EDITORIAL: Communities have important choices ahead

Cranbury, Jamesburg and Monroe have important decisions ahead for them in 2007.

   It seems like we say this every year, but we’re expecting 2007 to be a busy year in Cranbury, Jamesburg and Monroe.
   All three communities have a lot on their plates. In addition to the annual municipal and school budgets, there will be searches for new school and municipal administrators, a need to make traffic and pedestrian improvements and a debate, in Monroe, over new ethics rules.
   • School chiefs in Cranbury and Jamesburg are leaving in June — Chief School Administrator Carol Malouf after six years in the Cranbury post and Shirley Bzdewka after four in the Jamesburg post.
   Finding their replacements may be the most important decision made by their respective boards in the coming year — and possibly the most important for a long time. Superintendents run the schools, ensuring that the money is spent where it is supposed to be and keeping teachers and other administrators focused on providing the best education possible for every student.
   We believe the hiring process should be as inclusive as possible under the law, while respecting the privacy of those seeking the post. The school boards need to involve their respective communities in setting criteria for the position.
   We would like to see each board create an ad-hoc committee of residents (not just parents), teachers and school board members to seek input from the community, discuss the kinds of qualities community members want to see in a new superintendent and address questions and concerns that community members might have. The committees should hold public hearings and then present their findings to their respective school boards, which could then be incorporated into the process.
   A process like this could help ensure a smooth transition.
   A similar process should be followed by the Cranbury Township Committee as it seeks a replacement for Township Administrator Tom Witt, who is retiring on June 1.
   • Walking is a way of life in Cranbury and Jamesburg, and both towns are to be commended for seeking state Safe Routes To School grants, which provides about $15 million to towns. The towns also should seek out other funding avenues with an eye toward more ambitious and creative approaches to pedestrian safety —including connecting every neighborhood with sidewalks and walking and bike paths or installing traffic-calming measures like raised crosswalks in their central business districts.
   • Monroe should further expand its shuttle bus service, which connects the township with Princeton and Freehold. The free shuttle, which has been successful in getting seniors and others to medical offices and shopping areas, could bring commuters to area park-and-rides and train stations. We also believe Monroe could add a stop in Jamesburg, provided the borough would be willing to help offset some of the cost.
   • Monroe Mayor Richard Pucci appointed an ethics panel earlier this year, after questions were raised about his connections to a political action committee linked to former state Senate President John Lynch, who was sentenced earlier this month to 39 months in jail on bribery charges, and a developer proposing a ball park in Monroe. The panel is drafting enhanced conflict-of-interest rules for the planning and zoning boards, while Township Manager Wayne Hamilton plans to have an expanded pay-to-play ban ready for introduction in January.
   We’re taking a wait-and-see approach and are hoping the new rules plug the huge loopholes that currently exist.