Montgomery school candidates present positions

Five seek three seats on board

By: Greg Forester
   MONTGOMERY — With the school board and budget vote less than a week away, the Montgomery High School PTA held a "Meet the Candidates" forum last week to introduce the candidates and their positions to the Montgomery public.
   Five candidates filed to run for the three open seats in the election, including incumbents Andrea Bradley of Wild Azalea Lane and Reginald Luke of Adams Drive.
   The newcomers are Matthew Galvin of Boulder Brook Court, Thomas McGrew of Brandywine Road and Yiping Wang of Berkley Avenue.
   According to the candidates, coupling Montgomery’s superior education with financial restraint, developing students for the 21st century, and maintaining strong communication between the board and the public are the crucial issues for them in the election.
   Continuing good communication in the remediation of the former North Princeton Developmental Center site between the schools and the township was also important to the candidates.
   Financial restraint in the development of budgets has been a high priority of the Montgomery school board, especially when in recent years residents saw tax increases approaching $1,000. This year’s $73 million budget was a departure from that, with the average tax impact only increasing about $235 for the average home, despite dwindling state aid.
   The board was forced to develop new revenue sources, including selling advertising space on some of the district’s athletic fields and charging fees for participation in extracurricular activities.
   To 18-year-old candidate Thomas McGrew, who couldn’t be reached for the candidate round-up published in Tuesday’s Packet, the final form of the fees was less controversial than originally planned, but he said the fees should still have been withdrawn from the budget.
   "The fees are impractical and controversial, especially considering how they’re just a small drop in the bucket in the entire budget," he said.
   In addition to his sentiments on the activity fees, he said he would bring another important perspective to the board.
   "The board is always talking about preparing students for the 21st century," he said. "I’m one of those students, going through the pressure of the college process, and I could bring new ideas and perspectives to the board."
   He expects to attend Drexel University in Philadelphia in the fall and said he would be prepared to commute back to Montgomery for school board duties.