By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
Hillsborough school board candidates express differences about such issues as air conditioning in schools and bringing full-day kindergarten to the district.
Five candidates seeking election to the Board of Education were asked by the Beacon to react to statements about school issues.
Brett Cooper and Thomas Zobele, running separately in challenging the three incumbents, said they would favor air-conditioning all schools. Lorraine Soisson said she worried about the cost and Dana Boguszewski said she didn’t think taxpayers would want to foot that bill. Deena Centofanti said she favored looking into ways of dealing with hot early and late summer days.
Mr. Cooper also showed the most enthusiasm for bringing full-day kindergarten to the district. Others expressed reservation about making full-day kindergarten mandatory, or how the cost could be borne.
The only statement to achieve unanimity of all five was a rejection of the statement, “Teacher salaries are too high, as are annual raises.”
Three three-year terms are up for grabs. The candidates will be grouped at the bottom of the Nov. 3 ballot, under the governmental candidates.
Here is what the five candidates said on a dozen issues. In most cases, they were asked to agree, disagree or say they were undecided about a statement. More will follow in next week’s issue.
Q. Class sizes are too large, especially at the —— grade(s) level (fill in range).
Boguszewski: Class size is fine 5-12. However in the lower grades it would be nice to see no more the 21. If a class did have more then 21, then the teacher would have an aide. Having smaller neighborhood elementary schools means there will be some disparity on class size.
Centofanti: Class sizes are appropriate for grades 5-12. The average class sizes in the elementary schools are good, but having smaller neighborhood elementary schools allows for some disparity on class size between the schools. Enrollment is monitored before the start of the school year to determine a need for additional support and/or classes.
Cooper: I am unaware of any classes that are too large at this time. There should always be a conscious effort to keep class sizes down while being mindful of costs.
Soisson: I agree that some class sizes are too large, especially at the K-2 grade levels.
Zobele: At this time due to my lack of knowledge I cannot sufficiently say one way or another whether class sizes are too large.
Q. The board should work and fund to make all of the schools fully air-conditioned.
Agree: Cooper, Zobele.
Disagree: Boguszewski.
Undecided: Centofanti, Soisson.
Boguszewski: I don’t believe taxpayers would want to fund air-conditioning in all of our schools when only a few are used during the summer.
Centofanti: The board has acknowledged that the appropriate environment optimizes learning. I would be interested in looking into options that would promote a better learning environment; one possibility raised was early dismissal.
Cooper: Students are unable to learn and teachers are unable to teach in the early fall and spring when the temperatures can reach over 100 degrees in some of the classrooms. The only alternative is to combine classes into the few classes that are air conditioned and watch a movie. I have seen firsthand my son come home with headaches and become sick due to the heat at school. Also, the technology this district has invested a lot of money in does not properly work at high humidity or temperature.
Soisson: We have improved conditions greatly in the areas of most need. However, this continues to be an issue for the comfort and health of students and staff, but also for creating an appropriate environment for learning. We must carefully consider the budget implications as we move ahead with additional installations, but some additional work will need to be done soon.
Zobele: As a graduate of Hillsborough I experienced being in classrooms where I was hot and often times sleepy. I do believe that once money can be found in the budget that this is a worthy project to undertake.
Q. Administrators’ salaries are too high, as are annual raises.
Agree: Zobele.
Disagree: Boguszewski, Centofanti
Undecided: Cooper, Soisson
Boguszewski: Administrators, principals and supervisors receive a salary that is very competitive within Somerset County. This has allowed us to hire the best people for these positions. The superintendent has a salary is capped by state law.
Centofanti: Administrators, including principals and supervisors, receive a salary that is very competitive within Somerset County, allowing the school district to hire the very best people for these positions. Annual raises are at appropriate levels. The superintendent receives no raise because state law caps his salary.
Cooper: The administrators in our district earn their salaries with the outstanding work they do every day just like our teachers. I would need further research on their exact salaries and annual raises and how they compare to other similar districts.
Soisson: We need to consider the effect of future raises on the overall budget. At the same time, we need to remain competitive with other districts and have flexibility to recognize great work.
