Brick Candidate Profile: Lawrence Reid

Profiles of the candidates for the Brick Township Board of Education are being presented for informational purposes.

Responses are unedited.

Candidate’s Name: Lawrence K. Reid

Employer/Job: Retired. Broad business experience working for large corporations as well as owning several small businesses. My background is financial analysis, along with sales and marketing.

How long have you lived in Brick? Full time resident since 2007, Summer house in Brick since 1956.

Have you ever held elected office or served as an appointee to any government board (where and when)?

Served on the Brick Board of Education from May 2011 until December 2014. Chairman of the Finance and Operations committee for the full time, and Chairman of the Facilities committee for 2013 and 2014.

1. With all the concerns that Brick students are not keeping pace academically with their peers, what do you feel is the best course of action to help them improve?

To help Brick students compete with their peers, Brick needs to increase the early learning for all 3 and 4 year old children in the District. While serving my term on the BOE, we increased the kindergarten program from a half day to a Full Day class. Other Districts around NJ are providing early education for pre-school ages, and this is the best way to give all students a head start in their learning experience.

Brick school administrators should be focused on increasing the graduation rate for both high schools. In addition, a priority should be placed on increasing the number of students taking advanced placement courses, and the availability of these courses in all subjects in both high schools. Another priority is making sure our special education students are receiving all the services that are appropriate for each individual.

Our Brick school district should be initiating a program of Academies to focus students on specific areas of study such as STEM (science, technology and math) where the majority of new, high paying jobs are being created in the marketplace. Additionally, our District should be partnering with Ocean County College and Georgian Court University to bring in programs for both students and parents that will highlight what exactly is needed to be fully prepared for college.

2. Governor Christie has said he wants to drop the state’s support of Common Core. Do you feel this will help or hurt the goal of improving students’ preparation for college and the working world?

I support Governor Christie’s effort to drop support of Common Core, and will not hurt students’ preparation for college and the working world. The initiatives mentioned in Question 1 will help preparation, along with an increase in vocational opportunities and skills training in our County vocational schools.

3. It’s no secret that residents of Brick (like so many towns) believe we are spending too much in taxes to support the schools. How do you propose to balance the voters’ desire for no increases with the needs of students and the buildings and grounds where they are educated? What is your top priority?

I propose to balance budgetary restraint with the needs of students and improvements in facilities the same way I did as Chairman of the Finance and Operations Committee of the BOE for the 3-1/2 years from 2011 to 2014: looking for operational efficiencies that save money and use those savings to buy computers, add educational programs, and upgrade Brick school facilities. I worked with the District Administration and fellow BOE members to implement a new Worker’s Compensation Insurance plan that saved the District over $1 million for the 2014-2015 school year. Additionally, we worked with the Cafeteria Staff and Central Administration to turn a money losing Food Service department into a profit source of funds to be used to keep the budget under control for three years. It can be done, but it must be the Board of Education members who take the leadership role in looking for areas where taxpayer dollars can been used more efficiently and effectively to benefit student achievement.

4. Why (in 75 words or fewer) are you the best candidate for the school board?

I am the best candidate because of my educational background (Master’s Degree in Business Administration) and my broad experience in business allowing me to understand all the components of the Brick’s $145 million school budget. I have the experience of serving on the Bd of Ed for 3-1/2 years, and working with Administration and fellow Board members to find the operational efficiencies needed to fund the following:a) $2 to $3 million in capital improvements budgeted each yearb) Adding laptop computers for all High School and Middle School students as part of our “1 to 1” computer initiativec) Adding a full day Kindergarten program, along with new reading and math programs This was all accomplished while holding the school tax levy increase to a total of 1% over three years.

I need your vote to allow me to continue serving the students and taxpayers of Brick.