The SOMA for Sensible Refocus on Students (formerly the SOMA for a Safe Return to School) Facebook group hosted a debate for all five South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education candidates on Sunday, October 23 at 8 p.m. The forum was streamed and recorded.
The five candidates include the three candidates who filed to run by the July deadline and appear on the ballot: Shayna Sackett-Gable, Liz Callahan and Will Meyer, as well as two candidates, Jeff Bennett and Anthony Mazzocchi, who announced a write-in campaign on October 7.
Opening statements begin at the 2:00-minute mark. Each candidate had one minute for an introduction, starting with Bennett, followed by Mazzocchi, Callahan, Meyer, and Sackett-Gable.
The questions:
Superintendent Renewal
8:50 — If asked to vote to renew Taylor’s contract today based on all the information available to you, would you vote to renew. A yes or no answer is required, but feel free to add context (Meyer did not answer yes or no, saying it was necessary to build consensus in evaluating Taylor and to have “trustworthy, competent, level-headed and informed folks on the board” to supervise the superintendent; Mazzocchi answered “no,” saying he “had lost confidence” in Taylor, that “we can do better” and noting that Taylor had been retained past the state average of 3.5 years; Bennett answered “no,” saying he hoped that the superintendent would resign but would “vote against renewal”; Callahan did not answer yes or no but said “it would take a lot to convince me that we are on the right path with our current superintendent”; and Sackett-Gable did not answer yes or no but talked about “making the transition as smooth as possible” should there be a change in leadership.)
Deleveling
19:20 —What are your views on deleveling generally? pros and cons and what considerations would be required of such a policy to vote for it? (Order of response: Mazzocchi, Bennett, Callahan, Sackett-Gable, Meyer). All the candidates spoke out against the current proposal and indicated a desire to work on the 23 Fergus recommendations.
Transparency and Communication
30:45 — On many policies including busing, deleveling and even the banning of Halloween parties, many teachers and parents have voiced frustration with the lack of transparency and communication. What would you do to improve both transparency in decision making and engagement with stakeholders? (Bennett, Callahan, Sackett-Gable, Meyer, Mazzocchi)
Transportation
42:00 — Parents, teachers and school administrators have voiced concerns with major flaws in the current transportation system, one of which is chronic late arrivals to school. however some Board members and district officials claim the current transportation situation is a success and has fulfilled the community’s vision. Do you agree and if not, how would you address the issue? (Order of response: Callahan, Sackett-Gable, Meyer, Mazzocchi, Bennett — all candidates responded “no” to the assertion that transportation has been a success so far this year.)
Special Education
53:50 — The district currently has as many as 15 vacancies for special education teachers, compared to an average of 3 vacancies in surrounding districts. Parents and teachers agree that lack of resources and other problems such as reliance on paraprofessionals has resulted in a crisis for our special education program. How would you improve the experiences of special education students in the district? (Order of response: Sackett-Gable, Meyer, Mazzocchi, Bennett, Callahan)
Closing Statements
1:05:15 (Sackett-Gable, Meyer, Callahan, Mazzocchi, Bennett)
