Candidates’ Views:
Mani Manikandanam
I, Alapakkam (Mani) Manikandan am contesting for the Plainsboro seat on the Board of Education for a second term in order to provide continuity to the various initiatives that have been started, most of which are just gaining momentum. In this tight economic situation, it is challenging to continue providing high-quality education at a reasonable cost. The experience I have gained during my first term on the Board will help ensure that the initiatives in curriculum and finance that we have started are carried out successfully.
I have served on both the Board of Education’s Finance Committee and the Curriculum Committee, and I have gained an understanding of the bigger picture from both a financial perspective and a curriculum perspective.
The most important issues facing the school district concern how we can continue to provide an excellent education in these tough economic times. As an incumbent member, I can point at our district record of reducing per pupil spending from $500 above state average in 2002-03 to $1,200 below state average in 2008-09. We achieved this while our students continued to excel in all areas, from academics to extracurricular activities.
In continuing the tradition of prudent management of taxpayer money I support the following:
Generate revenue through the use of our buildings; leverage the WW-P Education Foundation, which has a done a great job through its grant program, to help the district in other areas; and look at more opportunities for shared resources and increased efficiencies within the district.
I would be very hesitant to support any moves to cut areas that affect the students directly, such as class size, availability of courses, and choices outside the classroom.
For the last three years the school budget (spending) has increased by 1.6 percent, 0 percent, and 1.9 percent. That is a very modest increase over a three-year period while we are still adding students. The tax increase is also affected by factors beyond school board control. In the last two years the district has lost over $11 million in state aid. An impartial look will convince taxpayers that we spend money judiciously.
If re-elected my focus areas will include: Preparing all our students for 21st century global competency; instituting program reviews for all areas, including special education; working with all stakeholders, including parents, to address achievement gaps among students; establishing common assessment and evaluation processes; increasing efficiencies in all possible areas; identifying opportunities to increase revenue and reduce expenses; and finding newer ways to help the community understand how a public school district operates.
Alapakkam Manikandan
Plainsboro
Rachelle Hurwitz
Can anyone explain why we accept a 1.0 grade average for athletes and what does this substandard level say about our district? It does not cost anything to raise the bar. We should not allow students to slip through high school without a meaningful education because someone thinks winning at sports is more important than their future.
High school athletes are seen as heroes. However, how many of them will receive college scholarships and how many must find their own way because they cannot get into any college? I am asking for your vote for our school board, so I may map out a plan helping our athletes, insuring them a 21st century education, and freeing them from a potential dead end.
All of our students deserve the best education our district has to offer and providing them realistic opportunities on the playing field of life.
Rachelle Feldman Hurwitz
Plainsboro Candidate,
Board of Education
Editor’s note: For more on this issue, see story, page 23.
Scott Powell
We should expect more from our schools. The current board seems quite satisfied with our current system. They raise taxes routinely, with little improvement in the education they provide for the extra expense. Most of you have probably received raises in the past. However, in exchange for the extra pay, your employer probably asked you to deliver more. We need to bring this same discipline to our schools.
As we pay our teachers and school administrators more each year, they need to deliver more in exchange. More could mean better test scores. Or, more could include asking our more skilled teachers to teach their more successful techniques to other teachers.
We would all like our schools to be among the best. To achieve this we need to set measurable objectives, goals, and targets that will distinguish us as the best. As a school board, the number one goal should be to measure the achievement of learning outcomes as demonstrated on standardized test scores. Once we establish these objectives and link the pay of the district employees to their achievement, we will see results.
We also need to take a fresh look at school expenses. Last year the school board granted a generous contract extension to the teachers’ union. The contract did not require the teachers to make any contributions to their health insurance premiums. The contract took effect right before new compensation-limiting-legislation requiring a 1.5 percent of salary employee contribution towards these costs took effect. I have thoughtfully examined this action and cannot grasp the reasoning behind it. Pay increases should be linked to productivity increases and high performance. It is unconscionable that our teachers do not contribute to their healthcare cost.
I know how difficult it can be to manage, and even cut, costs. Part of my day-to-day job at Prudential Financial includes managing a multi-million dollar annual budget. That includes making tough decisions on which projects to approve and how much to pay employees. I have also experienced the difficult task of significantly cutting costs to restore a product to profitability. This process resembles the challenge currently facing the district: restore taxes to a reasonable level.
I will bring some new thinking to the board. I will seek greater staff accountability through measurable objectives and performance-related pay. I will also look deeply into school expenses and find ways to save money and minimize taxes.
Scott Powell
West Windsor
Vote For Dana Krug
In the late 1990s, we were a dual working couple in Cranbury. We wanted to minimize our commute, as we were focused on our careers at that time. However, our long- term vision was to live in a township that also had an excellent school district in which learning and education are nurtured by the community. Thus, we selected West Windsor.
