By Erica Chayes Wida, Packet Media
Patrick “Pat” Sullivan and his wife settled in Princeton 15 years ago. They moved for the phenomenal education that could be provided for their children, now 14 and 19, and soon thereafter fell in love with the passion and intelligence that vibrated through the community., Mr. Sullivan’s commitment to his children’s education continued as he saw the benefits they both gained while growing from grade to grade. Mr. Sullivan was elected to the Princeton Board of Education to further those benefits and is currently serving his second term. On Jan. 3, Mr. Sullivan was elected the board’s president after serving as vice president under Andrea Spalla., In addition to his pursuit of bettering education and working with kids to teach leadership and life skills, Mr. Sullivan has served as Scoutmaster of Scout Troop 43 in Princeton for the past eight years. He also volunteered as a Japanese teacher at Princeton Learning Cooperative. With Chicago roots and an NYU law degree, Mr. Sullivan works as the CEO of an international insurance agency based in Princeton., Mr. Sullivan offered his plans for the Princeton Board of Education in the following Q&A:, The Packet: What is your favorite part about serving on the Princeton Board of Education?, Mr. Sullivan: My main focus in my service on the board is trying to do what I believe is right for our children. I am so proud of our public school system and all its successes, but at the same I want to make sure it’s working for all our students. My favorite part of board service is engaging with students, teachers, and administrators, and working with them on ideas to make the system more oriented to their vision of what our schools could become., The Packet: What are some ideas/missions you hope to fulfill as president?, Mr. Sullivan: We have an extremely talented board, and really gifted community members, teachers and students. My hope is to bring us together to work on the challenges we face, to not be complacent, and to use all of that talent to make this school system something truly great., The Packet: In what areas to you feel the board needs to focus its energy most in coming months?, Mr. Sullivan: Unfortunately, rather than focus on improvements to the lives of our children and those who work with them, we are faced with the immediate challenge of stopping the Princeton Charter School from taking $1.1 million from our budget in perpetuity to educate another 76 students. Their proposal is unfair, undemocratic, fiscally irresponsible, and detrimental to all of the children in our district, including the many Charter School students who go on to Princeton High School. Hopefully we can find a way to put this bad proposal behind us, and perhaps even find some common ground to work together in the future., We need to be mindful that all the students in both systems are our children, and we can certainly find an approach that benefits us all, rather than pits us against one another., After that, we need to focus on our expanding enrollment and making sure our facilities are in proper order, taking into account the views of the many constituencies in our town., Finally, and most importantly, we need to work with our teachers, administrators, and students to find way to make sure our system is responsive to all our children. I worry about the stresses we place on young people. We need to encourage the talents of all our children, and make sure they see our expectations as encouragement to learn more about their world, and not simply as requirements to be met, or work to be delivered., I fully support the implementation of Strategic Plan adopted by the board, and developed by Superintendent Steve Cochrane with the input of our teachers and our community, as that plan addresses many of these concerns., The Packet: What can one expect in the shift in responsibilities from vice president to president?, Mr. Sullivan: I suppose one can expect more work and less gratitude. Vice president was a wonderful job; I did very little., The Packet: Have you taken any cues from former president Andrea Spalla over the years? If so, what? And what may you do differently?, Mr. Sullivan: Andrea Spalla was a great guide and mentor for me. She dedicated countless hours to the job and her level of knowledge on any educational issue was boundless., Unfortunately, I don’t expect to be able to fill her shoes. One thing I plan to do differently is rely more heavily on my colleagues; Vice President Dafna Kendal and board member Betsy Baglio have generously agreed to act as driving forces in addressing our challenges in the year ahead. I’m really looking forward to benefiting from their help, advice and counsel.
