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HIGHTSTOWN: Four candidates running for three East Windsor seats on Board of Education

UPDATED REPORTHightstown board seat is uncontested

By Jen Samuel, Managing Editor
   HIGHTSTOWN — Four East Windsor school board candidates attended a public forum on Wednesday.
   The League of Women Voters of East Windsor-Hightstown sponsored the event.
   There are three three-year East Windsor seats up this year and one three-year Hightstown seat.
   Township residents will have the option to vote for former board member Alice Weisman, incumbents Paul Connolly and Kennedy Paul and newcomer Lilia Gobaira on Nov. 6. Mr. Connolly, Mr. Paul and Ms. Weisman are running on a joint platform.
   Running unopposed is Peter Bussone, for the three-year Hightstown seat. He was appointed by the board this summer to fill a Hightstown seat vacated earlier this year.
Alice Weisman
   A native of Brooklyn, Ms. Weisman moved to East Windsor in 1995.
   ”I was first elected to the East Windsor school board in April 2002 and served for three terms.”
   Her nine years on the board ended in April 2011 when she lost her bid for re-election to teacher Lisa Abel, who works in the New Brunswick school district, where newcomer Ms. Gobaira works as well.
   ”I decided to run again for several reasons,” Ms. Weisman said. “Several board members approached me and asked me if I was going to, and expressed an interest in my coming back. Also, after being so involved for so many years, I feel that I have a lot of knowledge and experience which are valuable to the district.
   ”Mostly, though, as a parent of children still in school here, I feel very strongly about working to enhance the quality of education they, and their classmates receive,” she said.
   Ms. Weisman said, “There are always curricular changes and advances in the understanding of how children best learn, and we need to keep enhancing the skills of our teachers so they can reach all of our children and allow them all to grow and learn,” Ms. Weisman said.
   She noted that her favorite subject in high school was English.
   Ms. Weisman, 54, works as a staff representative for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 73.
   ”I negotiate collective bargaining agreements and handle grievances, arbitrations, and disciplinary hearings on behalf of local unions and membership,” she said.
   As for her time previously served on the board, “A recent achievement I am proud of as a school board member would be my involvement in seeing our district change the high school and middle school schedules and curriculum,” she said.
   Ms. Weisman is married with three children.
   ”I feel that our district has afforded them all great opportunities to excel scholastically,” she said of her children. “Equally importantly, our community is extremely diverse and the variety of cultures, ethnicities and races in our schools creates a wonderful environment where my children have developed friendships which hopefully will follow them well beyond their years in our district.”
Kennedy Paul
   Kennedy Paul, 46, moved to East Windsor in 1995.
   A native of New Jersey, Mr. Paul told the Herald, “I have been a school board member since February 2006 and vice president since April 2011. I have two children in our school district and I believe the Board of Education plays a vital role in ensuring that each student in our schools gets a quality public education.”
   He was first appointed to the board in February 2006 and since then has served two full elected terms.
   ”Education is the single most important factor in determining our children’s success,” Mr. Paul said. “I want to be part of this vital process and continue to be an advocate for providing the resources needed to give our students the tools required to succeed in life.”
   Mr. Paul said, “During the six plus years I have been on the board, our district has made great strides in improving student outcomes. Our test scores are up and our graduating seniors go to competitive colleges and universities every year. Our teachers, administrators and support staff do a very good job working with each student to ensure they have the opportunity to meet their full potential.
   As for goals for the future, Mr. Paul said, “I see education as a process of continuous progress and improvement. Each year, every teacher gets new students in September and the measure of success — for the teacher, principal, central administration, and board — is: did each of our students grow by at least one year academically when they leave us in June? This is our primary goal every year for both the short and long-term.”
   Looking back, he said he enjoyed math and business classes in high school, which led to a career in accounting and finance.
   Mr. Paul holds an accounting degree from Rider University and an MBA in finance from New York University.
   ”I am a CPA and have spent most of my professional life in corporate accounting and finance roles. I have spent the past 13 years in the educational publishing industry in senior financial roles including director and VP of finance and chief financial officer.”
   As an incumbent candidate running for another three years, he said, “I am proud of many things the board has done. Most recently we settled a new three-year contract with our teachers. Our new contract is fiscally sound for our district and fair for our teachers. A new contract ensures our teachers and administrators can focus all their attention on student achievement.”
   Mr. Paul and his wife, Michele, have two children who attend district schools.
   ”One of the reasons we love our community is that there are so many great people who donate their time and expertise to help children grow and learn. People volunteer in many capacities in our schools, on our sports fields, in our places of worship, and on our community boards and committees,” Mr. Paul said.
   ”Volunteerism is alive and well in our community and I am proud to do my part of it.”
Paul Connolly
   Incumbent Paul Connolly, 51, moved to East Windsor in 1992.
   ”My family is from South Jersey and my wife is from Long Island. East Windsor is right in the middle,” Mr. Connolly said.
   He continued, “I have four children in the district and I want to support the schools and be involved in planning the future of the district.”
   Mr. Connolly is currently completing his first term which he was elected to in April 2009.
   ”My three-year term was extended to this November when they changed the dates to follow the general election.”
   The Herald asked Mr. Connolly why he was interested in continuing as a member of the school board.
   ”I joined the Board of Education so I could give back to the district,” he said. “ have four children and I understand that the best schools are the ones where the parents are involved. My first term was a learning process. My next term, I plan to be more involved and support the district initiatives in curriculum, teaching and facilities.”
   There are three goals Mr. Connolly said that he would hope to achieve, one long-term; two short-term, if elected: tenure reform, sustainability and turf athletic fields.
   ”I will support the district initiatives to evaluate and support our teachers as we incorporate the state requirements,” he said of tenure reform.
   As for turf athletic fields, Mr. Connolly said, “Let’s start the conversation with our constituents. Is it viable?”
   As for looking back at his own high school days, he said scholastically he enjoyed ninth-grade geometry.
   He works as a structural engineer for a bridge design firm based in New York City.
   ”I am the project manager for a $600 million replacement of the Willis Avenue Bridge from Manhattan to the Bronx,” Mr. Connolly added.
   ”I have four children in the district and thought I knew all about schools,” he said. “But being on the board has taught me that an extreme amount of effort is required just to open and close the doors 183 days a year for six schools with over 5,000 children, 450 teachers and almost 250 support staff.”
   Lilia Gobaira
   Lilia Gobaira moved to East Windsor in 1998. Ms. Gobaira is a newcomer vying to join the school board.
   ”I feel that it is time to share my educational knowledge and experience with our community,” Ms. Gobaira stated.
   She said her vision for East Windsor Regional School District includes increasing test scores; having a higher percentage of high school students graduate; a higher percentage of college entrances; improving teacher qualification; a stronger bilingual-ESL program; all day pre-school and kindergarten; and creating smaller class sizes.
   Ms. Gobaira also said her vision includes addressing student needs and creating a safe and rich environment for them.
   As for how the district measures up to other New Jersey schools, she said it is “great in some areas but quality can always be improved.”
   Ms. Gobaira said her favorite subject in high school was math.
   She is a teacher.
Editor’s Note: The Herald sent questions to all candidates on Monday. As of press time for the print edition, Ms. Weisman, Mr. Paul and Mr. Connolly had responded to the Herald’s questions for this story. They were not the questions asked at the Wednesday candidate forum. As Ms. Gobaira is running against these candidates, the Herald reached out to her several times for a response. On Thursday, Ms. Gobaira told the Herald she would be unable to respond to the Herald’s questions until after the deadline of the print edition. The Herald added her answers to the online edition of this article on Friday.