Schedule juggling is all part of the job for Board of Education members.
By: Rebecca Tokarz
Hours of preparation, countless meetings and schedule juggling are all part of serving on the elected, yet unpaid, Board of Education.
Board members said the amount of time needed to be an effective member varies from week to week depending on what’s happening in the district.
"A board meeting is the icing on the cake. A lot of work goes into it before the cameras start rolling," board member Paul Prodromo said.
Board members are responsible for attending two monthly board meetings as well as any confidential meetings that are held prior to the meetings, where negotiations, personnel and land acquisition matters are discussed. Those meetings start as early as 6 p.m. and end when that night’s meeting adjourns, sometimes as late as 12:30 a.m.
To prepare for the meetings, board members receive a weekly packet of information from the Board of Education office. The packet includes policy and any budgetary information that will be discussed at board meetings, and test scores and other information to be sent to the state Department of Education.
Members said there are times when the packet is small enough that it only takes about 20 minutes to read through. Other times it can take hours to go through depending on what’s on the next agenda, what’s happening in the district, how extensive the reports are and how closely a member looks at the information.
"It depends on the degree you want to look at it," Dan Watts said. "I take a close look at the financial aspects check registry, treasurer’s report. I do it only for the point to see if we are getting into any form of difficulty."
Dr. Watts said that since the district is currently updating its policies, there are times when reading a particular policy series can take a whole weekend because it’s more than 100 pages in length.
Sometimes it takes newer board members longer to sift through the informational packet because they are unfamiliar with the material. While that may be deemed a disadvantage by some, board members said looking at the information as a newcomer can be beneficial.
"As a new member, you can look at things with a fresh pair of eyes," Martin Abschutz said. "You can only look at something once for the first time."
He said new board members need to read the packets and take their time in order to understand it.
"It’s a steep learning curve that can quickly be climbed up," Mr. Abschutz said.
The most important part of being a school board member is being a part of the meetings and actively participating in the process, say board members.
"The most important investment a school board member can make is the investment of time," school board President Harry Delgado said.
The necessary time commitment related to being on the board was a deciding factor in school board member Carole O’Brien’s decision to withdraw her name as a school board candidate.
"It’s time my children get the better part of me instead of getting the leftovers," she said.
Aside from prepping for and attending meetings, board members sit on a handful of committees including budget, calendar, facilities, transportation, communication and personnel committees. There can between one and four meetings a week depending on the number of committees a board member sits on and the frequency of the meetings. Meetings can take place in the daytime or in the evening.
"It takes a significant investment of time," board member Bob Long said.
Mr. Long said some of his committee meetings begin as early as 4 or 6 p.m. and "continue until to who knows when."
For example, budget time is particularly busy because only several board members are part of the Budget Committee. However, other members also attend in order to keep up on the process.
"Undertaking the budget in and of itself is a huge task," Ms. O’Brien said.
The chairman of the Budget Committee, Dr. Prodromo, said the budget process is extensive because they have five weeks of meetings, which require about an hour to prepare for and time for any additional calls that may need to be made to be made during the day to Assistant Superintendent for Business Jeff Scott. And then, the meetings sometimes last until almost midnight.
Board member Anna Tupe said that in the last couple of months, she had attended between 15 and 21 extra meetings or events other than board meetings.
Board members said time spent at meetings is in addition to time spent following up on information provided in the weekly information packets, the back and forth e-mailing that goes on between the board members or the fielding of complaints and concerns by residents.
Other board responsibilities include being liaisons to various schools in the district and attending different school functions.
"It’s great to see what’s going on in the schools and how they operate that’s where the value is," Mr. Long said.
In addition, many board members work to follow the trends of what’s happening in education not only in Trenton, but on the national level too.
"I try to read the trends of education," Dr. Watts said. "I try to follow what’s going on in the state too."
Working for Dow Chemical, Mr. Long is sometimes taken away on business, causing him to miss board and committee meetings. He said that he tries to schedule meetings around trips, but conflicts arise from time to time.
"It’s a balancing act," he said.
Mr. Long said that although he may sometimes miss meetings, he continues to prepare as he normally would for the meetings by reading through the information and communicating with the board and the administration while on the road.
"You still know what’s going on if you miss something important. I go to the board office and go through everything," Mr. Long said about catching up. "I try to get caught up to speed, if you miss something, you have to catch up."
Dr. Watts, an executive director at New Jersey Institute of Technology, has professional conflicts that also cause him to miss meetings.
Dr. Watts said that it’s a constant struggle to balance a professional job while being a board member and unfortunately there are times when the "real job" needs to take precedence.
He said while his absences are business related and that "no one can substitute a vote," he keeps up on things by communicating via e-mail, communicating his opinion to the board and asking for additional information when needed.
Lt. Delgado said that board meetings are the only real chance for each member of the board to hear varying opinions and measure them against their own prior to voting.
Most members acknowledge and understand the responsibilities that come with working a full-time job while trying to be involved.
"I understand it, but I haven’t missed a meeting in two years," Dr. Prodromo said. "I would never criticize. I appreciate anyone who is willing to volunteer and who can make as many meetings as possible. Everyone needs to look at themselves and feel they are contributing when at the meetings."
Ms. Tupe said she works under the assumption that all the board members have done their homework and have already prepared for the meetings. She said there’s always the opportunity for continued discussion on issues should someone miss a meeting.
"If someone missed a meeting, they’re always opportunities for discussions; a way of catching up to speed and to be able to be heard and enter into the discussion," she said.
At the same time, others are concerned about the overall performance of the board when members miss meetings.
Mr. Nathanson said that in order to hear the public’s voice on issues, members need to attend board and committee meetings.
"It’s important because we do a confidential session and two meetings a month. It’s important to know what the public thinks," he said.
In addition, meetings are a chance for board members to hear each other’s opinions.
"You need to get a feel for the feelings of other board members and how they feel about issues before they vote. Sometimes we discuss things during the meetings," Mr. Nathanson said.
He said e-mail allows the communication to flow among board members, but it’s not the same as being face-to-face.
Matt Speesler agreed with Mr. Nathanson. As a pediatrician, Dr. Speesler said he follows the philosophy of making time to do things, not wait until you have time to do things.
He said he finds the time to take care of board business by changing his schedule around.
"I do it because I have a love for the kids. I hope my participation has moved South Brunswick forward," Dr. Speesler said.
He said it’s problematic when board members miss meetings because it decreases the input that goes into making a decision.
"It’s a problem when board members miss meetings. We need to hear what people say to make decisions," he said. Dr. Speesler said all members new and old need to prioritize to make sure they make the meetings.