As our son has grown we have had the good fortune to meet many great parents of children in shared activities, and Dana is one of these people. Dana’s desire to solicit input and listen is always evident. Financial acumen is critically important in this environment, and I believe Dana’s experience as a project manager will make her a balanced representative.
She will balance what’s best for our students with what is financially appropriate and responsible. On top of that, Dana wants to listen to the constituents. She truly understands this is a role to represent the people, and I trust she will do that extremely well.
Arlette Brown
Meadow Run Road, West Windsor
I fully support Dana Krug as an ideal voice to serve on the West Windsor Plainsboro School Board to represent the interests of children and parents from our community.
Every parent can appreciate that, despite living in the same household and being taught the same set of values, no two siblings will be fully alike in temperament, interests or talents. As a parent of four children, two of whom are already in the school system and the other two a few years away, I believe that the School Board should continue to ensure that our children’s individual academic needs are met while providing opportunities to challenge them daily in the classroom.
As an advocate for differentiated learning, Dana too understands that a “one-size-fits-all” approach would not be best to maximize the learning experience as each child is unique and talented. However, Dana also recognizes that this presents an inherent challenge as students would also benefit from consistency and predictability as they move through the grade levels and schools. I am pleased that Dana has made it a priority to reconcile these viewpoints while also supporting teachers’ creativity and ownership of their classrooms.
Elizabeth George-Cheniara
Dana Krug and I have worked closely together this year as co-presidents of the Community Middle School Parent Teacher Student Association (CMS PTSA). I am supporting Dana’s candidacy because she consistently asks the right questions in carrying out her duties. For example:
What is the purpose of this expenditure, and is this purpose consistent with our objectives as a PTSA? Is there a more cost-effective way to execute the plan? Will the PTSA’s investment positively impact a broad segment of the school community?
After our organization has completed a project or event, Dana’s line of questioning continues: Did we meet our objectives? Was it a positive experience for students, parent volunteers, and teachers? How could we utilize our time, money, and human resources more effectively in the future? Is this event or project worth repeating? I believe she would take the same analytical approach as a school board member.
Dana poses questions about how to keep the CMS community informed and involved: How can the PTSA help facilitate communication among the PTSA organization, administration and staff, and parents? How can we invite more people to become involved at school? She understands the importance of open channels of communication within the community, and as school board member, would look for new ways to involve the public in the decision-making process.
When Dana and I began working together, she quickly earned my friendship, my trust and my respect because she is honest, hardworking, intelligent and thoughtful. She is not afraid to ask tough questions or to be the lone dissenting voice in the room. When our PTSA board has voted to take a course of action Dana personally opposes, she has moved forward, continuing to work amicably with the group. She cares deeply about the WW-P School District and has already spent countless hours in its service. But perhaps the most compelling reason to vote for Dana Krug is that she always keeps this question at heart: How can we ensure that all students in the WW-P School District have an outstanding, individualized learning experience?
Catherine Foley
Hawthorne Drive, West Windsor
Our family first met Dana Krug many years ago. I’m sure it was on a ball field somewhere around town. What struck me most was how much energy she had in dealing with the commitments that we suburban parents all run into. She is a both a professional with years of experience in the work environment and a concerned parent willing to go out of her way to volunteer in our school district. Having children in several of our local schools and volunteering at various positions gives her a unique viewpoint on the problems and potential solutions that could be adopted in our district. When it comes to our school system, Dana has an outlook and vision that is similar to ours and I’m sure very similar to many residents in West Windsor.
Dana has committed to running for a position to serve on our school board. She has many years of experience in marketing, communications and project management; real world, practical expertise that is useful for solving tough problems. She is that person with a desire to make a difference in our community. With views that are common to many of us, a commitment to work hard, and experience at solving problems, Dana is the person to represent us on the school board.
Joseph R. Gostomski
I have known Dana for the last five years in my capacity as president and member of the Board of Directors of the Friends of the West Windsor Library (FOWWL) and as a personal friend. Dana volunteers her time to FOWWL and other library activities. She competently and reliably has fulfilled the positions of publicity chair, past secretary, and vice president.
Her work achieved an unprecedented uptick in donations, which helped make the FOWWL book sale very successful this year. Dana Krug leads with diligence, attention to details, great integrity, and creative forward thinking; and she is a wonderful role model.
Irene Hoyt
I wholeheartedly support the candidacy of Dana Krug. Dana has an impressive record of academic and business accomplishments including receiving an MS in nonprofit management from the Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy at the New School in New York.
Dana is co-president of the Community Middle School PTSA, a member of both the Village School and Dutch Neck School PTAs and a vice president and board member of the Friends of West Windsor Library.
This School Board will be called upon to make complex budgetary decisions. We need a fiscally savvy individual like Dana to help preserve and expand the quality of education in our district.
John Lappetito
