LAWRENCE: School board candidates field questions

By Lea Kahn
    Two of the three candidates for three open seats on the Lawrence Township Board of Education fielded a variety of questions at a “meet and greet” session last week, sponsored by the Lawrence chapter of the League of Women Voters.
    Incumbent school board members Ginny Bigley and Bill Michaelson spoke to the handful of audience members who turned out for the April 6 meeting, but newcomer Deborah Cherry missed the session because she was recovering from surgery. The session was held at the Lawrence branch of the Mercer County Library System.
    Ms. Bigley and Mr. Michaelson are seeking their third terms on the school board in the annual school board election, set for April 27. Deborah Endo, whose term is expiring, is not running for re-election. The terms are for three years.
    Serving on the school board requires a significant time commitment, the two veteran school board members told the audience. It depends on the amount of time that a board member wants to devote to school board business.
    “You can spend every minute of your life (on school board matters),” Mr. Michaelson said. “It depends on the demands that are made on you. Years ago, I spent more time on it. But I have more confidence in the administration and it requires less oversight.”
    Ms. Bigley agreed, adding that she used to spend 40 hours a week on school board issues. She said she attended “just about every (school) function,” but her work schedule has changed and she is unable to go to every event. But she still sets aside time to attend two subcommittee meetings and the regular school board meeting every month.
    Asked how they become familiar with the proposed budget every year, Ms. Bigley and Mr. Michaelson said the board spends many hours discussing it before it is presented to the public. The board wants input from “everyone” after it is presented in public, Ms. Bigley added.
    Mr. Michaelson said the school board “leans heavily” on the administration to prepare the budget. The administration prepares a budget that reflects the school board’s philosophy, he said, noting that detailed information about the budget is available on the district’s Web site, www.ltps.org.
    The two school board members acknowledged their concern about the state budget and resultant state aid to school districts. Last year, the school district lost about $3 million in state aid, but this year, state officials gave the district about $600,000 more than it had expected.
    The school district historically had received about $5 million in state aid, but that amount was reduced to $1.5 million for the 2010-11 budget. Last month, officials learned the district would receive $672,646 more in state aid, for a total of $2.2 million for 2011-12.
    About 93 percent of the school district budget is supported through property taxes, Mr. Michaelson said, while Ms. Bigley added that the district has to start being creative and watch how it spends its money.
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One audience member asked whether there is a charter school in the township, and the school board members replied that there is not. A charter school is a special public school that is supported by taxpayer dollars.
    Mr. Michaelson pointed out that Mercer County has opened a Health Sciences Academy that draws students countywide, including Lawrence. The public school pays tuition of $7,500 per student, so it is similar to a charter school in that sense, he said.
    Ms. Bigley added that Lawrence High School is opening three career academies in September, including a science-, math- and technology-oriented academy. The academies will allow students to explore career fields before they graduate from high school — including opportunities for internships, she said.
    When they were asked whether Mercer County’s offering constitutes a duplication of effort, Mr. Michaelson replied that while there is some overlap in curriculum, enrolling at the county or school district academy is still a choice that parents and students make.
    “We have no control (over those decisions),” he said. “It concerns us because of the trend (toward charter schools). It takes resources away from us. Hopefully, the rich offerings (of the LHS career academies) will be useful to the students who take them.”