Kids First slate battles NH-S incumbents

Six parents have united under the Kids First banner to fight for six available seats, two two-year and four four-year, on the New Hope-Solebury Board of Directors.

By: Linda Seida
   NEW HOPE — Six parents united under the banner "Kids First" are challenging the status quo on the New Hope-Solebury school board.
   Among their first steps in the campaign to win seats on the board in the May 17 primary election was establishing a Web site that does what they claim they will do if elected: openly communicate.
   "More of (a) voice needs to be given to parents, teachers and support staff and members of the community," they say on their Web site. "If you contact us, we will respond, either by telephone or e-mail. Public comment and participation will be embraced and encouraged in all meetings."
   Their other main goals are long-term financial planning and excellence for the district’s students in the areas of academics, athletics and the arts.
   All of the challengers crossed-filed on the GOP and Democratic tickets in the primary election.
   Margaret Depp and Carl Glassman are running for the two available two-year terms. They are going up against incumbents Sean Hopkins and Laurence Fieber.
   Amanda Elefante, Tamara Baldasari, William Behre and Megan O’Brien are running for the four available four-year terms. They are challenging incumbent David Dozbaba and Vice President Christine Flynn.
   "District and board leadership must learn that letting people speak in front of them is not the same as listening," Mr. Behre said. "The board and the administration must be more responsive to community input."
   Mr. Behre, 39, is an interim dean in the School of Education, The College of New Jersey. His running mates are Ms. Elefante, 37, a full-time mother whose former occupations were telecommunications engineer and former owner of an IT recruiting firm; Ms. Baldasari, 45, a landscape architect who volunteers with Scouting organizations, Odyssey of the Mind and Science Olympiad; Mr. Glassman, 52, owner of the Wedgewood Inn, an author, Realtor and consultant to the hospitality trade; Ms. O’Brien, whose age is unavailable, who is a school counselor and leads a Girl Scout troop.
   Mr. Behre contends district officials need better planning and resource management.
   "The district has not planned properly to implement full-day kindergarten in a timely manner," he said. "The district has adopted a two-school model for elementary school that I believe is unsustainable; it will be too expensive over time.
   "Now, it seems that plans for renovation of the lower school have been put on hold because of increased costs. While I am happy about this because it will allow the district to rethink the two-school model, I am simultaneously dismayed because of the disruption this will cause students."
   In addressing the issue of fiscal responsibility, Ms. O’Brien said, "Spending more money is simply spending more money. It does not equate to quality. We are fortunate to have fine experts in the district. Our experts at the administrative level rely too heavily on hiring consultants when we have the expertise within the district to deal effectively with necessary research and development."
   Ms. O’Brien also pointed to a board decision to hire a human resources director for $100,000 per year and the possibility of getting outside help for jobs now performed by custodial and support staff.
   She said, "While this spending occurs, programs for the children of our district are being cut. This is a concern. It is important to make sure that all of the financial decisions made have the value of the children at the heart of it.
   "It has been discussed that custodial and support staff jobs should be outsourced to save money. I believe this would be a grave mistake. While it might save money in the short term, it would not in the long term. It would negatively impact the quality of work provided. It is important that we remain in control of quality within the district. We need to instill loyalty in our district employees. Living with the threat of outsourcing will not inspire loyalty."
   Ms. Depp attacked the district’s finances from another angle, proposing the implementation of Act 72, a proposal that would cut property taxes by utilizing slot-machine revenue.
   School districts must actively choose to opt into Act 72 to become eligible to receive funds. Homeowners must qualify to become eligible for tax relief.
   Ms. Depp said, "The act is funded by gambling money from the state and a required .1 percent income tax. Although I have mixed feelings about gambling, the question is one of a tax relief for fixed-income taxpayers, not a question of whether or not to support gambling in the state.
   "School boards would be required to ask voters for approval of new projects that are paid for by taxpayers, giving a much needed voice to the public. Voters need to make their views known to the school board prior to the May 30 deadline to opt into the act."
   Ms. Flynn, 51, is a homemaker and a retired teacher. She sees the top challenges facing the district as fiscal and academic accountability.
   For academic accountability, she pointed to the mandates of the No Child Left Behind act.
   Ms. Flynn said, "No Child Left Behind mandates that all students must reach a certain level of reading and mathematics capabilities within 10 years. In order to meet those mandates, we must do extensive testing and remediation to bring those students into compliance with the law.
   "We must continually monitor our curriculum needs in order to facilitate maximum learning for all of our students. IDEA additionally mandates that we provide a Free and Appropriate Education for all special education students based on their individual needs and abilities.
