BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
METUCHEN – Residents will go to the polls on April 17 to vote on a $26,278,575 tax levy and choose three candidates for the three available seats on the school board.
If the tax levy on the $28,431,451 school budget is approved, the school tax rate will rise to $2.97 for each $100 of assessed valuation.
That translates into $241 more in school taxes this year for a home assessed at the borough average of $186,600, for a total of $5,538, which is a 4.5 percent increase from last year.
Items that are contributing to the tax increase include mandated special education programs, contractual increases in salaries and health insurance premiums, a math teacher at Edgar Middle School and a physical education teacher at Metuchen High School, and new roofs at Campbell Elementary School and Edgar Middle School.
The school board received $1,536,937 in state aid this year.
The three candidates running for the three, three-year-term seats want to give the children of Metuchen the best education they can offer that the average taxpayer can afford.
Incumbent Devra Golbe is running for her third term and is joined by newcomers Benjamin Small and Rosemary Schifano (Rose de Vries). Board members Laura Kahn and William McDuffie, who both have served on the board for over a decade, have decided they would not run for another term.
“We will work hard to ensure that the money is spent effectively to benefit the children,” said Small, who is a nine-year resident of Metuchen.
All three candidates want to see the renovation project at the high school completed and within budget, and to strengthen district curriculum and promote excellence for all students.
“The project is going as planned,” said Golbe, a 19-year resident of Metuchen. “We will continue to oversee the project.”
Schifano added that she encouraged ongoing air quality testing for the duration of the high school construction project.
Golbe, who is a professor of economics at Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York, has been a member of the curriculum committee, facilities committee, personnel committee, and has chaired the finance and negotiations committee. She has been a liaison to the Metuchen Parent Teacher Council, Metuchen Education Foundation, and guidance advisory committee.
She has a son who graduated from Metuchen High School in 2002 and a daughter who is a senior at the high school this year. Schifano, who runs her own college counseling and student development business, decided to run for the position on the board for an opportunity to work on and provide input on curriculum.
“I have an interest in the schools and education,” she said. “I want to continue the development of curriculum and continue ways to build and improve it. We need to continually challenge our students in the area of curriculum to ensure they remain competitive in their post-secondary endeavors. My two children have gone through the school system and I have seen a lot of ways that the curriculum can be built upon.”
Schifano said she also supports the district’s current technology goals to allow the students to be productive in a global society. She is the vice president of the Metuchen High School Parent Teacher Organization, has been a member of the Metuchen Parent Teacher Council, Edgar Middle School PTO and Booster Club, and sat on the Metuchen High School Guidance Advisory Committee. She has a son who graduated from Metuchen High School and a daughter who is a junior at the high school.
Small, who has two young children, took an invested interest in the school system after the press conference in December concerning the state’s proposed legislation on school consolidation at the Moss School.
“It heightened my awareness to contribute to care for these kids,” said Small. “It compelled me to help in any way I could. I want to ensure that students of the borough continue to receive an outstanding education in a safe environment, conducive to learning and developing socialization skills. Attainment of these goals will be achieved through the support of a sound curriculum, engaging and empowering top-notch educators, and adhering to the appropriate mix of fiscal policies and controls.”
School budget elections will be held from 2-9 p.m. on April 17.