May 30, 2012

With summer’s approach, the Princeton Regional Board of Education will begin the task of changing the headings of all of its policies and documents to “Princeton Public Schools,” in accordance with a consensus reached at the Board’s recent organizational meeting. The new name reflects the fact that the system will be serving the consolidated Princetons in the near future, and will no longer qualify as a district.

Finance Committee Chair Dan Haughton also acknowledged the coming end of the school and fiscal years in his comments at last week’s meeting. “We’re finishing up the year in good financial shape,” he reported. “We’re looking at a $2 million unencumbered balance that can be moved forward for next year’s budget.” He attributed the windfall to lower-cost health benefits than had been anticipated, and the fact that a proposed charter school will not be opening in the fall.

Participation in a consortium for utilities will also save the schools some $74,000 in the coming year, Mr. Haughton noted.

Chair Dorothy Bedford reported that the Facilities Committee is preparing a final list of proposed infrastructure projects for 2013-14, including accurate construction estimates. She described the projects as falling into four categories: energy efficiency; safety and security; stewardship and assets; and improvements and upgrades.

The 2013-14 school year will also see the implementation of a new teacher evaluation system, said personnel committee Chair Martha Land, and consideration is being given to applying for one of the ten competitive grants being offered by the state to schools that preview a new principal evaluation program.

The Student Achievement Committee will focus on improvements to the English as a Second Language program; social and emotional learning; and student wellness issues, said Chair Andrea Spall. They will examine the use of high school peer groups; the use of student intervention; and the general learning environment. Conversations about “improvements to the elementary school schedule,” will continue, reported Ms. Spalla.

The Board gave the go-head to Chartwells Food Services for a fourth year in a five-year contract, but deferred a self-evaluation report until its next meeting.


March 7, 2012

Describing it as “a remarkable work,” because it is based on only a one percent increase from last year, the Princeton Regional Board of Education approved a tentative total operating budget of $75,607,106 for the 2012-13 school year. With the inclusion of total grants and entitlements ($4,267,340) and repayment of debt totals ($4,512,325) the total budget comes to $82,386,771. The local tax levy on the projected budget will be $67,926,798.

“Although our state aid increased, it increased by only $100,000,” reported Superintendent Judy Wilson at last week’s Board of Education meeting. “We were certainly hoping for more.” She noted that even with the additional money, the district’s reinstatement of the aid lost in the spring of 2010 was still at only 54 percent.

Following approval by the County and State, area residents will have a chance to weigh in on the proposed budget at public meetings at the end of March. Ms. Wilson said that details of the budget will be posted on the District’s website in the coming weeks. Residents of the Borough and the Township will get to vote on the budget at the upcoming April 17 election.

It was noted that the budget does not provide for building improvements or new technology, and, later at the meeting, Finance Committee member Dorothy Bedford reported on the withdrawal of money from the District’s capital reserve account for improvements in building safety and security. The installation of solar panels is also being explored in an effort to reduce cash outflow for energy expenses, she said.

Candidates who filed for election to the school board by the February 27 cut-off date include Borough residents Dudley Sipprelle and Martha Land, who will be vying for two vacant seats along with current president Rebecca Cox, who is running for reelection. In the Township, where there is one vacancy, only one candidate, Patrick Sullivan, came forward to to run. Area residents will be voting for new school board members as well as a new budget at the April 17 election.

Describing “teacher evaluation” as “a hot topic in our nation,” Ms. Wilson reported that the District has received new guidelines “to work our way through during the next 18 months” until implementation in September 2013. “Stay tuned,” she counseled, noting that there will be “a lot of information” and “a lot of work.”

Patrick Lenihan, Supervisor of Visual and Performing Arts, presented a very well received presentation on District programs in visual arts, drama, dance, and music. “Participation in an arts program is critical to every student,” he observed. The District’s “special relationship” with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra was noted with particular appreciation.


