School board candidates discuss the issues

Candidates speak about their goals for the upcoming school year.

By: Melissa Hayes
   This year’s school board candidates have many goals they would like to accomplish if elected to office at school elections.
   There are six candidates vying for three, three-year seats on the school board. Incumbents Marty Abschutz and Barry Nathanson are both completing their first term on the board, while Matthew Speesler is finishing his second, nonconsecutive term.
   The three said they want to continue serving on their current committees and use experiences they have gained to better the school district.
   The three challengers — Edward Birch, Vishal Chheda and Atillio DeFalco — all hope to bring something unique to the table.
   The annual school board election is April 19. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Polling locations are the same as they were for the election in November.
Marty Abschutz
   Marty Abschutz, a certified public accountant, served as budget committee chairman this year and was liaison to the Brunswick Acres school community and the planning committee at the high school. He has one child that has graduated from the school system and another still in school.
   "I certainly would like to continue to do what I can to keep the school district moving in the direction it’s been moving in the last couple of years," he said.
   He said keeping the schools at the district’s high academic standing is a top priority.
   As a CPA, Mr. Abschutz works with hospitals offering financial advice on Medicare reimbursements. He feels that his career helps him to serve the district, particularly in regard to the budget committee.
   "Given the state of New Jersey’s finances, budgeting is going to be particularly challenging for next year," he said.
   Although it was not easy to craft the 2005-2006 school budget with flat state aid, increasing enrollment and restrictions from a state budget cap law, Mr. Abschutz said the 2006-2007 budget looks to be even more difficult.
   "So I think someone with my financial background is understanding of this," he said. "It’s important that someone like that be on the school board at this time."
   In addition to keeping academics a priority and working on next year’s budget, Mr. Abschutz said he would like to work on improving the district communications plan and the Web site.
   "Those are the major things. I think there are many other things that are important," he said. "I believe we’re heading in the right direction, with academics number one."
Ed Birch
   This is Ed Birch’s third attempt at a school board seat.
   Mr. Birch, who works in the human resources department for the New York City Department of Juvenile Justice, said if elected he would work to make sure South Brunswick continues to have high educational standards.
   "My goal — just to provide the residents of South Brunswick with the best possible educational system at the most reasonable budget there is," he said. "Tax increases are never a popular item among citizens and neither is a less than excellent school system."
   Mr. Birch, a Kendall Park resident, said it is important to continue funding programs and to update technology and textbooks so students have the most current information available.
   "Obviously, we always want to keep school technology where the world’s technology is. Just like we always want to keep out textbooks as far as the world is," he said.
   Mr. Birch said theses are costly things to provide, but he would never cut costs if it meant hindering students educational opportunities.
   "I would never consider diminishing quality substantially to sacrifice reasonable cost," he said. "We certainly don’t want to diminish award-winning music programs. And we must provide all programs, be it after-school or specialized, with the support that they need, such as late school buses to allow the kids to participate and early buses to bring the music kids into school."
   Mr. Birch knows firsthand how important the buses are to parents. He has a son in middle school who plays an instrument and takes the early bus to school.
   Encouraging community members to go out and vote this year, Mr. Birch reasserted how important supporting the school system is.
   "When it comes to an education system, we can’t afford to be second best," he said. "The only way we can ever afford to be second best is on the ballot," he said jokingly, adding that his name will appear on the second line of this year’s ballot.
Vishal Chheda
   Vishal Chheda did not respond to several requests for an interview.
   Mr. Chheda is a Kendall Park resident and has a son in fourth grade.
   Mr. Chheda said in a previous interview that he did not have any specific agenda in running for the school board, but that he wanted to give back to the community.
   He also said he would like to see a more structured curriculum in the school district and although South Brunswick has great schools, there is always room for improvement.
Atilio DeFalco
   Atilio DeFalco is a systems administrator at the Waksman Institute and said his professional experience will help him assist the board in crafting next year’s budget.
   "I think that again, given the way the budget is and the priorities are, which is really to maintain the programs that are in place, you need someone with my background," he said.
   Mr. DeFalco, a Kendall Park resident, said he is responsible for making sure the technology at Waksman is implemented in the best way possible, to maintain and use vendors well.
   "I’m unique in the candidates as I am the only one with this background," he said.
   Referencing a recent presentation on incorporating technology into the math curriculum, Mr. DeFalco said this is a prime example of a project he would like to be involved in.
   "This is one really good area that I would like to help out in to make sure that the technology is used and implemented as best as it can be," he said.
   "I want to make myself available. Although the goal is to get elected, whether I get elected or not I’m going to make myself available anyway," he said.
   Mr. DeFalco said he has already helped Cambridge school, which his daughter attends, with technology issues and has been working with the librarian at Indian Fields as well.
   Although his main focus is on technology, Mr. DeFalco plans to be as active as possible if elected.
   "Technology, since it is my expertise, that would be the area that I’m focusing on. The rest of what the board does, since I’ve never been on the board, would be a learning experience and I would certainly contribute whatever I can," he said.
   Barry Nathanson
   Barry Nathanson, a Monmouth Junction resident, is the chairman of the board’s Facilities Committee and a member of the Shared Services Committee. Mr. Nathanson has children in Crossroads and the high school.
   As chairman of the Facilities Committee, he said he would like to see several projects through to completion.
   "I want to continue working with the programs that we have in place as far as the referendum that was passed last year," he said. "We have the completion of Greenbrook and Brunswick Acres on line for this summer and we have the other elementary schools that are going to be completed the next summer."
   Mr. Nathanson, who works in finances for the N.J. Turnpike Authority, said he is proud of the work done by the shared services committee this year.
   "I think we’ve done a really good job as far as working with the township and sharing services this year. The township helped us purchase a house by Constable, which is going to be removed and be involved in construction over there," he said. "It worked jointly with us to resolve a problem in September to purchase some land so kids could walk to (Monmouth Junction) school."
   Mr. Nathanson said the district faces difficulties as the schools continue to grow and state aid continues to remain flat. He said that from serving on the board for a year and being involved in various groups, he has a lot to bring to the table.
   "I think my experience brings all that together and allows me to really get involved," he said.
Matthew Speesler
   Matthew Speesler, a pediatrician, is chairman of the policy and transportation committees. He has a child attending Brunswick Acres school.
   "One of my specific things in being the policy chairman is finishing the update and the revision of our policy manual," he said. "The board functions mainly on policy and there are a lot of new things that are coming down."
   Dr. Speesler, a Kendall Park resident, said dealing with growth effectively also is an important issue. He also identified a few changes he would like to see made at the high school.
   "Guidance at the high school, we could be more proactive in helping place our seniors in school. I think that’s a very important issue. The other thing is looking at our athletics program and coaches and how we select coaches," he said. "There’s a lot of concern from parents."
   He said the school board also has to be aware of how the state budget cap law affects growth.
   "I think that we need to be very proactive with these issues and making sure we provide the necessary funds for the programs that we have and maintain our buildings and support our staff," Dr. Speesler said. "We need an effective board working with the superintendent to move the district forward."