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League of Women Voters and Princeton TV To Host Virtual Forum With BOE Candidates
To the Editor:
The League of Women Voters of the Princeton Area and Princeton Community Television will host a virtual forum with candidates running for the Princeton Board of Education on Wednesday, September 30 at 7:30 p.m. Questions for the candidates should be emailed to lwvprinceton@ gmail.com by September 27.
The forum can be viewed on Comcast channel 30 (Princeton only) and Verizon FiOS channel 45. It will be streamed on Princeton TV at princetontv.org, and at facebook.com/ PrincetonTelevision. A recording of the forum will be available on VOTE411.org, at Princeton TV’s sites and at lwvprinceton.org and facebook.com/LWVPRINCETON. It will be rebroadcast on PCTV. The candidates’ written responses to League questions will be available at VOTE411 after September 21.
Because of the pandemic, the November 3 general election will take place mainly as a vote-by-mail election. Please note: 1. Every active registered voter will receive a ballot in the mail. An active voter is one who has voted in the 2016 and/or 2018 general election. With the ballot, the voter will also receive a postage-paid envelope for returning the ballot. If returned through the mail, it must be postmarked by Election Day, November 3, and received no later than November 10 to be counted. Secure drop boxes will also be available in every county. Unlike the primary election, voters can also return their completed ballots personally to the poll workers at their polling place. 2. If you prefer to vote in person or did not receive a mail-in ballot, there will be a limited number of polling places. Instead of the usual sample ballot, you will receive notification of your new polling place. Voting will be done by provisional (paper) ballot, not with the familiar machine, because voters will already have received a vote-by-mail ballot. 3. Only voters with disabilities may vote in the machine. Proof of disability (a signed affidavit) is required. 4. The deadline for registering to vote is October 13. New Jersey now offers online registration. Visit voter.svrs. nj.gov/register. You may also download, sign, and mail the paper registration form.
For more information, visit the League’s website at lwvprinceton.org. To avoid problems, vote promptly and sign carefully and clearly; your ballot is accepted only if signatures match. CHRYSTAL SCHIVELL League of Women Voters of the Princeton Area Monroe Lane
Durbin’s Community Roles Demonstrate Ability To Listen and Work Collaboratively, Creatively
To the Editor:
As a fellow Princeton resident, my family and I have known Jean Durbin and her family for almost 15 years. Through the years, we have seen Jean’s strong commitment and service to our community. She has served our community in many different roles, either as a leader or
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a team member: Littlebrook PTO co-president, Princeton Little League, YMCA, Princeton Education Foundation, the Princeton Community Democratic Organization, and others.
Several years ago, I had the opportunity to work very closely with Jean as a co-chair for the Princeton Education Foundation Gala. I witnessed the tremendous passion and commitment that Jean has for our children and schools. As a Princeton Public Schools parent, she truly understands our experiences along with the gaps in resources and funding in our school district. Jean was a key factor in mobilizing our community to participate in our Gala committee and event, which resulted in over $70K in funds raised for our schools. Jean and I worked well as a team and I appreciated her thoughtful, organized approach to our work together.
Jean’s past community roles clearly demonstrate her ability to listen and work collaboratively and creatively. She brings an optimal mix of professional and volunteer experiences to address the challenges that our schools are facing, including educating our children during a global pandemic and addressing injustices rooted in structural racism. Jean’s work with the Princeton Civil Rights Commission and her years of championing for those who have been historically disenfranchised or marginalized will serve her well as a Princeton Board of Education member.
Jean understands that we face projected budget shortfalls stemming from the economic crisis, and she is prepared to work as part of a team to address this challenge. She will bring deep experience, strength, and commitment to the Board of Education to help foster innovative problem solving to support the success of all our children. She will work to ensure that all our children have the opportunities and tools to live lives of joy and purpose and become knowledgeable, successful, and compassionate individuals.
Please join me in voting for Jean Durbin (Column L) for the Princeton Board of Education. G. NORMANDIN Crooked Tree Lane
To the Editor:
While I’m thrilled to see so many candidates for the Board of Education (BoE), I fear splitting the vote, i.e., not changing anything. Voters have tried for years to elect a communitysupportive BoE majority. The odds are tough because the BoE’s mailing list dependably covers a majority of those who actually vote. (This year’s vote is all mail-in. In-person votes will be provisional votes, subject to rejection on technicalities. If you want your vote to count, vote the moment your ballot arrives. Call the Mercer County Board of Elections the following week at (609) 989-6773 to be sure it’s counted.)
Because this BoE needs a new majority, ready to work on January 1, I have listened for all eight candidates’ views on the BoE’s 2018-2020 accomplishments. Here’s a review:
Although Cranbury residents pay less in school taxes while you pay more and more, the BoE majority voted to accept Cranbury’s 280 students for no additional contribution, and to expand PHS to accommodate them.
The majority passed that $29M bond for “critical” fixes including $330K for a concession stand, six toilets (for sports events at PHS although the industry standard is one-two; mrcesspool.com/plan_event.htm), outdoor water fountains (useless in winter), and baseball dugouts.
Although BoE presidents start public meetings by promis ing “joy and learning for all students,” opportunity gaps persist for all but the luckiest. Teachers and parents alike report abuses — failures to see systemic shortcomings that might require little to resolve. Yet the current majority supported a “chain of command” that sends complaints to the top, where teachers and families report that they got no response.
BoE’s are elected to be informed leaders, to advise and, yes, supervise the superintendent of schools. Yet one member of the majority recently voted “Yes,” claiming not to “know enough” about the issue to vote “No.”
