre-college counseling and working to analyze the effectiveness of programming year-round.
Ms. Enamandram said she would work to keep small class sizes, equalize the facilities of High School South and High School North and keep a close watch on health-care costs.
Mr. Smith said equalization of the high schools is important, but should be worked into budgets gradually over the next several years. He stressed the board should take more time to address the budget out of the budget season.
Mr. Greenberg and Mr. Astarita both said the board needs to take a different approach to building the district’s budget.
"The budget should be based on departments’ needs, not just the previous year’s numbers," Mr. Greenberg said. "We should have zero-based budgeting."
Mr. Astarita agreed, but added the board should work to further reduce per-pupil spending and minimize the tax burden.
Mr. Newman said the board needs to "get behind the line items" and look to save money with enhanced purchasing procedures.
Voters will cast their ballots in school elections April 16.
Comcast will broadcast the forum on Channel 27 in West Windsor and Channel 3 in Plainsboro at 8 p.m. Monday, April 8, and 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 10.