Four candidates contending for only three seats on the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education in the November election voiced their views about there future of the district at their first public forum Thursday.
Candidates Elizabeth Baker, Maureen Jones, Dr. Godwin Molokwu and Donna Smith sat before residents yesterday in the DeHart Community Center to pitch their ideas on what what direction they would lead the district in if they were elected to the nine-member board of education in the Nov. 4 election.
The Hilton Neighborhood Association, which hosted the forum, posed pre-known questions to the candidates and then opened up the floor to residents’ questions.
While many topics were covered, the salient issues that arose during the forum were the the declining state funding and the budget, the ongoing superintendent search, and merit pay, among others.
Lindy Wilson, a South Orange resident attending the forum, said she was “surprised” about how well the candidates performed at the forum.
“I have watched board of ed candidates for a number of years,” Wilson said, “and I was surprised … at what they brought tonight. They were all pretty polished and passionate and really put some thought into their answers.”
State funding and the budget
All the candidates pointed to the declining state funding in recent years as they listed how they would handle taxpayer dollars in the district’s budget.
Baker said that with the 2 percent budget cap and the high tax burden that the district already bears, it cannot make up for lack of adequate state funding.
However, Baker called for the repeal of the state-mandated cap on superintendent salaries, saying that the cap has had a destabilizing effect on the South Orange-Maplewood district and districts across the state that have lost their superintendents.
“The salary cap has driven out good leaders and has left many district with their hands tied,” said Baker.
Baker added that health care costs continue to go up in the district, and must be stabilized and more affordable.
Jones said she was “still learning about the budget,” but added there are “no easy answers” and she wanted to “keep the cuts out of the classrooms.”
Jones, who is running alongside Baker, said a budget priority was to maintain an adequate number of teachers in the classrooms; avoid “overly small sections of classes;” “bring back children from out of district;” and try to win more state aid for the district.
Smith said her budget priorities were “high academic standards, hiring of good teachers, increased professional development,” and not transitioning the district’s IB program to the high school due unknown costs.
In addition, Smith the district should attempt to keep special education students within district whenever possible which would help bring down a significant cost driver for the district.
Molokwu said the district spends too much money on administrators and said that “teachers should be paid more.” He added that outsourcing district services to private vendors was driving up costs.
“Outside vendors don’t care,” Godwin said. “They are coming in to make money. … We should manage what we have.”
Superintendent Search
The candidates who prevail in the November election will each have a vote and say in who is hired as the district’s new superintendent. And yesterday, the candidates offered their ideas of the qualities they want to see in a superintendent.
Molokwu said the new superintendent needs “experience” and “leadership,” and the ability to “come in and start doing the job.”
The position, he added is not one where someone was “going to come here and start learning. We don’t have time to play games.”
Jones said that whoever becomes the district’s superintendent must understand the community and its needs, “build relationships,” and be able to “say no when the board asks too much at once.”
“The superintendent needs to get this district to develop a vision for excellence while having our students develop a passion for learning,” Jones said.
Smith said that the superintendent must be “a visionary” who can creatively handle the challenges facing the district, “someone who can hit the ground running,” and someone who can stem the tide of high turnover in the district.
Baker was looking for “the total package” in a superintendent: “an educational leader, great management skills, knows finance.” Baker added that the new superintendent must be able to build and grow a “leadership team” and develop great teachers.
Merit Pay
All four candidates were against merit pay.
Jones said linking teacher’s pay to their performance for the Maplewood-South Orange School District was “ill-informed.”
Jones added that any form of merit pay in the district, “threatens and undermines the trust” between teachers, and would only make employees “cynical” and “demoralized.”
Molokwu, who formerly worked as a teacher in Brooklyn, called merit pay a “disgrace.”
Smith said that it would be wrong to being a merit-pay system at a time when all districts in New Jersey are preparing to implement the new Common Core education standards.
Changes to the district
If elected to the board, each candidate offered what changes he or she would immediately implement.
Smith said multiple times that the district needs more “professional development” for its staff. Smith added that there should not be a limit to the number of AP and honors classes offered at the high school so that any student who wants to take an upper-level course has an opportunity to do so.
Jones said she wanted to see an increase in teacher development and training, as well as mentoring opportunities for successful teachers to pass their experience onto new teachers.
In addition, Jones said better communication was necessary between the district and parents, as well as administrators and teachers. And she would work to “streamline” the district’s special education process for students and parents.
Baker said that the district currently suffered from a lack of communication. She said that basic information about the district and how it works should be easily available on the district’s website or in the district’s office.
“Our schools are too often a mystery and we [parents] don’t have dialogue,” Baker said.
Molokwu said he “supported teachers and parents,” and wanted to see students not spend so much time studying for exams. Students, he added, should focus on thinking creatively and problem solving.