Zobele: While administrators are vital to inner workings of any school district often times their salaries, annual raises and benefits are too high.
Q. Teacher salaries are too high, as are annual raises.
Disagree: Boguszewski, Centofanti, Cooper, Soisson, Zobele.
Boguszewski: Median teacher salaries are at or near the top of Somerset County. Because of this we have hundreds of applications for each open position, allowing us to hire the best for our children.
Centofanti: Median teacher salaries are competitive within Somerset County. Additionally, teachers have been increasing their contributions to health care benefits over the past few years.
Cooper: Teachers earn every penny that they receive and have for years received very minimal raises. Our teachers are the best in the country and it shows in our school rankings and successful graduates.
Soisson: Our starting salaries are reasonable and we want to attract the best teachers possible. With respect to raises, we need to consider the overall budget and the cap. Both starting salaries and raises are subject to negotiations, so both sides have to agree.
Zobele: Teacher salaries at this point in time are not too high for all the hard work they do on behalf of children. In addition, annual raises are dependent upon budgetary constraints.
Q. There are jobs in the district that could be done by private contractors. (If yes, which ones?)
Agree: Zobele.
Disagree: Boguszewski, Centofanti, Cooper, Soisson.
Boguszewski: Any school function that can be performed by private contractors has already been outsourced.
Centofanti: This issue has been raised previously and voted down. Most school functions that can be performed by private contractors have already been outsourced, including transportation and food services.
Cooper: All jobs should be kept under the control of the school district. This assures that all employees can be properly screened and are subject to direct supervision by the superintendent. In addition, many of the employees live and have grown up in the district. This sense of pride and dedication to the community would be lost with outside contracts from other parts of the state.
Soisson: We utilize private contractors already for some jobs (food service, bus drivers), but the taxpayers have been very clear about their opinions regarding strangers in our schools, etc., and our job as BOE members is to represent our constituents. I would not extend privatization to instructional aides or custodial staff.
Zobele: Prior to running for school board, as a private citizen I publicly spoke out at meetings that janitorial staff could be privatized. I would only fully support this idea as a last resort during the budgetary process.
Q. School should be closed to observe the Diwali holiday.
Disagree: Boguszewski, Centofanti, Zobele.
Undecided: Cooper, Soisson.
Boguszewski: With more then 100 states that recognize religious and cultural holidays students are allowed to miss school in those days with no repercussions.
Centofanti: There are over 100 state recognized religious and cultural holidays. The school district is mindful of these holidays and students are permitted to miss school on those days without repercussion.
Cooper: We live in a diverse community that respects all cultures. Since we close the school for other religious holidays, I would like to see how many members of the community are affected and make a decision based on what would be fair. Either way, this should be an excused absence for any student who is observing the holiday.
Soisson: Our current rubric for days off is whether there would be a major disruption to the educational process. There has not been thus far. Still I am open to considering this in the future.
Zobele: School should not be closed for the Diwali holiday. However, children who wish to celebrate Diwali should not be penalized for missing school.
Q. School should be closed for Take Your Child to Work Day.
Agree: Centofanti, Cooper.
Disagree: Boguszewski, Soisson, Zobele.
Boguszewski: Since this tends to be that largest day the children miss, it would be a good idea to use this day as a teacher in-service day.
Centofanti: Take Your Child to Work Day has traditionally been a school day with a high level of absenteeism making it good for use as a teacher professional in-service day. Possibly a program highlighting all jobs or departments in the district could be considered for children of staff and/or students in the schools.
Cooper: I thoroughly believe in the benefits of take your child to work day and have participated in it every year since my first child was born. I think that every child should go out and observe the work of an adult in their life. I also understand that this is not practical for everyone and a school closure could be a hardship on some families. If it is not a day off, I propose that the school district take advantage of the day and make it a districtwide career education day.
Soisson: However, we have very low attendance rates on TYCTWD, which is why the administration has asked for closings and I have agreed to them as part of the Education Committee.
