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The League of Women Voters of the Princeton Area is a nonpartisan, non-profit volunteer organization which works to promote active, informed participation of all citizens in their government. The League provide nonpartisan information on public issues, and takes action on issues after member study and consensus. In publishing this material, the League neither endorses nor rejects the views of any candidate quoted.
All candidate information in this guide was compiled from candidates' responses to questionnaires. Replies are printed in the candidates' own words, without editing or verification. Due to space limitation, the candidates were given a word limit for replies. Incumbents are indicated by an asterisk (*).
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without written permission of the League of Women Voters of the
Princeton Area.
Copyright 2000 by the League of Women Voters of the Princeton Area
The League of Women Voters of the Princeton Area submitted the following six questions to all candidates for Princeton Regional School Board:
1. What role, if any, should PRS have in providing or supporting a Pre-K program?
2. The proposed school budget is $40.6 million with a ballot question seeking an additional $4.96 million. How important a part of the School BoardÕs job is keeping costs and taxes down?
3. The Long-Range Planning Committee produced a comprehensive report in 1999. Several plans were proposed for expanding and/or building new facilities to deal with overcrowding and increasing enrollments. Which plan, if any, do you favor and why?
4. Which aspects of our school district do you view as most successful? Which do you feel are most in need of change?
5. With the new superintendent, Dr. Claire Scheff Kohn, about to come into the district, what would you define as the top priority for her to address?
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School Board Candidates from Princeton Borough
School Board Candidates from Princeton Township
Joshua Leinsdorf
Age: 54
Address: 35 Forester Drive, Princeton
Years in School District: 2
Occupation: Psephologist
Education: B.A.
Children: 1 in second grade
Significant Community Activities: Library volunteer
1. I favor establishing a pre-K program in all elementary schools.
2. Last year, Princeton High School had the highest Scholastic
Aptitude Test scores of any public high school in New Jersey.
Newsweek magazine recently listed Princeton High School as the
26th best in the United States. Yet, Princeton Borough and Princeton
Township pay the lowest school taxes of any municipality in Mercer
County. If the second question had passed last year, Princeton's
taxes would still have been the lowest except for Trenton. Trenton
is an Abbott District which receives most of its money from the
state. The $4.96 million in the second question is badly needed:
to restore education programs which were cut last year; to expand
the world language program so students can speak a foreign
language in the global economy; to meet state mandates in music,
art and drama; to have full-time librarians in the elementary
schools; to replace the obsolete 386 and 486 computers which do
not run the new software; to update the high school science laboratories
which are decades out of
date; and to repair the schools which have been neglected. Some
classrooms do not even have enough seats for all the students.
The Board's job is to ensure that every dollar is needed and well
spent. Now that New Jersey has a Real Estate Tax Reimbursement
Program for people over 65, money can be spent on the schools
without high taxes forcing older people out of their homes. Older
people on small fixed
incomes need never again pay a real estate tax increase. The deadline
for applying for this reimbursement program is May 1st. Call 1
(800) 882-6597 for more information. Passage of the second question
will cost Princeton taxpayers $150 for every $100,000 of assessed
valuation. That comes to $12.50 per month, which is tax deductible.
A more typical house
assessed at $300,000 will pay about $30 a month, after taxes.
This is about the cost of a basic cable television subscription
or a dinner in a restaurant. Princeton's prosperity is based on
its fine schools. That is the reason people pay a premium to live
in Princeton. Princeton currently pays 1/3 less school taxes than
the average of the rest of Mercer County. One way or another,
Princeton will get to the average. Either school spending will
rise, the schools will remain among the best in the nation, and
real estate values will continue to soar. Or school spending will
not keep pace with the need, budgets will be tight, the education
program will suffer, Princeton will no longer be such a desirable
place to raise children, and real estate values will fall, correspondingly.
Trenton, Ewing and Hamilton have seen property values decline
by as much as 6% in the past 6 years. It can happen in Princeton,
too, like it did in many places in the late '80's, when sellers
had to pay large sums at the closing when their houses were sold.
So, the choice is between spending
a little extra money to maintain the fine public schools, and
saving a few dollars and risking tens or even hundreds of thousands
of dollars of equity in our houses, our biggest asset. The choice
is yours.
3. I favor adding on to the elementary schools to keep the fifth grades where they are, accommodate the pre-K classes, and improve the facilities. Princeton needs a new high school, the Junior High should go into the refurbished High School, and the District offices in Valley Road should be moved into John Witherspoon, which should become a specialized facility with as many of the special education students as possible being brought back into the district. That would leave the Valley Road site free for the new library and arts council, and their valuable downtown properties could be sold and returned to the tax rolls. This would lower Borough taxes.
