Area residents will be heading for the polls Tuesday to vote on school budgets and elect board of education members. The polls are open in Princeton from noon to 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in Montgomery, West Windsor and Plainsboro.
Here is a rundown of budgets and candidates in the three Packet-area school districts:
Princeton Regional
Residents of Princeton Borough and Princeton Township will vote on the Princeton Regional Board of Education’s $72,694,856 budget that would impose a 3.32-percent total tax increase, with the school district’s taxpayers being asked to cover $56,965,650 of the budget.
If the budget question on the ballot is approved, township voters would pay $1.6997 per $100 of assessed value, a 1.03-cent decrease from last year’s tax rate, and borough voters would pay $1.9650 per $100 of assessed value, a 9.5-cent increase from last year.
Also up for a vote on Tuesday are three three-year seats on the Board of Education. Three candidates will vie for the two available township seats, and the borough race will be uncontested.
In the township, incumbent Walter Bliss of 202 Moore St. will face Daniel Haughton of 56 Finley Road and Naomi Perlman of 174 Meadowbrook Drive, who ran unsuccessfully in last year’s election.
Newcomer Timothy Quinn of 50 Wilton Street will run unopposed for the borough seat.
Two of the vacancies on the board were created by board President Michael Mostoller deciding not to seek another term and the township incumbent Jeffrey Spear also opting to not seek re-election.Mr. Bliss, an attorney, was first elected to the board in April 2002.
A resident of the township for 25 years, Mr. Haughton has watched his three children go through Princeton Regional schools.
Ms. Perlman has two children at Littlebrook Elementary. She has worked as a volunteer for the Mercer County Juvenile Conference Committee, the University Medical Center of Princeton and the Jewish Center of Princeton. She is a member of the Littlebrook Parent Teachers Organization and the Princeton Regional Special Education PTO.
Mr. Quinn has volunteered on behalf of the homeless and abused children served by Anchor House and served as co-president of the Riverside School PTO. He has lived in Princeton for two decades and worked at the Princeton Public Library for eight years.
— Katie Wagner
Montgomery
Montgomery residents will vote on a $76,118,769 school budget with a general fund local tax levy of $58,987,206. Under the budget, Montgomery taxpayers would pay $65,289,894 toward the budget, with $6,302,688 of the total tax level not on this year’s ballot because voters previously approved contributing these dollars in a referendum that sought authorization to borrow money for various projects. Montgomery residents will pay $1.735 in school taxes per $100 of assessed value, if the budget is approved.
Residents will also vote for four school board candidates.
A one-year term is the only contested seat on the ballot. Adelle Kirk, president of the Orchard Hill Elementary School PTA and John Warms, a former township committeeman, are competing for this seat.
Incumbents Board President R. David Pettit, Vice President Charles Jacey Jr. and board member Arun Rimal are running for three, three-year seats. All the incumbents began serving on the board in April 2005.
Ms. Kirk specializes in corporate strategic planning. Most recently she served as vice president of strategic planning for Liz Claiborne. For the last two years she has been working part time as a strategic planning consultant from her home through her company Kirk Strategic Services LLC. Ms. Kirk is a member of the township’s Economic Development Commission and the Skillman Village Redevelopment Committee. She resides on Black Horse Run with husband Thomas and two children.
Mr. Warms served as mayor of the township in 1992. He also served three, three-year terms on the Township Committee. His most recent term ended in 2007.
He is a retired mediator and negotiator for the New Jersey Education Association and a retired vice president of Teachscape, a company dedicated specifically to improving professional development for teachers. Prior to his 32-year career with the NJEA, Mr. Warms taught math, history and physical education to middle and high school students in the school district. He has also coached several district middle school and high school athletic teams and served as president of the high school’s booster club. He resides on Brookside Drive.
Mr. Pettit resides in the Belle Mead section of the township with his wife Lisa and three children. He is a management consultant. He has a master’s degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania and has coached youth soccer and baseball.
