Candidates Talk Negotiations, Education for the 'Middle Child'

With the board of education elections approaching, the district held its annual candidates forum at the high school Monday with the seven residents running for a spot answering questions on the budget, communication and other issues.

Running for two spots on the board to represent Bridgewater are incumbents and , as well as ,  and . Running for one open spot on the board representing Raritan are incumbent and .

The candidates answered three questions submitted by a subcommittee with the Council of Schools Association, and moderated by a student. The forum will be able to be seen on the Bridgewater public access channel—15 for Cablevision users and 26 for Verizon Fios users—and DVDs of the forum will be submitted to the schools.

Residents were able to watch the forum live at the high school.

Following opening statements to introduce the candidates, the first question asked what line item should be removed from the and what should stay.

Several of the candidates said they are especially concerned that the budget as approved does not include any provisions for salaries once negotiations are complete for the district’s three unions whose contracts are up this year.

“I am concerned there are increases for the superintendent and certain personnel, but there is no space for changes in the budget for salaries,” Giranda said.

And Lande said she believes it is not appropriate to assume that there will be no increase in salaries once negotiations are complete.

“Cutting something is the hardest part because we don’t know about the negotiations,” she said. “It is unrealistic because normally you get an amount of money to cut, not a line item.”

Lerner said negotiations need to also include discussions about accounting for the 30 percent increase in healthcare costs assumed for in the budget. He said it is inappropriate to assume that 100 percent of that will be taken care of by the district itself.

“We need to work on that in negotiations,” he said.

As for line items to keep in the budget, the candidates agreed that the most important thing is to keep any line items that benefit the students themselves.

“Anything related to students and professional development should stay,” Kane said.

“We do not want to make cuts that will impact the students,” Mathur added.

But, Mathur said, it is important to remain fiscally conservative and ensure that facilities and other equipment is made available.

“We can look at equipment and other items that can be put off for a year,” he said.

The second question asked the candidates to discuss one issue that they see as being important to the district, and how their skills would help address that issue.

As a member of negotiating committees in the past, and a chief negotiator several times before, Smith said he has the background necessary to help get the district through the tough negotiating season ahead.

“The conflicts between the state and teacher’s union will escalate,” he said. “We will have to negotiate around what is given by the state. I have the background that should help.”

And Mead said her management and business background would be an asset in making decisions and addressing concerns throughout the district.

“I bring a skill set of management,” she said. “Analysis and decision-making are skills I bring. I can work with others to address concerns.”

Several candidates said it will be important to improve the quality of education for those they call the “middle children,” or the students who are average in the district.

“Maximizing the learning is the biggest issue, and we can’t forget about the average student,” Kane said. “My experience gives me the ability to make correct instructional decisions.”

Lande said it is often difficult to create lessons for students in one classroom who are operating at different levels, particularly when class sizes keep increasing.

“My largest concern is the quality of education, and I want to see the focus on that first and foremost,” she said. “Teachers have to differentiate for all the kids, and the more there are in the classrooms, the harder it is.”

Finally, the candidates were asked to discuss the level of communication in the district, and what could be done to improve that among residents.

Some candidates said they would like to see more communication with those who do not have children in the district, but said they are pleased with the steps the district has taken thus far.

“The board has been like night and day,” Lerner said, adding that since he has been on the board, there have been such additions as a strategic planning committee, a survey policy every two years and budget presentations, among other strategies for communicating with the public. “But our communication with seniors could be better.”

Mathur said he has been pleased with the level of communication the board has had with the public.

“Clear consistent communication is key,” he said. “One of the most important ways is to keep improving the district's electronic communication.”

Mead said she would have preferred that much of the changes be made a little more slowly over time, particularly that of switching to more online communication.

“It seems to me the change was sudden and it didn’t give the community enough time to react,” she said, adding that she does appreciate how the alert system and others have been working. “Maybe there should be a transition period.”

Giranda said she does not believe enough is being done to engage seniors and those who do not have children in the district.

“They are largely unheard,” she said.

And Kane said she believes that face-to-face communication is actually the most important way to get people involved.

For Smith, he does not believe open communication has gone far enough, and he said he has recommended, and still does, that the board of education follow the example of some neighboring towns and begin televising all meetings for residents who cannot make it on Tuesdays.

Board of education elections—for both board members and the 2011-2012 school budget—will be held April 27.

The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.