   "As a board member, you have to balance all of the financial requirements dictated by the mandates as well as building upkeep, teacher and support staff contracts, the issues of rising health-care costs, extracurricular activities in addition to the education of all of the children.
   "You must understand the complexities of the issues facing our senior citizens, renters that have no children as well as the families with children in the district."
   Mr. Hopkins, 45, is a health-care economist.
   He said, "The school district has one of the lowest tax rates in the county. Our school system is flourishing academically, and this is an achievement I am very proud of. New Hope’s SAT scores are the highest in the county, our PSSA scores are in the top 2 percent in the state, and our arts program is the envy of many. All this has been accomplished with one of the lowest tax rates in the county."
   He listed among his key objectives curriculum development to "maintain the momentum that has been built over the last several years and to maintain our elevated academic standing."
   "Responsible budgeting and holding tax increases as close to the rate of inflation as possible is another of my key objectives," he said. "Finally, as an adult leader in our community, I believe our school system should be an environment where students can find what they are passionate about. It’s our responsibility to give them the tools to pursue that passion and succeed in life."
   Mr. Hopkins added, "By nature, I am fiscally conservative. I believe it is important that we recognize that a large portion of our residents don’t have children in the school system. Some are on a fixed income. Not taking these residents into account during the budgeting process would be a significant oversight.
   "If we maximize the amount of money spent on academics and find budgetary savings in other areas, we can hit a home run for the entire community."
   Mr. Fieber, 54, is a corporate executive in school evaluation performance. He has won awards as the National Distinguished Principal of the Year, the New Jersey Principal of the Year and other awards for leadership from the New Jersey PTA, the New Jersey School Boards Association and the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association.
   "Our school system of course has plenty of work to do," Mr. Fieber said. "Our board needs to listen and remain responsive to parental concerns. We need to assess test scores that will occasionally go down by working with out principals, teachers and children to implement improvement strategies.
   "We need to reduce excessive spending and develop a timetable for implementing full-day kindergarten. We need to continuously strive to challenge the diverse academic and social needs of learners."
   Ms. Elefante said the district must deal with long-term financial planning, enrollment and communication.
   "The percentage of the budget dedicated to instruction has been declining, with next year’s projected spending on instruction to be only 44 percent of the total budget," Ms. Elefante said. "We cannot simply continue increasing all other expenditures and decreasing instruction.
   "The effectiveness of our current and future expenditures needs to be measured as it relates to student achievement in the areas of academics, athletics and the arts. By developing long-term plans for facilities, curriculum and athletics, our school board will be able to make financial decisions that support these plans and prevent decisions that don’t support long term goals."
   She offered several suggestions for improved communication within the district.
   Ms. Elefante said, "Having a well-informed community will not only help to enhance the educational experience for all students, but it will develop a sense of openness and trust with all members of our community. Having minutes of school board and committee meetings is a must, and making them complete and available in a timely manner on the district Web site needs to happen quickly.
   "Using a variety of communication methods will provide the best results when trying to inform the public: email, Web site, newspapers. Tying into current publications would reduce costs of communicating with paper."
   Ms. Baldasari also offered suggestions for improved communication.
   She said, " I feel there is a real lack of communication between all the different levels in our school system. I believe everyone could benefit by forming an advisory committee for each school — elementary, middle, high school.
   "This committee would include parents, teachers, staff members, community members and at least two school board members. The advisory committees would provide feedback from all angles regarding issues of concern and a means to direct those concerns to the appropriate venue."
   Mr. Glassman, too, would like to see better communication on a district-wide level.
   He said he would "institute the timely turnaround of complete board minutes and distribute same to all stakeholders."
   He also would "establish consistent guidelines for committee meetings and their reporting requirements, too."
   He added the district should "establish an advisory committee for each school in the district, comprised of a principal, teachers, support staff, parents and students to discuss issues and concerns, develop solutions and propose changes to the school board."
   To combat what he sees as "spiraling central administrative costs," he said he would "accept the provisions of Act 72, which limit school budget growth to the rate of inflation unless the voters approve greater increases via a referendum. Also, limit or eliminate outsourcing to consultants: utilize the talents of existing administrative professionals and department heads."
   Mr. Dozbaba e-mailed The Beacon early Tuesday morning and wrote he realized he had missed the deadline for responding to a candidate questionnaire, but was on his way out of town on various business trips.
   The Kids First Web site is www.nhskidsfirst.com.