Six seek three seats on Edison school board

Two incumbents, four newcomers, 2012-13 budget on April 17 ballot

BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer

Edison residents will have plenty to decide on when they step to the polls on April 17.

The ballot includes six candidates seeking three seats on the Board of Education, and a 2012-13 school budget that restores several staff and programs and would raise taxes $72 on the average home.

The $212.1 million budget would increase school taxes by $72 on a home assessed at the township average of $176,700. Superintendent of Schools Richard O’Malley said that the tax levy, which totals $188 million, has decreased by $56,012 from last year. Despite the dip, local taxpayers will still pay more, in part because of the loss of $49 million in tax ratables, or taxable property, in Edison over the past year. Also, taxpayers will have to pay $40 more related to the second half of the 2011-12 budget, he said.

The district, which saw massive cuts in 2010 after losing $9.7 million in state aid, is budgeting for the addition of 10 positions — six elementary teachers for the Gifted & Talented program; two world language teachers in the high schools, one for Mandarin and one for Italian; one assistant principal position to cover both preschool buildings, the FDR building and the continuing education center (the position was added this year); and one guidance counselor, which will result in eight counselors for each of the two high schools.

This year’s field of candidates is composed of two incumbents — Deborah A. Anes, who is running for a third term, and Joseph T. Romano, seeking his third — and newcomers Lora Fong, Margot Harris, David Hoffman Jr. and Michael Winters.

Current board member David Dickinson is not seeking re-election. Deborah A. Anes, who has lived in the township for 17 years, is married with two children, ages 11 and 17. Her children have attended the Edison Public Schools since kindergarten. Anes graduated from Boston University’s School of Management and has a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration. She currently is a stay-at-home mom.

Anes said one of the top issues she would like to focus on if re-elected is on student achievement.

“I would like all students, in all subgroups in all schools, to make their AYP [adequately yearly progress] benchmarks,” she said. “This would take some of the focus off the state tests. By accomplishing this, more students would then be in the ‘proficient’ and ‘advanced proficient’ categories, which is a goal of the current board.”

Anes said she has proved that she is dedicated to providing the best-quality public education while trying to lower the burden to the taxpayer.

“I attend events at the schools on a regular basis, to show my support for the children and staff,” she said. “I have also attended staff development and training classes to learn about various programs in the district, as well as how the new technology is being used.”

Anes added that she is an active member of the board committees to which she has been assigned, as well as other volunteer committees within the district.

“I have given a great deal of time and effort to my positions, and I am prepared to continue to do so,” she said.

Lora Fong, 55, who has lived in Edison for 19 years, has been married 22 years and has two children, both of whom attended Menlo Park Elementary and Woodrow WilsonMiddle School. One child currently attends J.P. Stevens High School and the other attends Rutgers University.

Fong has been a practicing attorney for 21 years. She is employed as a managing counsel for Salesforce.com Inc., a publicly traded company on the NewYork Stock Exchange. She received her Bachelor of Arts and law degrees from Rutgers University.

Fong said experts on education policy debate the relative importance of teacher quality versus class size as contributors to the effectiveness of schools. “But common sense and experience tells us that both teacher quality and overcrowding are critically important, and I don’t think that we can focus on one and not the other,” she said .

While the New Jersey Department of Education reports that 100 percent of Edison’s teachers meet the federal No Child Left Behind criteria for “highly qualified teachers,” she believes that shouldn’t end the inquiry. “I believe it is important to put policies in place to assure that Edison retains and attracts the highest-quality teachers and staff possible,” she said. “Our teachers are, without a doubt, key players in any student’s ability to succeed.”

Fong said the adopted school budget includes some relief for overcrowding — for example, reserves set aside for a new K- 2 facility at Camp Kilmer, but that will only help a limited part of the population.

“We need a comprehensive solution to reduce overcrowding in all of our schools,” she said. “Getting to the next class on time in the crowded hallways of our high schools requires the skills of a football running back, and teachers can’t possibly focus individual attention on students when they have 30 or more students in a class.”

Fong said that as a taxpayer and property owner, she shares in the concerns residents have about assuring that district money is wisely spent.

“As a parent of two children — one still in the Edison schools — I have that added perspective to guide me,” she said. “As a practicing attorney for the past 20-plus years, and having been in corporate America and academia for 10 years prior to that, I have skills to contribute to the process of negotiating, formulating and drafting policy, and collaborating with others in a professional and productive way.”