4. Parental involvement, autonomous principals, dedicated staff and a rigorous academic program are the district's strengths. The Board's communication with the public is its greatest weakness. I favor putting a webcam in the superintendents office.
5. The top priorities are moving ahead on the badly needed new facilities and better public information.
Return to School Board Candidates from Princeton Borough
Myra Nicol Williams
Age: 58
Address: 101 Broadmead, Princeton
Years in School District: 20
Occupation: Consultant
Education: B.S. in Math and Physics, 1964, Southern Methodist
University; PhD. In Molecular Biophysics, 1968, Yale University
Children: Christine Williams Fitzgibbons - age 30, Robyn
Nicol Williams - age 24
Significant Community Activities: Volunteer in the Springboard
Program
1. A creative Pre-K program could have a significant impact on improving the long-term academic success of students. The program needs to be one that gets the children excited about learning and stimulates their interest in the world around them. It has to be far more than day care. PRS should support the creation of such a program and work to leverage existing programs to accelerate progress in this area. Although such a program has not yet been mandated, there is growing interest in this area. PRS has authorized the exploration of collaborations with several existing groups in this area. This level of involvement appears to be appropriate at this time.
2. The role of the School Board should be to assure that appropriate resources (human, financial, and facilities) are available for the education of our children. At the same time, the Board should provide a framework that assures the public that the budgets are extremely tight, that appropriate priorities have been established, and that the balance between costs and returns is equitable. Although the tax implications should always be considered, the achievement of educational goals may at times require tax increases. The most important role of the School Board is to achieve the appropriate balance between cost and effectiveness.
3. I have reviewed the facilities plan but have insufficient
information to support one specific plan. I would need to see
a more complete analysis of costs and impact on the educational
program. My initial bias is to maximize the use of the Middle
School and the High School by expanding
those rather than making additions to multiple schools. These
two schools could then share the use of some very expensive facilities
while also removing some space pressure from the elementary schools.
However, all of the schools will need substantial renovation.
In addition, construction will be very disruptive and attention
will need to be given to options for swing space.
4. Our district is known for academic excellence and for its arts and music programs. These have been highly successful; yet they are less inclusive in terms of minority representation than one would expect. Thus, the success and the failure -- we have outstanding faculty and outstanding programs; unfortunately, many of the students do not benefit from these. One of my goals is to provide extra training in these areas to students at an early age so a greater diversity of students will be prepared to benefit from such programs in the future.
5. The Princeton Regional Schools have lacked top leadership for a number of years. Many people worked extremely hard to fill the vacuum; however, only time-critical issues were addressed. Longer-term strategic issues were frequently postponed. We need for Dr. Kohn to bring her vision and leadership to reinvigorate this school system. We need for her to focus on teamwork with her administrative staff, the teachers, the Board of Education, the parents, and concerned citizens. We need to work together to build a shared vision for the future.
Return to School Board Candidates from
Princeton Borough
Merrill Price Biancosino
This candidate has withdrawn from active campaigning.
Return to School Board Candidates from Princeton Township
Anne B. Burns
Age: 46
Address: 73 Baldwin Lane, Princeton Township
Years in School District: 10
Occupation: Assistant Press Secretary and Speechwriter
for Governor Brendan Byrne 1976-78; Press Secretary to NJ Commissioner
of Human Services, Ann Klein 1978-80; 1980-present, Full-time
mother and part- time volunteer.
Education: B.A. in Journalism, Penn State University, 1974.
Children: Sarah, 17; Emily, 15; Jeffrey, 7; Matthew, 5, and Meghan
(1980- 92)
Significant Community Activities: 1999-2000 Co Chair of
The June Fete, an Auxiliary Benefit for the Medical Center at
Princeton; 1999-2000 Vice President of the Princeton Regional
Schools PTO Council; 1999-2000 Vice President of fundraising,
Community Park School; 1999-2000 School Board representative for
the PHS PTO; 1999-2000 Parent representative for the second superintendent
search and final superintendent interview; 1998-99 - Co president
of the John Witherspoon PTO; 1998-99 Member, Ad Hoc Committee
on Long Range Planning for PRS; 1998-99 Member, Survey Committee,
Facilities Long Range Planning Committee
1. Research has shown that high-quality preschool education has a positive lifelong impact on all children. There is reason to believe that better early education will help address the over representation of minority students in special education programs, and will lead to greater success by students. Last year the Princeton Community Foundation in concert with representatives of the Princeton Nursery School and the YWCA, Princeton School Board PRS staff and local preschool educators spearheaded a preschool initiative to find a way to accommodate all of Princeton's low income children in local pre-schools. I support PRS's continued involvement in this initiative. State mandated preschool may be in our future. . We need to plan for this as we consider renovations and additions to our facilities.
