Bernards School Board Election 2022: Csilla Csipak

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Bernards Township Board of Education general election on Nov. 8 has nine candidates running for four open seats.

Csilla Csipak is running under the campaign slogan "For Bernards Children" along with Nimish Amin, Keith Molinari, and Lawrence Rascio.

Another group of candidates running under the campaign slogan "Education For All" includes Guddia "Herpreet" Singh, Erica Blackman, Janice Corrado, and Suzanne Schafer-Skalski.

Deborah E. Penner Smith is also running on her own under the campaign slogan "Special Education Teacher."

Csipak is vying for one of the three, three-year full-term seats up for grabs.

Are you running for office in Basking Ridge? Contact Alexis Tarrazi at alexis.tarrazi@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Basking Ridge Patch.

(All of the candidates were given the same questions)

Csilla Csipak

Age: 46

Town of residence: Bernards Township

Position sought: Board of Education member

Family: Married, with 2 kids

Education: M.Sc. in Architectural Engineering, Technical University of Budapest, Budapest, 2000. (Department of Public Building Design)

Occupation: Homemaker since the pandemic started (previously employed as industrial designer)

Previous or current elected appointed office: none

Campaign website: www.forbernardschildren.com

Why are you seeking to run for School Board?

With one of my daughters in college and the other settled in primary school, I now have sufficient time to dedicate my knowledge and experience to a significant volunteering position. I would like to give back to the wonderful community that warmly welcomed me when we first moved to Bernards Township from California. I believe my professional background will contribute to resolving some of the issues confronting the School District so all children can benefit.

School finances have been an issue raised recently. Do you feel the Board and administration are handling this properly? And why?

The School District approved a budget of $111 Million and the rolling debt of $59 million in June of this year. They borrowed to pay for planned expansions of the cafeterias which never happened and instead our children many times are eating their lunches in corridors, at their desks or outside on the curb. Our children deserve to have their meals in well-designed, welcoming spaces sufficient for all of them to spend some time together while getting the nourishment they need.

The budget being that much every year, brings up another question: How is it possible that we are not able to address the upkeep of the softball fields, and that the girls themselves must complain to the Board about how dangerous those fields are?

Many residents of the township have published their opinion that the School District should be able to manage both its budgeting and spending much more transparently and prudently. We, as the 4 “For Bernards Children” candidates completely agree with this view, and once elected, we will approach this challenge with increased attention to the views of the community and with spending to focus on academics, athletics, and special needs of ALL our students.

How do you feel about the current sex-ed curriculum in the district?

It is my observation that the School District’s Administration is not listening to the residents who have spoken up and published their opinions. Individual School Districts have considerable freedom in how these new health curriculum standards are being interpreted and applied.

Community input is important, should be sought after and then making the decisions that is in harmony with the local setting, culture, and context.

This is how it could happen that some of the towns in NJ adapted the standards while others like the adjacent Warren rejected them.

Many parents feel the current BOE does not give them the respect they deserve and the “voice” they ask for. The opinions that I repeatedly hear from many Chinese, Indian, European and American families of the district, emphasize that parents should always have a say in their child’s education, and that it needs to be age-appropriate, aligned with parental and cultural values.

Should there be parents who prefer their children to be taught these specific topics by a health and wellness instructor instead of themselves at home, they should have the opportunity to “opt-in” for those elective courses without affecting the rest of the children’s learning schedule.

In schools, we believe, students should be taught how to think and not what to think.

Would you be in favor of a later school start time for students?

Yes, I am in favor. My careful interpretation from various scientific analysis is that a later start would be beneficial for students, as their peak performance is not in the early hours of the day, furthermore their overall performance would also increase, if they could (a little bit) extend their sleeping hours.

Understandably the current early start is important to the families where parents leave early to their jobs, but with the recent changes to our work environment like switching to remote office work at many companies, this might be a good time to try out the later start that benefits the children more. With an improved and reliable bus service, healthy nutritional food choices in the cafeterias, middle and high school students would be able to get to schools more independently and we could all consider adjusting our morning schedule to a later start. Obviously, this is an important question, thus first we should learn the opinion of the families and debate several alternatives.

What other issues do you feel need to be tackled in the school district?

1. As a naturalized citizen of this country, choosing to live in this beautiful and welcoming township, I believe the school board needs to listen respectfully to all the parents, taking the diverse thoughts into consideration respecting the different life experiences of the residents from all around the world, and to make intelligent, evidence-based decisions.
2. From our analyses, currently our teachers are in average underpaid compared to the school administrators reviewing the statewide public data. Teachers are the school’s greatest asset, that is why teachers should be shown the respect they deserve, appropriately rewarded, and not overburdened with tasks.
3. Speaking to parents in the township, I find that the quality and the choices of the food offered in our cafeterias could be significantly improved. Every child deserves healthy nutritious food options both for their brain and physical development. Further, we should also respectfully consider the cultural and religious needs of many of the parents in our district who would prefer vegetarian or dairy-free options for their children. It is very surprising to me that a School District of this wealth with $111 Million budget still struggles to address the issue.

What sets you apart from the other challenging candidates?

I am a trained engineer and a curious individual by nature, who by careful research, considers all aspects of life before proceeding forward. As an architect with experience in financial planning, I can be an asset in connection with capital projects, which are pending in the school district, such as expansion of the cafeterias and revitalizing classrooms. With smart design considerations, I would be able to help improving accessibility of the buildings to make our schools more welcoming for children with disabilities. I would bring my professional expertise to create the best possible infrastructure and learning environment for all of our children.

I would like to see girls in our School District inspired and encouraged to go to STEM fields. I strongly believe our daughters can take on any role they dream about. Our country needs a new generation of well trained doctors, scientist, engineers, and a forward-looking effort put in building a strong base for research and development. This is the bright future of ours, let’s do this all together!

What else would you like to share about yourself or your campaign?

I personally find it very important to listen respectfully to all the different views, study available data, have meaningful conversations with teachers and parents before making a thoughtful decision that affects our dear children. As an immigrant to the United States, I share the American dream that brought many of us here, seeking equal opportunity and a safe environment to raise our family in a School District that matches the taxes we pay.

I believe with the diversity of backgrounds, skills and thoughts, our team For Bernards Children with Nimish Amin, Keith Molinari, Larry Rascio and myself will bring new ideas and practical solutions to solve several issues the school district is currently failing to address properly. We want this school district to succeed in giving the children the knowledge, strength, and the means to become our society’s prosperous next generation.