BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer
EAST BRUNSWICK — Only three people have filed to run for the three seats that will become available on the Board of Education this year.
Despite the lack of a challenge, the candidates feel this is an important time to serve on the board, which is dealing with a severe budget crunch after recently winning approval for its building referendum.
Michael Danatos, the only incumbent in the election, is running to maintain his seat, while William McCann and Todd Simmens are seeking their first terms on the board.
All three seats are for three-year terms. Board members Susan Lamond and Dennis Lai are not running for re-election. Lamond has served since 1996, and Lai has been on the board since 2001.
The race is the first in several years in East Brunswick that is not contested. Each of the past three years saw between four and six candidates running for three available terms.
The board election will be held April 19, when residents will also vote on the 2005-06 school budget.
McCann, a 37-year-old financial planner, served on the committee that recommended a building option to the board last year. He also served on a committee to raise awareness about the building needs prior to the referendum, which was approved in December. The $106 million plan will provide a new Hammarskjold Middle School as well as expansions and improvements at the Central and Lawrence Brook elementary schools.
McCann said his committee work makes his board candidacy a “natural progression.”
“I saw that any member of the community can have an impact,” he said. “I believe education needs community involvement and support.”
Simmens, a 35-year-old attorney, said his children are about to enter the school system, and as a result he has an interest in decisions that affect them. Also, as a former trustee of the Penn State Law School, he has experience dealing with issues such as facilities and budgets.
“I just love working on these issues. To be able to do it on a wider scale is something I am very interested in,” he said.
McCann said his top priority will be to make sure that students who are not accelerated or special needs don’t fall through the cracks in the educational process.
“We are missing all the kids in the middle who make up the majority,” he said.
While the school district has a strong reputation in terms of the regular and special education offered, as well as for athletics, he said he feels the average students need to be more energized to reach their full potential.
Simmens, who, like McCann, is making his first run for the board, said he wants to make sure the work approved with the referendum is properly carried out. Specifically, he wants to make sure the projects run according to budget and that the schools are up-to-date and modernized.
“I just want to help the board in dealing with these important issues,” he said.
McCann, who is married and has a daughter in second grade, said the biggest test he will face as a board member is dealing with the formula used to finance schools. He said the formula places a tremendous burden on residents, but that he feels the services need to be provided to students.
Simmens, who is married and has two children, said a second referendum, which is being planned for next year and is expected to involve additions and renovations at the district’s other elementary schools, is the biggest challenge awaiting him.
“Another issue is budget management, because state funding is flat,” he said.
A flat level of state aid has contributed to school tax increases in East Brunswick in recent years, including a proposed hike of 28 cents per $100 of assessed valuation for the 2005-06 budget.
Danatos could not be reached for comment for this story.