2. It is vitally important that the School board present a budget that is fiscally prudent, and provides for a quality education for each of our children. The 3 % cap imposed on our budget by the State makes it very difficult for our district to provide for any expansion of program or to address serious deferred maintenance issues. The $4.96 million second question begins to address those issues. Our school tax rates are the lowest in Mercer County --1.04 for Princeton Township and 1.07 for Princeton Borough. Passing this budget and second question will raise the rates to 1.15 for the township and 1.16 for the borough, still keeping us among the lowest rates in the county. We must continue to be careful stewards of the public's money.
3. As a parent, I want it all. A new science building, dedicated small group instruction rooms, new athletic facilities, fine arts spaces, improved cafeterias and libraries. Everything. As a school board member, I would recognize we might not be able to have it all. Therefore, I have no favorite plan. I am not a teacher, an administrator, an architect or a planner. I would rely upon these experts to direct the board and recommend to us the plan they believe would best address the needs of the school community and the community at large.
4. Our elementary schools are our "jewels in our crown."
We have four very successful schools, which do a good job of providing
for the individualized needs of our children. We need to pay more
attention to delivery of curriculum across the district. I believe
the addition of designated curriculum specialists at each of the
elementary schools, as provided for in the budget, will help accomplish
this goal. The middle school has a particularly difficult job.
Adolescence is not a pretty age. Here's where we see students
begin to become disaffected. Smaller class size, time for teacher
collaboration and planning, and in-service programs to provide
teachers with strategies for teaching to different learning styles
are needed. The high school is a study in contrasts. We have students
who achieve at the highest levels, students who are alienated
and without direction, and students who perform well yet feel
unsuccessful because expectations are so high. I believe our current
administrators are committed to making the high school a place
where each student can feel successful. Adding guidance counselors,
hiring student oriented teachers, and developing programs that
include rather than exclude are the right things to do.
5. During the past ten years our district has had two permanent
superintendents and four interim superintendents. The lack of
consistent leadership has hurt our district. Dr. Kohn's first
priority should be to meet with our teachers, our administrators
and of course our board and begin establishing a relationship
of mutual respect and trust. We cannot underestimate the difficulties
our teachers and administrators have experienced during the past
years of turmoil. Yet in spite of these difficulties they are
the ones who have held our district together. Dr. Kohn's second
priority should be to address our significant facilities and deferred
maintenance issues. It is clear that Princeton will need to move
forward with a bond issue, which will include additions and renovations
to our schools. Her leadership will be critical in developing
the course we take.
Return to School Board Candidates from Princeton Township
Ruth H. Randall
Age: 70
Address: 52 Gulick Road, Princeton, NJ 08540
Year in School District: 44
Occupation: Retired. Previously employed as a Teacher,
Curriculum Consultant, Manager, Corporate Trainer.
Education: BA with honors, Swarthmore College; Graduate
work, The George Washington University; Additional courses at
The College of New Jersey and Montclair State College.
Children: 3 grown children, 5 grandchildren (2 in Community
Park School).
Significant Community Activities: Program Co-Chair, Princeton
Regional Schools Long-Range Planning Facilities Committee; Board
Chair, Princeton Pro Musica; Board Chair, Princeton History Project;
Former Member, Board of Princeton Adult School.
1. PRS must support local Pre-K programs more fully, as the law itself is prodding us to do. Preparation in social skills and academic enrichment can make an enormous difference in school success, and cooperation enables staff to screen future students, providing better services when they enter our schools. If it were possible, providing our own comprehensive Pre-K classes would be wonderful -- but there's no place to put them in our already overcrowded and outmoded buildings.
2. Of course the School Board must keep costs and taxes down. I plan to scrutinize the budget extremely carefully. In recent years, however, cap restrictions have forced us to make unacceptable reductions in program and staffing. Expenses are increasing at a faster rate than the cap's 3%, and a burgeoning population will force us to find new staff members and appropriate spaces for their work. Some increase in cost and therefore taxes is inevitable.