It’s time to fill all three available seats for a BoE that doesn’t accept received wisdom. The BoE has 10 members. It needs a majority of six who are sensible, independent, and therefore unbeatable, and fix the gaps in opportunity and achievement for students of all colors, of all income and skill levels. The schools know which children are suffering because they alone know every child’s grades. And they need not just to nod heads and agree, but to change!
Pick your three candidates in the row of eight for the BoE — it’s not at the top of the page. Use all three of your votes: your choices affect your town, your taxes, your neighbor’s child.
Three seats, three votes — a strong new majority.
I’m watching for three candidates who will think and act fairly, intelligently, and with sensitivity for those most in need. Our country and our economy need schools that meet our promise: lives of joy and learning for all students. MARY CLURMAN Harris Road
Resident Extends Thanks to Recreation Dept. and Community Park Pool Staff
To the Editor:
I’d like to publicly thank the Princeton Recreation Department and Community Park Pool staff for opening the pool this summer.
Being able to swim laps and run into friends provided some feeling of “normal” during this unprecedented time. I truly appreciate their willingness to open and staff the facility. GAY BITTER Moore Street Asking Princeton to Reopen River Road Convenience Center For Residents’ Use To the Editor: With Mercer County’s mid-September hazardous and electronic recycling days coming up, wouldn’t it be excellent if Princeton reopened its River Road Convenience Center again? The facility closed due to corruption by one or two Sewer Operating Committee employees and illegal dumping of hazardous waste at the site by a contractor. Prior to this, however, SOC had already moved its two dumpsters for Princeton residents’ use (after purchase of the necessary coupon) to the front of the site, near River 15 • TOWN TOPICS, PRINCETON, N.J., Road. This new location may not be in the area affected WE by the illegally dumped waste. Why can’t the town re-open the Center? I am surely not the only one still with coupons d NES and plenty of stuff to throw out. When will us back our dump? Princeton give day, ROBERT MILEVSKI Mount Lucas Road SEPTE Behrend Has Used Organizational Skills, Diplomatic Temperament, Clear Thinking to Advance Schools To the Editor, I write to endorse Beth Behrend for re-election to the Princmb ER 16, 2020 eton School Board, where she has served as Board president for the last two years. I worked with Beth on the board of The Watershed Institute prior to her election to the School Board and as a result was confident that our schools and taxpayers would benefit from her election to the Board three years ago. I also serve on Princeton’s Citizens Finance Advisory Committee and understand the significant impact that our public schools have on taxpayers’ wallets.
Beth has now established a record of leadership that proves she is the right person for such a challenging and important position. Beth has used her organizational skills, diplomatic temperament, clear thinking, and strong work ethic to advance our schools on so many fronts: financial transparency and budgeting, equity and racial literacy, community engagement and collaboration, and navigating the rapid shift to remote learning while addressing the ongoing challenges of meeting student educational, emotional, and nutritional needs in a pandemic. These are just a few of many examples.
When Beth came to Board leadership, there was little financial transparency, little to no fund balance (which is the liquidity cushion needed to properly manage a $100 million+ enterprise), and the Board was forced to cut staff (despite growing enrollment) to balance the budget. Under Beth’s leadership, the Board and administration, working as a team, have put the district’s financial house back in order, have saved money and stabilized district finances, begun addressing long-overdue facilities maintenance issues, and made real progress towards equity (by among other things, leveling the technology playing field through a revenue-neutral technology initiative).
Princeton is rightly proud of its public schools. We are determined to provide an excellent education to our kids regardless of who they are or where they come from. We are also concerned about community affordability. It makes for very complex equation that we rely on our School Board to continually solve. In Beth I think we have the right person to lead that charge and that’s why I endorse her. I urge everyone to cast their ballot to reelect Beth Behrend to the Princeton School Board on November 3rd. SCOTT SILLARS Patton Avenue
Arts Council Interim Executive Director Passes Along Two Things in Particular
To the Editor:
I had the honor and pleasure of serving as the interim executive director of the Arts Council of Princeton for the past two years. It was a labor of love. However much I put into the organization, I received back so much more. To be a part of the team that does so much for Princeton and the surrounding communities, particularly the underserved, was thoroughly rewarding. Two things in particular that I learned that I’d like to pass along.
I’m a little embarrassed to admit that in my 23 years of living in Princeton prior to being ED, I was not sufficiently aware of the history of the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood. The Arts Council takes very seriously its commitment to serve all the residents of this neighborhood and to respect the historical roots of our building as the Black YMCA and the neighborhood community center during the last half of the 20 th century. In these times when many of us have committed to learning what we can about the roots of systemic racism, I’d encourage everyone to read I Hear My People Singing – Voices of African American Princeton by Kathryn Watterson. It is bracing to learn why Princeton had been referred to as “the North’s most southern town” and to realize we all have plenty of work to do right here in our own backyard.
I also learned that, despite serving on the Board of the Arts Council for four years before taking the ED position, I still didn’t know the breadth and depth of everything that the Arts Council does. It is truly amazing to realize that each year a small, committed team produces multiple gallery shows; hundreds of arts education classes and camps; a diverse range of public events that draw thousands of participants (not to mention Communiversity); outreach programs that bring arts education and experiences to seniors, low income youth, neuro-atypical teens and adults, and hospital patients; and so much more.
Princeton wouldn’t be nearly as creative or vibrant without the Arts Council. It deserves your support to keep it thriving. JIM LEVINE Linden Lane
