Hopefuls talk school issues

Three Cranbury BOE incumbents are seeking re-election.

By: Josh Appelbaum
   The three incumbents running unopposed for seats on the Cranbury Board of Education say they’re concerned about climbing enrollment and the district’s finances.
   But, they say they’re confident that they have what it takes to face these challenges over the next three years.
   Elizabeth Silverman, Frank Ransegnola and Kenneth Griffin will run unopposed for three, three-year seats on the Board of Education.
   Mr. Griffin and Mr. Ransegnola are seeking their second full terms, and Ms. Silverman is seeking a third. School elections are April 19.
   The board candidates will face new challenges is re-elected.
   Their previous terms were defined by school expansion, large capital projects and a lengthy negotiation process with teachers.
   Enrollment issues also have been a concern.
   Cranbury is anticipating 24 more students when school starts in September and the number of students attending Princeton Regional High School is expected to increase by 21 students. Tuition to Princeton High School increased by 4.5 percent for 2005-2006, meaning Cranbury will pay $14,044 per student, up from $13,456, for a total of $3.3 million.
   School board members say they don’t see a need for more space, especially in light of a recently completed $7.3 million expansion project that added a new 36,000-square-foot wing that includes classroom space and a gymnasium.
Elizabeth Silverman
   Elizabeth Silverman, who has one child attending Cranbury School, is seeking her third term on the board.
   She said the district has been fortunate that tax increases have been largely offset by a growing ratable base. However, she said Cranbury is in good enough financial shape that it can deal with smaller growth if needed.
   "I think we’re in a lot better shape than a lot of other districts that are seeing huge tax increases," Ms. Silverman said. "The fact is, the tax rate isn’t going to be as stable in the future, but we’re working hard to control costs. (School Business Administrator Brian DeLucia) has done a wonderful job in trying to obtain grants, we have joint purchase arrangements for supplies, and we’re trying to keep as many of our special needs kids in-house — which I think is also good from a social and educational standpoint — and is good from a financial standpoint."
   Ms. Silverman said she is confident the current facilities at Cranbury School will be flexible enough to meet the demands of growing enrollment.
   "We’re in pretty good shape," Ms. Silverman said. "We have a couple of grades that are pushing up against what we would like to see as the maximum. But there is some wiggle room, just like before the ’97 expansion, there are ways of maneuvering. It isn’t ideal, but it’s more of an inconvenience for teachers than students."
   Ms. Silverman said the current renovation and expansion project at Princeton High School is meant to handle increased enrollment for the Princeton Regional School District, including Cranbury. She said tuition to Princeton High School is out of Cranbury’s control.
   "We don’t have any control over it. We can’t negotiate," Ms. Silverman said. "It’s done by a formula set by the state, and tuition isn’t out of line with that of other tuition costs in other districts."
Kenneth Griffin
   Kenneth Griffin, the current Finance Committee chairman, said he will hold the line on spending in his second term.
   Mr. Griffin, a real estate developer, was elected to the board in 2002, and said Cranbury is in a unique position with its teachers.
   He said as some of the district’s more experienced teachers retire, the board will hire younger teachers at less cost, and save money in the general fund.
   "We do have a number of very senior staff, which is a good thing and their experience is helpful," Mr. Griffin said. "As they retire, we will bring in teachers at an entry-level, and that will be beneficial to the district and substantially alter the tax rate. We will see (cost-per-pupil decreases)."
   He said the district has been fortunate to be able to provide an excellent quality of education and to control costs.
   "We are concerned about spending every year," Mr. Griffin said.
   Mr. Griffin said the district has gotten its fair share of aid for capital projects, but said level state funding for the general fund is a problem it faces continually.
   "Given the state of the budget in New Jersey, I think we can be pretty sure we’ll get the same aid or less in the future," Mr. Griffin said. "Because of increases in certain costs, it translates to less money each year."
Frank Ransegnola
   Frank Ransegnola, chairman of the Physical Plant and Planning Committee, said he will be watching enrollment carefully in his next term.
   Mr. Ransegnola, the father of three students at Cranbury School and a software engineer, said recent construction projects for the Cranbury School and Princeton High School will meet the enrollment needs in the near future.
   "What we did was look at where we were and thought five years into the future to project higher enrollment," Mr. Ransegnola said.
   However, he said, it is difficult to determine how much enrollment will increase in the future.
   "It is hard to say how many students we’re looking at," Mr. Ransegnola. "There is still some farmland that has yet to be preserved, so we don’t know how the community will grow."
   Mr. Ransegnola said he will look at ways to use space in the school more efficiently if enrollment experiences unusual growth.
   "We’re discussing other possible arrangements," Mr. Ransegnola said. "We’d look to realign some existing classrooms. We’re looking at specific rooms that are reaching capacity, like the cafeteria."
   He said the Physical Plant and Planning Committee will focus on smaller projects now that larger capital projects have been completed.
   Mr. Ransegnola said it was the board’s goal to tackle those projects while the ratable base was growing rapidly and state aid for capital projects was still available.
   Mr. DeLucia said on March 29 that Cranbury probably won’t get much in the way of state aid for capital projects in the near future.
   "We’re doing the (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) project while the impact is less on the taxpayers," Mr. Ransegnola said. "We did all of our long-term projects like the large group instruction room, the parking lot project and the expansion while we were able to get state (aid). We can’t count on the ratables or state aid in the future."
   Mr. Ransegnola said the new teachers’ contract provides teachers with the salary and benefits they deserve while maintaining educational quality and containing per-pupil costs.