3. As a member of the Long-Range Facilities Planning Task Force, I know that it is too soon to favor any of the four plans. For one thing, we have no dollar costs for any yet. For another, two of them would entail agreements with governmental and educational entities; we cannot count on such agreements prematurely. In general, I favor accommodating new and existing students in the least disruptive way, always remembering the need to modernize existing facilities, especially in the sciences, technology, and the arts.
4. Every survey tells us that our teaching staff is respected and admired by parents and the public. We need to build on that strength, enabling teachers and administrators to continue to improve curriculum and to personalize instruction. Easier said than done; busy teachers need time and resources to do this. On the other hand, it's obvious that our physical facilities need a great deal of improvement at every level, particularly at Princeton High School. This need even affects the ability of staff to work together in developing curriculum. In addition, building an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust among all our diverse groups, and at all levels, is an ongoing and important challenge.
5. Dr. Kohn's top priority must be teambuilding, following a clear process which is diligently followed from beginning to end. She's coming at a relatively harmonious time for Board and staff. They will be happy to follow a leader who understands the importance of involvement of community, parents, staff and students, in the appropriate places and in the appropriate ways. Then such difficult issues as expansion, modernization, special classes, and building relationships with other government agencies should fall into place.
Return to School Board Candidates from Princeton Township
Stephen T. Schreiber
Age: 54
Address: 51 Southern Way, Princeton
Years in School District: 19
Occupation: Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
of the Law School Admission Council
Education: BA: College of Wooster, MA: Indiana University,
Ed.D: Indiana University
Children: Two children ages 5 and 8.
Significant Community Activities: Past member of the Princeton
University-NOW Nursery School board, past member of the Wesley
Westminster Foundation board.
1. The question of a Pre-K program touches on every issue mentioned
in the following questions and answers. There is a question of
money for teachers, space, special education and that all goes
back to taxes. I know that every piece of research on the subject
points to the importance of the early years environment on the
learning of our children. Having an uneven playing field at the
earliest age just exacerbates the problems later on. There is
a wide range of quality of pre-K programs now offered to parents
who can afford them in our area. We should think carefully about
what can be done to level the playing field. I think this question
must be studied very carefully!
2. The school board is charged with providing schools and teachers
for our young people. All of us would rather pay fewer taxes than
more. But there are practical realities. Our community attracts
people who expect our schools to be great. If we want to provide
the type of environment that
our community demands, we must understand that there is a cost
associated with that. All of us benefit from the quality of our
educational programs. The school tax base is just part of the
taxes we pay. We have seen how our school tax rate is one of the
lowest in this area. I believe that we should be working closely
with our township leaders to all work to keep our taxes as low
as possible. If we can prove to be responsible with our budgets
and expenses we can still keep our taxes as low as possible while
providing the environment that is necessary for our students.
3. We obviously need additional space. The question whether
to build new buildings, add on, or renovate is complicated. The
district has hired a consultant to study the options and we should
pay careful attention to the consultants findings. We must provide
first rate facilities for our
students. What ever we build, must be something that we are not
only proud of, but will also last for a long time. Our history
of our high school shows that the space will be used forever.
Building long term excellent space is more important than doing
something quickly that meets an immediate need but not a long
term need. Our music, art, science, and physical education programs
deserve to have first class facilities, all of our students and
teachers deserve and environment that allows them to excel.
4. Our district has many very successful aspects. The dedication
to Special Education is a model for many districts and should
continue to meet the needs of our students. We are very good at
attracting and keeping dedicated teachers. Those teachers in turn
have been able to educate our students very successfully as evidenced
by our recent rankings in both the state and national level. It
is obvious that we have been very unsuccessful in managing money.
There is no excuse for deferring maintenance the way it has been
done leading to the general decay of our physical plant. The managing
money issue is also evident in the way we have cut back successful
programs like our libraries and music. We simply must change the
way we have been budgeting and managing our money.
5. Dr. Kohn's top priority is to establish her leadership role
in our community. We have gone far too long without a superintendent
and Dr. Kohn needs to help our teachers, students, parents and
tax payers understand our roles in shaping the future of our schools.
The Princeton School District has incredible human resources.
The role of the superintendent (and the board) is to provide the
needed atmosphere for the teachers to teach and the students to
learn. Dr. Kohn was hired because of her proven abilities and
she needs to now lead us and we need to work closely with her.
Return to School Board Candidates from Princeton Township
