I am writing this letter in support of Yu Taylor Zhong for WW-P Board of Education.
Before Taylor’s family moved to Plainsboro, their kids attended Huaxia Chinese School in Livingston each weekend for one year. His whole family would spend the half day at the school. While his kids were in classes, Taylor stayed in the cafeteria with other parents. He soon became active with the PTA and volunteered to report school events to local newspapers. Those events included the mid-autumn festival celebration, chorus competitions, dancing competitions, debates, and sports. Taylor published about 10 articles. Parents enjoyed reading about those events in the newspaper.
For the Livingston Chinese Culture Day celebration, the school PTA delegated Taylor to work with four other organizations to prepare for the event. Taylor worked on the project diligently and helped raise funds from local businesses. When the program brochure was compiled with ads from local businesses, 1,000 copies needed to be printed. However, the east coast just been hit by a snow storm, and there was only one week left before the big celebration. If the brochures weren’t ready, local business would demand refunds.
Taylor volunteered to go to a printing shop in New York City to negotiate the price and explain the printing requirement (The shop made it clear that requirements must be explained in person). On a snowy evening, Taylor took the subway and walked in the wintry storm for 20 minutes to reach the printing shop. His bravery allowed the big celebration to open smoothly.
Taylor has a nice personality and is easy to work with. He was very popular among the parents and school administrators. He will make a good addition to the WW-P board of education.
Michael Tong
Livingston
The author was a former principal and board chair of Livingston Huaxia Chinese School.
For my campaign for WW-P board of education, I have spoken to many Plainsboro residents. As expected, the school budget is the most talked about issue.
Starting this year the budget will not be voted on by residents, so long as the increase is within the 2 percent cap. With a flat budget, many programs will be affected. I will try to help the district seek funds from external sources.
1. Federal funding: Federal funds are available for some high school programs. The Edison school district received federal funds for some language programs. I will learn the process and help the district to apply for federal funding for similar programs. I will make this my top priority if I get elected.
2. WW-P Education Foundation and alumni network: In 1993 former Ambassador Walter Annenberg gave $100 million to Peddie School. Peddie has an endowment of more than $300 million. We should support the WW-P Education Foundation and help it seek donations from WW-P alumni. We can also ask alumni to sponsor some programs. For example, Latin will be eliminated. We can try to seek help from former WW-P students who took Latin classes.
3. Local business: We can work with local business and ask them to sponsor various programs and activities. In January, 2011, the school bus advertising bill was signed into law in New Jersey. In January, 2013, the Medford Township Public School District became the first school district in the state to put ads on the district’s 52 buses. The ads placed on buses are for a local grocery store chain, which paid $48,000 for a four-year contract. We can survey parents and residents to see if it’s appropriate for the WW-P district to follow suit.
There are many ways that the WW-P school district can raise funds from external sources. I’m willing to learn from other districts and work hard for our own district. I hope Plainsboro residents can give me a chance to serve the district.
Yu “Taylor” Zhong
Plainsboro
