By JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer
SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Incumbent school board members Azra Baig and Harry Delgado will face Anilkumar Patel, Laszlo Nyitrai Jr. and Lisa Rodgers for three seats with three-year terms on the South Brunswick Board of Education (BOE) on Nov. 8.
Current board Vice President Daniel Boyle is not seeking reelection.
Three-year school board incumbent Azra S. Baig, who received her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing at Case Western Reserve University, is a substitute registered nurse in the Princeton and North Brunswick public school systems and has worked in the Emergency Department at the University Medical Center at Princeton and as a nurse in the South Brunswick School District. She occasionally freelances for local news outlets.
Her two daughters attended South Brunswick schools; her youngest is a senior at South Brunswick High School (SBHS) and her oldest attends Rutgers University in Newark pursuing a degree in business.
She has been part of the school board’s Academic Curricular Committee, Policy Committee, Community Education Committee, PARCC Committee and the Mental Wellness Committee.
“During my tenure, the district has continued to move forward and has offered educational excellence. The decisions the BOE members have made, in collaboration with the superintendent, administrators, teachers, staff, parents and students, have helped lead the district to receive many honors. Being a ‘Lighthouse District’ and being recognized by the state Department of Education as a ‘High Performing School District’ are two noteworthy honors. I hope to continue excellent decision-making by collaborating with others to provide the best educational opportunities for all students,” she said.
Within the community, Baig has been a member of various parent-teacher organizations; a member of Project Graduation; the current vice president of the South Brunswick High School Viking Athletic Club; and a volunteer with the South Brunswick Women’s Commission, Human Relations Committee, Municipal Alliance, Volunteer Nurse Corp., Elijah’s Promise and the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen.
She served as an overseer of the board of the Islamic Society of Central Jersey, is a member of the South Asian American Caucus where she is the director of the Middlesex County area, and takes part in Muslims Against Hunger.
Baig is the only woman serving on the nine-member board and is one of only two board members who currently has a student in the district.
“I am committed to providing the best possible educational opportunities for each student so they can achieve at their highest potential. I will continue to work collaboratively with all stakeholders and make decisions towards improving and building upon the goals for achievement and success of every student; by supporting board policy, academic curriculum, programs, resources and strategies that help motivate each student to strive for excellence; and promote achievement and prepare each student for the future,” she said.
She said the new superintendent search is a key issue for the school district and community.
As a school nurse in neighboring school districts, she said she also wants to focus on the mental well-being of students and staff due increased stress, anxiety, depression and other mental demands. As a representative of the school board, she participated in the South Brunswick School District’s Mental Wellness Goal Committee last year, which has been merged together with the Physical Wellness Goal as the “Wellness of the Community” initiative. This includes nutritional options for students’ meals and district-wide events such as the SBHS Viking 5K or the Constable Turkey Trot, counselors for students, parent academies and professional development training.
“Being elected to a second three-year term will allow me to be part of the changes that the district will go through in order to bring us to the next level of excellence. I look forward to being able to work toward our goals and serve the community by helping to make great decisions and give each student the education they need to have a successful, productive life,” she said.
Fellow incumbent Harry J. Delgado has lived in town for 36 years. Both of his daughters went through the South Brunswick school system and followed their vocation, graduating from Rutgers University as a teacher and school social worker.
He is a retired South Brunswick police captain. He has a Master of Arts degree in human resource management and a post-graduate Education Specialist degree in education leadership management policy, administration and supervision. He graduated with honors (Kappa Delta Pi).
Delgado served the BOE as vice president for three years and president for three years. He has served on the curriculum, facilities, technology, policy, personnel and other ad-hoc committees. He served as the New Jersey State Schools Board Association vice president for County Activities for three years and president for two years.
He also served at the national level as regional director of the National Hispanic Caucus and served twice on the President’s Interview Committee. He is a member of the New Jersey Association of Criminal Justice Educators.
“Through my years of service, the district has hired outstanding staff that has lifted student achievement levels to historic highs. Regardless of the metric used for measurement — SAT, National Merit recognition, Advanced Placement test performance, ACT, etc. — South Brunswick students have continued to demonstrate tremendous academic results. Similarly, the district has countless indicators of excellence in music, art and athletics.
“I have had oversight over an unprecedented student population growth from 3,900 to over 9,000. We built and added to existing facilities to accommodate this growth: built Brunswick Acres School, the high school and added classrooms where needed.
“During my years of service on the board, we have seen unprecedented academic achievement by our students, a record number of academic scholars while our schools maintain an environment that promotes intellectual challenge, creativity, social and emotional growth and the healthy physical development of each student to develop the whole child.
“And, by the way, our achievements have been accomplished with second lowest tax rate (county equalized formula) in Middlesex County,” he said.
