Bridgewater-Raritan School Board Election 2022: Steven Singer

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Bridgewater-Raritan Regional Board of Education general election on Nov. 8 has seven candidates running for four open seats.

Incumbent Steven Singer is running under the campaign slogan "Singer for BRRSD" for one of the three, three-year full-term seats representing Bridgewater.

Opposing candidates include Saad Toor, Emily Calistri, Sally Bartlett, Lynne Hurley, Lanfang "Lucy" li, and June Wang.

There is also one, one-year unexpired seat representing Raritan open. There are no candidates for that seat at the moment.

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

(All of the candidates were given the same questions)

Steven Singer

Age: 46

Town of residence: Bridgewater

Position sought: Reelection to the Board of Education

Family: wife and 2 children

Education: Rutgers University BA 1998; Rutgers University MBA 1999; Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law JD 2002

Occupation: Attorney

Previous or current elected appointed office: Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education

Campaign website: N/A

Why are you seeking to run for School Board?

I have been honored to represent the Bridgewater community as a member of the Board of Education for the past three years. I am often asked why I decided to run for the Board of Education. It was not to advocate for a particular program or as a reaction to any particular situation. My children have had wonderful teachers at every level in this district and I have had the pleasure to meet many great staff, administrators, coaches, and parents over the past decade. I am running for reelection to the Board because I believe my knowledge and experience as member of the Board of Education can help ensure that the district’s goal of providing a quality, affordable education for each and every student continues to be met.

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

School security is the responsibility of the Superintendent and his administration. The procedures followed by the schools concerning security are, by necessity, strictly confidential; the publication of security details weakens the integrity of security in the school. However, the Board and district administration has exercised transparency with regard to the staffing of security. There have been numerous presentations and reports on the staffing of security, both internally and externally, at Board meetings since April.

The Superintendent has proposed a complete plan to expand security coverage throughout the district. The Board has approved the addition of security personnel to our BR staff with incredible work histories which include working as School Resource Officers (SRO) and Class 3 officers, instructing officers on the implementation of the SRO program in other school districts, training New Jersey State Police officers on firearms safety, serving as a D.A.R.E. instructor, coordinating school safety drills, and working presidential security details, among other achievements too numerous to include here. The district is fortunate to have these accomplished professionals on our staff.

The plan proposed by the Superintendent is not one that forges unexplored territory. Many comparable districts in our area, including Watchung Hills, Edison, Piscawatay, and East Brunswick, successfully employ campus monitors to supplement Class 3 officers and School Resource Officers provided in collaboration with their municipalities. It has worked in other districts, there is no reason it would not work in Bridgewater.

A referendum is in the works looking to focus on fixing school building infrastructure and adding full-day kindergarten. How do you feel about this?

It will come as no surprise that I support the upcoming referendum. I served as chair of the Finance, Facilities, and Transportation Committee while the audit of school facilities was taking place and as president of the Board when the referendum plans were presented to the district. This referendum allows the district to make necessary improvements to buildings in each of our schools, many of which were constructed 60 years ago. In the warm months of June and September (and May, and October), our students and staff sit in classrooms without air conditioning. These are not the best conditions for learning or teaching, and the referendum will directly tackle this need throughout the district. School entrances will undergo renovations to enhance security, which is always a top priority for the Board and the administration. Improvements will be made to the field house, which is the face of our athletics program, including remodeled restroom facilities. Many other updates included in the proposed referendum cover areas that will allow the school facilities to function for years to come. This portion of the referendum is comprehensive, touches every school in the district, and is vital to the continued success of our students and staff. The Board has made difficult choices and devoted significant attention to keeping this first portion of the referendum as close to tax-neutral as possible in an effort to keep taxes level. This referendum is an investment that will benefit our students and the residents of Bridgewater for years to come.

The second portion of the referendum focuses on providing room in our elementary schools for a full-day kindergarten program. The implementation of full day kindergarten in our district will have a demonstrable impact on the fundamental reading and math skills of our students, particularly those children who may not have access to alternative full day kindergarten programs, throughout their scholastic careers. The district administration has come up with a cost-effective and more time-effective way to implement full day kindergarten, which provides the opportunity to align curriculum by returning the 6th grade to the middle school. While this second portion of the referendum is accompanied by a tax increase, the tax impact is estimated to be less than $120 per year for the average assessed home in Bridgewater. The educational benefits to our children and future generations of Bridgewater residents will be far greater. I support the district’s plan and hope that our community members will help us make full day kindergarten a reality for our families.

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

The district tackles tough issues on a day-to-day basis, made all the more difficult by state and nation-wide staff shortages on multiple levels. The district is still grappling with a shortage of transportation staff, which is reflected in the continuation of last year’s change to school schedules. Although BR benefits from being viewed as an enticing destination, districts around the state and nation are facing shortages of nursing staff, substitute teachers, and qualified subject area teachers. Our district has taken a proactive approach to these issues; making necessary changes to salaries, bringing back the student-teacher program, and engaging potential candidates at job fairs are just a few of the steps taken by the administration to tackle this issue. We have amazing staff at all levels in our schools, which is something that can never be taken for granted. At the same time, the district has to contend with high inflation rates and a budget capped at 2% increases, making budgeting increasingly difficult. This all requires foresight to determine where to best direct our scarce resources, both in terms of staffing and budgeting. Our administration is top notch and up to the challenges the district faces in the future.

What sets you apart from the other challenging candidates?

What sets me apart from the candidates hoping to get a seat on the Board is my experience as a Board member and my commitment to serving the community. In my short time on the Board, I have been appointed chair of the Finance, Facilities, and Transportation Committee and, last January, unanimously elected President of the Board of Education. As President, I have had the opportunity to sit in on all of the committee meetings, giving me insight into all aspects of the district. As a third year member of the Board, I understand the extensive time and effort required to effectively serve this community.

Prior to my election to the Board, I served my community in other ways. I was treasurer of the Adamsville School PTO for four years. I served on the steering committee that developed the district’s most recent strategic plan. In addition, I was appointed in 2017 by the Mayor of Bridgewater to serve on the Township’s Camp Cromwell Development Task Force. If elected, I will continue to serve the community to the best of my ability.

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

My family has lived in Bridgewater for nearly 20 years and my children have grown up in the Bridgewater-Raritan school district. Our journey through the many levels of our school district has been a positive one, as I hope is the case for most of our students and their parents.

Bridgewater-Raritan has a great reputation, with so much to be proud of in academics, arts, and athletics. My goal as a Board member is to ensure that all students continue to benefit from the amazing staff and wonderful opportunities that are the hallmark of Bridgewater-Raritan for years to come.