The six candidates for WW-P School Board — four from West Windsor and two from Plainsboro — were asked to give a brief biography and provide answers to the questions below. Their responses are listed in alphabetical order by last name.
1.) What experience, expertise, or perspective would you bring to the board? Which trait would be most useful?
2.) What’s your opinion of the district’s financial management, including annual increases in the budget and budget surplus amounts. If cuts are required, what one subject/activity/initiative would you cut first? What would you cut last? What area or areas would you increase funding for?
3.) The school district this year has budgeted about $1 million for increased security measures. What’s your view of the district’s safety program?
4.) What changes or additions, if any, would you make to the district’s foreign language offerings?
5.) The district is embarking on a new technology initiative for students. Should the district be more or less aggressive in pursuing this initiative and what would you cut from the budget to fund it?
6.) The state has mandated a salary cap for superintendents, and also mandates changes to the teacher evaluation and tenure process. How can WW-P ensure that students are not harmed by these changes?
7.) Are there any other school district issues you feel should be addressed?
I have been living in Plainsboro for the past 14 years. I am an IT professional with 22-plus years of experience.
I’m currently working as QA Head for a Cloud Solution company. I have a PMP certification. I have a degree in electronics and communication
I have married for 24 years and have two kids. I have been on the board of education from Plainsboro for a total of four years. I have served on all three board committees (finance, curriculum, and administration and facilities), and on negotiation committees
I am the president of the home owners association for Grande @ Ashford and am an executive committee member of the New Jersey Softball Cricket League. I am also an active volunteer in community service.
1.) I have already served four years on the WW-P school board and have served on all three board committees plus the negotiation committee. I have learned how this multi-dimensional system with several stakeholders is different from the corporate world. I have also learned the skills of negotiation, compromise, moderation, and balancing, which are all key to being a successful board member.
As a result of my other community service activities I have developed skills that have helped me to be an effective board member.These positions have taught me how to work well with others to achieve common good. They have also taught me the importance of getting things accomplished. As an immigrant who was educated in a different system, I bring a unique perspective that reflects 21st-century society. That perspective allows me to combine the best of both worlds to achieve optimum results for our children.
My information technology experience of more than 22 years allows me to evaluate results of our actions in a quantitative manner. My insistence on measureable goals and matrices has served the board well as we deal with budget problems and have to choose the most effective solutions.
2.) The administration, with support from the school board, has done an outstanding job of financial management over the past few years. We were one of the first school districts to receive AAA rating in 2008. We have also been awarded the certificate of excellence in financial reporting by the Association for School Business Officials five times in a row.
The board has been meticulous in unraveling and fixing inefficiencies. We have also been very careful in balancing the budget to ensure the primary goal of providing all-around growth to our students. I would never be in favor of any budget cuts that would impact the primary goal. I would encourage increasing communication to the public regarding our budget plans through early presentations, town-hall-type meetings, etc. This would enable us to seek feedback and inputs from the public.
3.) This is an area that is evolving, and becoming a critical part of our system. I think the district is diligently working on this, and developing a balanced, practical and sustainable plan. It is important to strike the right balance between “no security” and “prison security.” We need to continue involving all stakeholders in this area. This would include parents, students, teachers/staff, police, fire departments, and the townships.
4.) We should continue with the periodic program review that has been instituted. We also need to do review checks in between this period to ensure that we are dynamically changing according to the needs of the changing demographics and society. Any offerings we provide must be in line with preparing our students for 21st-century needs and enabling them to be successful.
5.) I believe technology is an important tool for success in this century. Hence, it will continue to play an important role in all our programs. I support the district approach of starting with a pilot program in fourth grade at Village and Millstone River schools. We should strike a balance by continuously evaluating our programs and enhancing those that are successful and eliminate those that don’t work. As a technology professional myself, I will work towards ensuring that the right and most cost-effective solutions are implemented.
6.) The arbitrary salary cap imposed by the state has already resulted in a loss for our district. We were fortunate to find an equally competent leader in Dr. David Aderhold.
Implementing teacher evaluation and tenure processes will be challenging. These kinds of changes are always delicate and need to be carefully implemented. Our district should continue to work with the state to implement what is practical, rather than what is theoretical. Some of these changes are new starting from 2013-’14, and hence the policies are still works-in-progress. The district will have to continue to provide regular feedback to the state regarding these policies, based on our experience. We will have to implement our versions of these policies while ensuring that the student interests are not compromised in any way.
7.) During recent years our enrollment has leveled off. It will be a big challenge to the district if the enrollment decreases drastically in future years or increases due to building activity in the townships. The school district has no control over student growth and significant growth in student population will pose a challenge as our schools are already operating at close to capacity. I think this has to be monitored and addressed.