Delgado said the first challenge is to select a new superintendent.
The district must also focus on fair funding and continue to advocate for a funding formula that is fair for South Brunswick students and taxpayers.
In addition, the district has two years of data and experience with Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC).
“We can already see gaps in achievement in the various sub groups that will require special attention. Additional time and resources both in training and preparation will be needed as the state mandated the PARCC test as a graduation requirement by the class of 2021. This is a very important issue in our district with broad implications to our students and parents, and I am very sensitive to their concerns.
“More specifically, our school system has never needed strong oversight and guidance more than now. We have endured a difficult stretch that has been painful for us all. Governing in the best of times is easy compared to times such as these. I am a trained problem-solver and a New Jersey-certified Master Board Member. I pledge to utilize these unique skills to restore our school district to a level commensurate with community expectations,” he said.
Anilkumar C. Patel, 54, is running for the school board for the third time.
He has lived in South Brunswick for 16 years. His son, 25, and daughter, 21, both went through the South Brunswick school system. He received a mechanical engineering degree from India and an information technology diploma from City University, New York. He has worked for Ericsson for more than 27 years as a senior telecommunications engineer. He started working out of college for Bell Labs, Bellcore and Telcordia, which was acquired by Ericsson two years ago.
Patel has served in various leadership positions for many organizations and is a member and founder of many faith-based organizations. He is part of the South Asian Community Outreach, Community Development and Recreation Committee in Union Township and the South Brunswick Human Relation Committee.
Patel’s objectives to run for the BOE include providing opportunities for every child, retaining outstanding educators, smart use of technology, maintaining extracurricular activities, enhancing a safe and secure learning environment and focusing on music, sports and education programs.
He also said the school board must balance the needs of children and taxpayers, but continue to reduce the tax burden without impacting quality education.
“I strongly believe, as a newcomer, I can bring new and fresh innovative ideas to the board. I am very pleased to see that our district’s students have done well academically. However, there are still lots of ways it can be improved. I am confident that with my qualifications and technical experience I can provide many more innovative ideas to achieve the district goals.
“It is necessary to have communication and partnering with government officials and parents. As education policy is going through tremendous changes with Common Core curriculum, PARCC testing and changes in graduation requirements, we will work with government officials and policy makers to make them understand the ground reality and suggest appropriate changes that are needed to make it a win-win situation for both children and the quality of education,” Patel said.
Lisa M. Rodgers, 55, has been a resident for 16 years. She has a daughter who is a sophomore at SBHS and a son who is an eighth grader at Crossroads Middle School North.
Rodgers is a former American Express vice president of Corporate Services and an entrepreneur. She is an active member of Save Our Schools NJ; a member of the SBHS and Crossroads Middle School North PTOs and the Viking Athletic Club; a Monmouth Junction PTO vice president for five years; a Girl Scout Cookie Mom for six years; a CCD teacher and communicant of Our Lady of Peace Church in North Brunswick; she coached girls and boys recreation basketball for seven years as well as Little League baseball; and is the creator and founder of South Brunswick Cares About Schools.
“Part of our success as a district depends on sound governance and fluid communication between school board members, administrators, teachers, parents and students. There was a time when the superintendent and board members traveled to the schools to meet with the parents to present and discuss the annual budget, goals and objectives. Having multiple dates available, parents and taxpayers had the opportunity to schedule a date that was convenient for them.
“I believe there is an opportunity to create teacher/administration/community feedback sessions as is done in other towns. … Therefore, if elected, I am going to request that the BOE consider a communications plan as one of the superintendent’s annual merit goals and that the board oversee the implementation of the plan which would be assigned to a board committee.
“School budgets can be complicated and are always one of the greatest challenges for any district. As an individual who managed multi-million dollar budgets at American Express, I was responsible for ensuring every penny was being applied appropriately and projects were closely monitored to ensure a small, reasonable percentage of overspend.
“Recently, I played a pivotal role with concerned parents, taxpayers, teachers and district employees in bringing to light issues surrounding the previous leadership at the BOE central office and exposed certain atypical and questionable expenditures. Therefore, I would like to ensure that the management of projects, specifically the ‘change-management and scope’ processes are reviewed properly. One of the concerns I raised regarding overspend by central office was how the board was monitoring the change orders to the original approved budget by project.
“Also, we need to take a closer look at our shared-services programs, outsourcing/consulting services and technology. Over the past several years, school funding from the state has been reduced substantially, and with the current administration’s funding plan we can only expect further impacts, therefore, it is vital that we continue to identify cost-savings opportunities,” Rodgers said.
She also said selecting the right superintendent for the district is key.
Laszlo Nyitrai Jr. could not be reached by press time.
Contact Jennifer Amato at [email protected].