Volume LXXII, Number 9
Montgomery Life On Pages 12-15 Local Experts Seek to “Weed Out the Truth” . . 5 William J. Burns Talks Foreign Policy . . . . . . . 8 Celebrating Black History Month With Saunders and Whitehead . . . . . . . . 17 WCC Presents Best of Conservatory Performance . . . . . . . 22 PU Men’s Hoops Star Bell Hits 1,000-point Milestone. . . . . . . . . . 27 PHS Boys’ Hockey Advances to State Public B Semifinals. . . . . . . . 30
“Son of the Community” Lance Liverman to Be Honored . . . . . . . . . . 10 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .20, 21 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 25 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Classified Ads. . . . . . . 35 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Music/Theater . . . . . . 23 New To Us . . . . . . . . . . 9 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 34 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 6 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . . 6
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Council Introduces Budget, Has Dialogue With Eisgruber At Monument Hall Meeting
The municipal budget for 2018 was officially introduced Monday at a meeting of Princeton Council. Also on the agenda was a visit from Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber, who took questions from the governing body but not from members of the public. This is the fifth year that Council has invited Eisgruber to engage in a dialogue. Questioning him has always been limited at these events to the governing body, Mayor Liz Lempert told a member of the public who was loudly critical of the proceedings. The woman became so unruly that the Princeton Police Department was summoned. Three officers stood at the rear of the room throughout much of the meeting, but she did not have to be removed and eventually left on her own. Budget
At $64.3 million, the 2018 budget represents a $1.8 million rise over last year. That means an increase of $41.86, or 1.03 percent, to taxpayers, said municipal administrator Marc Dashield. The average assessed value of homes in Princeton is projected at $837,074. More money from Princeton’s surplus will be used to cover much of the increase in the budget. There was a $1.6 million increase in the current fund surplus in 2017, Scott Sillars of the Citizens Finance Advisory Committee (CFAC) told the Council. The core debt has remained stable. Dashield said that budget expenditures increased by 2.9 percent. Salary and wages decreased by 2.77 percent, and general operating expenses went up by 5.23 percent. There are five percent fewer full-time employees in the municipality since 2015, due to reorganization in the health and police departments and Access Princeton. A public hearing on the proposed budget is March 26. Until then, CFAC and staff members will continue to look for additional savings, Lempert said.
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Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Identity of Westminster Buyer Heightens Concerns
Last week, Rider University revealed the identity of the company that is the prospective buyer for Westminster Choir College, with which Rider merged in 1991. Kaiwen Education Technology Company of China signed a non-binding term sheet for the $40 million purchase of Westminster’s Princeton campus, facilities, and programs. Contrary to providing a sigh of relief, the news has members of the Westminster community more concerned than ever about the proposed deal. The word “outrage” is used in a press release from Rider’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), which cites the fact that Kaiwen changed its name only two months ago from Jiangsu Zhongtai Bridge Steel Structure Co. Ltd. The prospective buyer owns two Chinese K-12 academies, which were established only a few years ago. “We were sold on the idea that they’ve had extensive experience in education,” said Elizabeth Scheiber, the chapter president and a professor of French and Italian at Westminster. “But it looks like it’s only recent experience. The website doesn’t look like they’re even doing high school right now. They don’t have a lot of experience in education at all. That has some
alarm bells going off, to say the least.” First announced last year, the sale of the renowned music school — which also includes the community music school Westminster Conservatory — is controversial. It is the subject of two lawsuits, one of which, from Princeton Theological Seminary, was announced a day before Kaiwen was named. “It’s inconceivable that there could be any sale if there are lawsuits that need to be solved,” said Bruce Afran, the attorney
representing alumni in one of those suits, which is in federal court. “If they attempt it, we will seek injunctions.” Princeton Seminary’s suit claims that donor Sophia Strong Taylor gave 28 acres of land to Westminster in 1935, and the terms required Westminster to always operate as a choir college. The federal suit challenges the legal right to sell the college, according to the terms of the 1991 merger with Rider. Continued on Page 4
Schools Prepare for Facilities Referendum, With Designs and New Learning Paradigms As Princeton Public Schools prepare to submit preliminary designs to the New Jersey Department of Education (DOE) in preparation for the October 2 Facilities Referendum, the need for more space is clear, but the question of what sort of space is still under discussion. PPS Superintendent Steve Cochrane emphasized widespread participation in the planning process. “We are particularly pleased with the level of involvement from our students, our staff, and our community in helping shape the plans for the referendum. We have established a direction
— from designing classrooms that will allow for more flexible learning to enhancing facilities for athletics to incorporating commitment to sustainability — that will support the skills our students need to flourish now and in the future.” Commenting on the coordination of educational and practical goals, Cochrane continued, “Interestingly, it is those same skills — creativity, collaboration, authentic problem-solving — that we are modeling as a community as we work together to develop the most educationally and Continued on Page 11
Eisgruber
Members of Council took turns asking the University president about town/ gown issues. Tim Quinn focused on the school’s campus plan for expansion, questioning economic implications for the municipality. Specifically, he asked that if a hotel is built, it be on the Princeton side of University property, rather than West Windsor. Continued on Page 11
WINE RELEASE WEEKEND: Bob Brown and Ellie Suttmeier passed out samples of Terhune Orchards’ newly-released Traminette and Heritage Chardonnay at last weekend’s Wine Release event in Terhune’s new wine barn. Musicians Jerry Steele and Larry Tritel provided live music for the festivities. (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)