As you think about the candidates that you want to support in the school board race, consider what their role on the board will be and whether they are well equipped for that role. As explained on the board website, “the role of the school board member is not to run the schools but to see that the schools are well run.”
I support former school board member Richard Kaye in his candidacy for school board. Not only is he a former teacher, principal and national educational consultant, Richard has already served on the School Board and been an integral part of developing and implementing the WW-P District Mission Statement, Core Principles and 21st Century Competencies.
While on the board, Richard assisted in the development and implementation of two tiered (expert consultant and in-house team) regularly scheduled program reviews of every operation of the school system, understanding that such data is needed to ensure that the schools are well run.
Richard helped design policies that moved from teacher recommendation for student entry into honors and A.P. classes (which resulted in thousands of parental override requests and much anger) to district wide multiple criteria standards for entry into honors and A.P. courses. The result has been an increased number of students entering those classes, while maintaining the same level of outstanding scores.
Richard also oversaw the financial planning, which maintains an ongoing AAA bond rating and below state average per-pupil expenditure. He has also strengthened professional development to support best practices of instructional delivery that results in continued outstanding student achievement.
Richard’s past experience on the school board and as an educator together with his analytical and objective focus on policy and financial matters makes him the ideal candidate for the board of education. We need more experienced people like this in public service.
— Ayesha Hamilton, West Windsor
Hamilton is a member of township council