Mr. Jacey is a retired senior partner and vice chairman of the consulting firm Coopers & Lybrand and serves on the board of trustees for his alma mater, Pace University. He is also a father of five.
Mr. Rimal is a structural engineer who has been running an engineering consulting firm out of his house for the past 13 years. His firm, OSD, Arun Rimal P.E., specializes in designing structures for mid- to high-rise buildings. He also teaches structural engineering to architects at Columbia University. Mr. Rimal lives in the Belle Mead section of the township with his wife Sanjana. He is a parent of two recent Montgomery High School graduates.
— Katie Wagner
West Windsor-Plainsboro
The budget, special-needs education, and the potential television broadcast of Board of Education meetings were all discussion topics Tuesday at a candidates forum held at the Grover Middle School in preparation for Tuesday’s school board election and budget vote.
Three candidates — incumbents Richard Kaye and Randall Tucker, and newcomer Mindy Fox-Heifler — are vying for two West Windsor Township seats, and newcomer Alapakamm Manikandan is running unopposed for a single Plainsboro Township seat.
Also up for vote on Tuesday will be the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District’s proposed $153.5 million budget, which impacts the district’s two member townships differently.
West Windsor residents face a 4.3 percent tax increase, which translates into a tax rate hike of 5 cents, to $1.25 per $100 of assessed value. That increase means a total increase in the average tax bill of $289, to $6,962 for a homeowner with a house assessed at the average value of $556,973.
In Plainsboro, residents would see a 6 percent tax decrease, a tax rate drop of 8 cents, to $1.35 per $100 of assessed value. That would result in a tax bill shrinking by around $342, for someone with a home assessed at the average value of $397,720.
Speaking about the budget Tuesday to a crowd of only about 35, the two incumbents touted the proposed spending measure, which they called fiscally responsible.
”We have put together a very prudent budget, especially considering energy costs,” said Mr. Tucker, who works at a Johnson & Johnson company and has extensive facilities management experience.
Mr. Kaye pointed to reductions in debt service for construction projects and holding the line on the number of administrative positions in the district.”We have reduced debt service, and we have reduced tuition,” said Mr. Kaye, a former teacher and administrator in New Jersey public schools. “We have maintained a very low number of administrative positions, especially in the central office.”
When asked about experience with special education, Ms. Fox-Heifler cited her experience as a mother of three, with two of those children being classified as having special needs. “I have quite a bit of experience in this area,” said Ms. Fox-Heifler, who worked in architecture at one time.
Incumbent Richard Kaye cited his work as both a teacher and administrator when asked about special needs experience.”My career has been as an educator, so I have had extensive experience with a full range of special education,” Mr. Kaye said.Mr. Tucker said he had not had direct experience with special needs children or programs.Mr. Manikandan said he too had not had any direct experience with special needs students, but noted that he was knowledgeable about state mandates in the area.Replies from candidates about the possibility of broadcasting Board of Education meetings were mixed.Mr. Manikandan said he had attended Board of Education meetings previously and did not know if their broadcast would be helpful to the public.
”Most things that are discussed seem to be minimally detailed,” said Mr. Manikandan, who works in software management at BASF. “I am not sure if there is any value.”
Mr. Tucker said he was also neutral, noting that the use of committees and work groups reduced the actual work that went on at Board of Education meetings.”One of the concerns is that it doesn’t appear that much debate, response or dialogue has happened,” Mr. Tucker said.Ms. Fox-Heifler said she supported broadcasting the meetings.”I am very much in favor of any way to get parents more involved,” said Ms. Fox-Heifler. “It is sometimes difficult to get to the meeting, and there is a low turnout.”For Mr. Kaye, the idea of broadcasting the meetings needed to be better vetted within the community, which rarely showed up at the sessions.”There have been six budget meetings, and there have never been more than 10 people in the room,” said Mr. Kaye. “I would like to hear more about this.”
— Greg Forester
