This Tuesday, April 17, the voters in Plainsboro will have an opportunity to cast their vote on the school budget and to elect two candidates to the board of education. In addition to asking you to vote YES on the budget question, we are asking for your vote to re-elect Anthony Fleres and to elect Yibao Xu to the two Plainsboro seats.
After getting to know each other, we have decided to run as a team. Together we bring a complementary mix of backgrounds and experience to the board that will allow WW-P to maintain its high standards of academic achievement while being fiscally responsible to our taxpayers. We believe our values towards education represent those of the people of Plainsboro.
Please remember to vote on April 17. The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and registered Plainsboro voters can cast their ballots at the Plainsboro Municipal Building.
We thank you for your support.
Anthony Fleres, Yibao Xu
I strongly support incumbent Tony Fleres and newcomer Yibao Xu for the two seats on the Board and also give my enthusiastic support to the proposed budget.
I am a former member of the WW-P Board of Education (2002-2008) and had the privilege to work directly with Tony Fleres for my final two years on the board. I had also known him personally for many years before that, both through community soccer and when he served as the leader of my son’s Boy Scout troop. Tony has a great analytical mind with a bachelor’s in civil engineering and a master’s in business administration.
He has served the board very well on the Administration and Finance Committees and currently serves as chair of the latter. On these two important committees, Tony has worked tirelessly to ensure that the district facilities are well-maintained and that district finances are well-managed. In addition to his analytical skills, Tony has great people skills and works collaboratively and cordially with members of the board, the administration, district teachers and staff, as well as members of the community. His six years of experience on the board will be invaluable as the district continues to face increasing financial challenges that have the potential to threaten the quality of education.
Although I have only recently met Yibao Xu, I am very impressed with his personal story, his commitment to community service, and his passion for education. Yibao is a naturalized citizen who exemplifies the American success story: he came to America, where he received his Ph.D. and is currently a professor of mathematics at CUNY in New York. He has served on two homeowner’s association boards as member or president, including being a current member of the Walker Gordon Board of Trustees. Like Tony, Yibao is the parent of one WW-P graduate and of one student currently in the district. Through his work as a professor and through his community service, Yibao is experienced at working collaboratively with diverse groups of individuals to accomplish common goals. He is strongly committed to excellence in K-12 education and will bring his depth and breadth of experience in higher education to the board.
Finally, I add my strong support to the proposed budget for WW-P. Over the past four years, building on a strong, ongoing commitment to fiscal responsibility, district budget growth rate has averaged only 1.2 percent, which is lower than the rate of inflation and considerably lower than legally allowed increases. This year’s budget is also very conservative and succeeds in maintaining resources necessary for continued excellence of education in WW-P while being fiscally responsible.
Please join me in voting for Tony Fleres, Yibao Xu, and yes on the WW-P budget.
Patricia F. Bocarsly
15 Clydesdale Court, Plainsboro
While reading many letters to the editor written by Quentin Walsh during the past year, I have wondered whether he is talking about the same WW-P school board that we all know. Our school district, administrators, teachers, parents and the school board enjoy well-deserved respect and admiration throughout the state. Why would Walsh call them sleazy and deceptive, especially since his wife is part of that group? I will never understand how he could celebrate in public by clapping and cheering when the school budget was defeated last year. Plainsboro enjoys a reputation for civil politics and collaborative working style. The upcoming school board election offers the voters of Plainsboro an opportunity to choose between candidates who could not be more different in style and substance.
Plainsboro voters value education and have always supported the school budget. Mr. Walsh has urged the voters to reject the school budget using questionable claims. In spite of being told by Governor Christie’s representative that his claims have no basis in facts, he continues to make those claims. His values are out of tune with Plainsboro voters. Since his wife is already a member of the school board, electing him will result in 50 percent of Plainsboro representation from a single family. That is not true representative democracy.
On April 17, Plainsboro voters have a choice of two well-qualified candidates who bring diversity to the school board and truly represent community values. Anthony Fleres has served the school district in various capacities including as a member of the school board for the last six years. As a chairman of the finance committee he has helped craft a budget that reduces the total tax levy for the first time in the history of the district.
Dr. Yibao Xu brings a unique and much needed perspective to the school board. As a professor of mathematics, with experience with freshman college assessments and placements, he will guide the district in how best to prepare students for college. He has proved his commitment to community service by serving on two different homeowner association boards.
Fleres and Xu truly represent the values of Plainsboro community and deserve our support. I hope you to support the budget and vote for Fleres and Xu.
Vasudha Manikandan
As a homeowner and owner of a small business in Plainsboro, I am doubly affected by property taxes. I therefore pay close attention to the school budget since it is responsible for the largest portion of my property taxes. As a parent with young children I am interested in ensuring that we maintain the quality of education offered by our school district. Therefore in school board elections I am always looking for candidates who can balance my competing interests.
I was thrilled to learn that my neighbor Yibao Xu is a candidate for school board. Yibao is a soft-spoken, thoughtful man who moved to Plainsboro with his family for the education our district offers. As a college professor of mathematics he has an opportunity to pass his love of learning to young students. As a mathematician he will help the district in its efforts to move to a higher level by analyzing and interpreting student test data. He will be an asset to the school board on educational issues.
Dr. Xu has proved his financial acumen as a member of the Walker Gordon Home Owner’s association for the last three years. Serving on the association board is an unappreciated job that requires balancing the interest of 355 homeowners while controlling a budget of several hundreds of thousands of dollars. It is a challenging task. Yibao has managed to work collaboratively with other trustees to keep our assessment flat without cutting any services. I am confident his style and financial understanding will be an asset to the school board.
Though Plainsboro’s tax rate is increasing slightly due to a shift in student population, I was happy to note that the tax levy imposed by this school budget is going down. Looking at my own personal school property taxes, they have increased by approximately 2 percent annually over the last seven years. Given that our district spends less than the state average for the highest quality education in the state, I believe the taxpayers are getting a good bargain for their taxes.
Join me on April 17 in showing our appreciation for the school district by supporting the school budget and electing Yibao Xu to the school board.
Shashi Mittal
66 Elsie Drive, Plainsboro