Zobele: School should not be closed for Take Your Child to Work Day because kids should not lose another day of instruction.
Q. Hillsborough should have mandatory full-day kindergarten.
Agree: Cooper.
Disagree: Boguszewski, Zobele.
Undecided: Centofanti, Soisson.
Boguszewski: I would support an investigation of economic feasibility of all-day kindergarten, but I don’t think it needs to be mandatory.
Centofanti: I support investigating the economic feasibility of offering full-day kindergarten, but I am not fully convinced that it is needed or should be required for all students. The district provides tuition-based full-day enrichment program “Child at Play” for parents who feel that is desirable for their children.
Cooper: I am very passionate about our district implementing a full-day kindergarten program. We are one of the few school districts in the state without one. Due to the pressure we put on standardized assessments, teachers are unable to do fun hands on learning activities in the short amount of time they currently have their students. In addition, many of our students are not ready for first grade and have to play catchup for many years after kindergarten. I believe that full day kindergarten can be achieved with little or no increase to the current school budget.
Soisson: While I am in favor of this in principle educationally, we need to evaluate this as part of the budget discussion to determine whether we can do this in all of our schools affordably. Facilities may also be an issue.
Zobele: The parents of these children should decide whether or not they want their kids to be partaking in full-day kindergarten.
Q. We need to continue an afternoon kindergarten program called Child At Play and market it more aggressively.
Boguszewski: My younger son was involved with the CAP and he truly benefited from it. I feel our district does well at marketing it & making our parents aware of the program.
Centofanti: Child at Play is a kindergarten enrichment program that has provided a service for families interested in an all-day program as well as economically beneficial to the district. The program has doubled in size since its inception, based on customer demand.
Cooper: Child at Play is a kindergarten program that extends the day and makes it into a full-day kindergarten program. The second half of the day is full of hands-on learning and additional specials, which cannot be achieved in the short half-day kindergarten program. I would like to see full-day kindergarten, which would eliminate the need for CAP.
Soisson: Continuing the CAP program for kindergarten children is definitely worthwhile and families who can afford it have found it very helpful. This program would become unnecessary should the district decide to implement full-day kindergarten.
Zobele: I agree that the current program called Child at Play should remain. However, I do not know whether the program needs to be marketed more aggressively.
Q. The district’s scores on state-mandated standardized tests are too low.
Disagree: Cooper, Soisson.
Undecided: Boguszewski, Centofanti.
Boguszewski: Waiting on last year’s test scores.
Centofanti: The district has monitored test scores in previous years and implemented programs to address any deficiencies. The test scores from last year will be released soon.
Cooper: Standardized test scores are not an accurate measure of how the district and its teachers are performing. In addition, in many independent school rankings, Hillsborough School District as a whole and many individual schools have ranked very high.
Soisson: Hillsborough as a district is appropriately focused on student learning. On standardized tests, we are a high-performing district in a state that performs high as well. We should continue to evaluate the data from the tests to improve performance and consistency among all grade levels. However teaching to the test is not something the district should do.
Zobele: Disagree: Overall, the Hillsborough School District is one of the best in the state and often times the district as a whole outperforms guidelines set by the state. These results are thanks to the highly qualified and dedicated teachers in the district.
Q. The current student drug testing should be dropped or substantially modified.
Agree: Boguszewski
Disagree: Soisson
Undecided: Centofanti, Cooper, Zobele.
Boguszewski: Our random drug-testing program has not acted as a deterrent to drug use. We should use it instead to target at-risk students.
Centofanti: I would like to continue to receive updates from administration regarding the current program and its effectiveness in deterring drug and alcohol use. I continue to support the educational programs and clubs for the students and parents that promote communication and a healthy lifestyle.
Cooper: More research into the current drug testing policy is needed, including how it is executed and whether it has accomplished the goals and objectives behind the current policy.
Soisson: We have a considerable alcohol and drug problem in our district. I think any deterrence for student drug and alcohol use should be available.
Zobele: I believe that the current student drug testing may need to be modified. I would want to seek the input of students and staff to see what if anything needs to be changed.
