Princeton board candidates confront wide range of issues

Special Education PTO holds candidate forum

By: David Campbell
   Candidates for three seats on the Princeton Regional Board of Education shared their views Monday night at a forum sponsored by the Special Education PTO of Princeton Regional Schools, in a public discussion that ranged from inclusion for special-needs students to teacher professional development and educational programming amid fiscal constraints.
   Caroline Mitchell and Mia Cahill are vying for one available seat in the township. Incumbent Joshua Leinsdorf, who is seeking a third term on the board, and Rebecca Cox are the candidates for two available borough seats.
   Ms. Mitchell, former parent-community liaison for the school district who lives on Tupelo Row, cited as priorities initiatives to better connect preschool programming to that of the district; reliance on tools beyond standardized testing to measure student achievement; and strong professional development for teachers.
   Regarding budget priorities in a tight fiscal climate, she said teachers and classroom resources should be spared cuts whenever possible, and advocated small class sizes. She said of student achievement, "We’re headed in the right direction, but we’re sort of not there yet."
   Ms. Mitchell has been active for many years in the district, including as a member of the Minority Education Committee and as co-founder and president of the Princeton High School Alumni Association. Her son graduated from PHS in 2004.
   Ms. Cahill, a Ridgeview Road resident who runs a law office based in South Brunswick and is on the board of the Princeton Education Foundation, said she would bring her skills as a professional consensus builder to the board if elected — among parents, the board and the administration.
   She said special-education students should be mainstreamed whenever possible, and that students can benefit socially and behaviorally provided adequate classroom support is there.
   "But to throw a child into a classroom without adequate supports will only result in a stressful situation for that student and their family," she said.
   Ms. Cahill said the needs of students should be addressed as early as possible in their development. "If you can catch a kid early," she said, "maybe the problems won’t be so bad. She added that the board has "tremendous power in setting priorities for the district" and effecting change. She said a balance must be struck between providing quality education amid difficult fiscal realities.
   She cited social responsibility, good judgment and fiscal prudence as qualities she would bring to the board.
   "The next three years are big years — I want to add my judgment to the board," said Ms. Cahill, who has three young children, two in the Community Park School.
   Ms. Cox, who lives on Madison Street, is a former financial journalist and currently co-president of the Community Park School PTO. She has two boys at Community Park School, a second- and fifth-grader.
   She said the district is ahead of the curve in providing inclusion for special-needs students in the district. But she said teaching the students in-district requires teacher and program flexibility to meet the needs of students of all learning abilities. She said inclusion is most easily implemented at the elementary level, and that it must be more effective in the upper grades.
   Ms. Cox said teachers and classroom programs are her budgeting priorities, and said she is concerned about minority students ending up on special-education tracks.
   Mr. Leinsdorf, an election analyst and Forester Drive resident, recommended cutting costs through reduced reliance on busing — for example, if more students walked to school — and said student diversity in classrooms, to be properly supported, requires at least two teachers in the classroom.
   He said students should not be pulled out of classes for specialized support unless absolutely necessary, and recommended challenging students as much as possible — "As if every one is a potential Einstein," he said.
   Mr. Leinsdorf cited the budget as a pressing concern for the district — "We have to look at budgetary things," he said, "because it’s going to be bad" — and said budget cuts must be outside the classroom when possible.
   Seats on the school board carry three-year terms. The board has nine elected Princeton members and one appointee from Cranbury, a sending district to Princeton High School.
   Township resident Anne Burns, a six-year veteran of the school board and its current president, is not seeking re-election. Glenn Schiltz, a borough representative for the past three years, is also not running for re-election.
   The Minority Education Committee had scheduled a candidates’ night to be held Wednesday night — the only other one planned for this school election season in Princeton — but that event was canceled.
   The candidates’ forum Monday night was held in the John Witherspoon Middle School library.
   Voters statewide will cast their ballots on district budgets and school board candidates April 18.