West Windsor-Plainsboro and Montgomery signup deadline nears.
By: Gwen Runkle and Paul Sisolak
With the filing deadline for this year’s school board elections coming up Monday, a list of candidates in both the West Windsor-Plainsboro and Montgomery school districts is shaping up.
On the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional Board of Education, three seats are up for election one held by a West Windsor representative and two by Plainsboro representatives.
Stan Katz currently holds the West Windsor seat and is running for re-election to his third term on the board.
"I’d like to see through several issues I’ve been working on over the past six years," he said. "Most importantly, how facilities will play out as the Toll Brothers project becomes a reality."
He said Toll Brothers’ 1,165-unit Estates at Princeton Junction housing development off Bear Brook Road will greatly affect board decisions on redistricting and capacity limitations in certain schools.
Michael Newman, a municipal finance professional who ran for a seat on the board last year and lost, is challenging Mr. Katz.
His priorities include improving the board’s decision-making, time-management and ability to prioritize.
"I want to bring a more businesslike focus to the board," he said. "There is no need for the meetings to take as long as they currently do. I plan on voting against any attempt to extend meetings past 10:30 p.m."
The two Plainsboro representatives, Henry Wieck and Dee Dee Dodson, have each served one three-year term on the board and are undecided about running for re-election.
According to Gerri Hutner, district spokeswoman, no challengers have filed petitions for the seats in Plainsboro. If either of the Plainsboro seats remains unfilled, the board will appoint someone through an advertising and interview process, Ms. Hutner said.
In Montgomery, three incumbent school board members will be seeking re-election in April, said Jack Rotter, administrative assistant to the superintendent of schools.
Reginald Luke, a 14-year school board member, served five terms as school board president from 1992 to 1996. Dr. Luke said he would release an official comment on his re-election bid by Monday’s filing deadline.
Board member Susan Carter will be pursuing her third term, and Richard Specht will run again for a second time on the school board.
Ms. Carter said participation in the planning stages of the new high school would be part of her agenda.
"It looks like (the high school) will be a pretty exciting place," she said.
Mr. Specht could not be reached for comment.
Mr. Rotter noted the school board has functioned with the same members for the past three years. While many potential candidates do not file until the last minute, he said, there have been no non-board member applications thus far.
The deadline for filing petitions for the school board election is 4 p.m. Monday. Voters will go to the polls April 15.