February 15, 2012

The Princeton Regional Board of Education made three particularly significant decisions at its “special” meeting last Tuesday evening. Board members unanimously approved a contract already ratified by the Princeton Regional Educational Association; unanimously chose to keep board elections in April rather than moving them to November; and, in a five-to-four vote, selected “Princeton Public Schools” as the new name for the district.

“We believe this is a fair contract for teachers, taxpayers, and the community at large,” noted Board President Rebecca Cox in her comments about the new agreement. It “comes within the tax-cap restrictions over its three year term and addresses the main concerns of the union and the Board.”

The new contract will be effective retroactively from July 2011, and runs through June, 2014.

In the first year of the contract, teachers will be frozen in their position on the salary guide, except for longevity, and will receive a cash payment based on a degree level that starts at $1,250. The second year’s increase of 2.78 per cent “takes into account higher health care contributions as mandated by the state, as well as the union’s desire to maintain the current salary guide structure,” said Ms. Cox. The third year’s increase of 2.5 percent, she added, “is offset by the phasing out of our two most expensive health care plans, which will cease to be offered after June 2014.”

“Reducing the overall cost of our health plans has been a goal of the district for many years because of the unpredictable nature of the increases from one year to the next,” noted Ms. Cox. “As part of the negotiations process and estimation of the overall cost of the contract, we have projected annual increases of 10 percent.”

Emotions ran high during the Board’s discussion of whether or not to move elections to November. A November election would have precluded an opportunity for residents to vote on the school budget. The benefits of a larger turnout for November elections and cost savings of approximately $40,000 were offset by members’ concern that political issues might cloud perceptions of school elections.

“I believe it is healthy for us as members of the Board to have to present the budget to our neighbors instead of hiding behind state-issued caps,” said Charles Kalmbach, whose prepared comments for the evening have been posted on the Board’s website www.prs.k12.nj.us.

Mr. Kalmbach noted that district initiatives, such as the current PowerUp campaign, are successful because citizens have direct knowledge of school finances and the choices the school board makes. As the economy recovers, he noted, “boards once again will have meaningful choices to make.” He described the attempt to hold a “non-partisan” election simultaneously with a general election” as “a charade.”

Ms. Cox concurred with Mr. Kalmbach’s displeasure at state controls, citing the “new rules” issued “every day” that “erode local control.”

“Princeton’s Board has a long-standing belief in local control and has a history of opposing state measures that have had the effect of pushing aside the interests of citizens and their elected officials in favor of expedience,” added vice-president Tim Quinn.

School Superintendent Judy Wilson acknowledged that moving the election was a “complex” question with many “layers,” including changes in polling places as a result of consolidation. In response to her comment about rules that would distinguish the appearance on the ballot of school board questions from other races in November, Mr. Kalmbach said that “prescribing how the typeface on the ballot should look is mismanagement.”

Noting that she was “one of the more fiscally conservative members of this Board” as well as the only “veteran of a partisan election,” Dorothy Bedford said that it was difficult for any candidate to really be heard amid the “airwaves full of messages” that surround November elections. Saying that she had come into the meeting that evening “thinking we would be safe with a November election” she reported that she had been persuaded by other board members that “that this might not be the right time.”

Ms. Wilson noted that “this is not a one-time window,” and that there will be other opportunities to revisit the question. As a result of keeping the April date, the expiration dates on school Board members’ terms will remain the same. This year’s election is scheduled for April 17.

A new name for the district was necessitated by the fact that, after consolidation, the schools will no longer comprise a “regional” district. Although the change was not required until January 1, 2013, school administration wanted to have the new name in place for the start of the next fiscal year in July of this year so that they could begin to incorporate it on an updated website, printed documents, banking transactions, etc.

The choices for the new name boiled down to just two: Princeton School District and Princeton Public Schools. An online survey elicited 537 responses from students, staff, parents, and other residents who showed a slight preference for using “Princeton School District.” The spirit implied by the word “public” ruled the day, however.

There will be a public budget workshop on Wednesday, February 22, at 7 p.m. at the Valley Road building. The next Board of Education meeting, which is rescheduled from February 21, will be on February 29 at 8 p.m. at John Witherspoon School.