Margot Harris, 57, who has lived in the township for 16 years, has been married for almost 34 years. She is a clinical social worker for a private practice. Harris received her Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from the University of Illinois and received her Master of Arts in social work from the University of Chicago.

Harris said one of the top issues she would like to focus on if elected is the overcrowding situation in the schools, as well as some of the poor physical conditions in and around the facilities.

“As I have gone door to door in the district, this is probably one of the most frequent concerns that have been expressed by voters,” she said.

Harris said voters documented examples such as children in one of the elementary schools having to eat lunch at their desks because of insufficient space in the lunchroom, or the crowded classrooms and hallways at Edison’s high schools.

“Our enrollment continues to grow because of our good schools; however, the facilities are busting at the seams,” she said.

Harris said she believes she would be an effective board member.

“I am squarely for fiscal responsibility in balancing the needs of the taxpayers, students and teachers,” she said. “As a clinical social worker for 33 years, most of my job involves carefully listening before making an intervention, and as a board member, this is exactly the same approach I would be taking when evaluating feedback from parents, students, teachers and taxpayers, as well as fellow board members.”

David Hoffman Jr., 19, has lived in the township for nine years and is a graduate of Edison High School, class of 2011. He is a full-time student at Middlesex County College and is a customer service representative for the college’s Blue Colt Bookstore.

Hoffman said he would like to focus on the school district’s spending.

“I believe a comprehensive review is in order for every aspect of the district’s spending,” he said. “This is to ensure that we have enough money where it needs to be, and any unnecessary funds can be returned to the taxpayer. I would very much like for property taxes to go down before any additional spending is introduced. It is time to stop looking for new ways to spend money, and start looking for new ways to become a more fiscally sound district.”

Hoffman said he feels that he is the best candidate for the Board of Education because of the new dimension that he can bring to the board.

“I am passionate about what I believe in, and I am very good at listening to the ideas of others and representing them fairly,” he said. “As a recent graduate of Edison High School, I offer a fresh perspective on the inside of a school building. I have a rare combination of leadership and the ability to work as a team player, which I believe the district desperately needs.”

JosephT. Romano, 59, who has lived in the township for 33 years, has been married to his wife Donna for 31 years. Romano is employed as a truck driver.

Romano said he believes the budget is a big problem.

“There are zeros in lines where numbers should be,” he said. “Spending is up by $7,000,000 and they keep on spending. I voted to send it to the taxpayers for their consideration.”

Romano said he still questions what the taxpayers have been told about decreases in the budget.

He questions the tax impact figures given by the school district, particularly last year when the board adopted its 2011-12 school budget.

“I told everyone that [the 2011-12 tax increase on the average home] was clearly $242, not $82 [as was reported],” he said.

“The budget has holes in it,” he said. “I have spoken to the public about my concerns at meetings. Now it is time for the taxpayers to make their voices heard.”

The incumbent said he is running for a board seat as a true independent candidate.

On moving the election to November

A question was posed to candidates on whether they were in favor of moving the school board elections to November. Reports indicate that 410 of the state’s nearly 600 school boards voted earlier this year to have their school election coincide with the general election in November. The change was made possible by a new law signed by Gov. Chris Christie.

The school districts that moved their elections to November — a four-year commitment — will save on election costs while also avoiding the need for voter approval of school budgets that are under the state’s 2 percent cap on tax increases.

Edison, like Metuchen, was among the districts that kept their school elections in April.

Many candidates said they are in favor of moving the election to November, while others are undecided.

Romano said there are no hard facts to back the belief that more voters would take part in the November election.

“When the districts that moved get their returns in November, we will see then,” he said.

Harris said she is undecided on the topic. There are pros and cons to moving the BOE elections, she said. On the pro side, she said, it would save money to eliminate the separate April election and would draw more people out to vote if held with the general election. On the other hand, she said, moving the election would take the budget out of the voters’ hands and, if paired with a general election, could make the school board elections more politicized.

Fong said she would like to see a study regarding the outcomes in those districts that moved their elections before a decision is made in Edison.

Winters did not return the Sentinel’s questionnaire at press time.

Polls will be open from noon to 9 p.m.