Thoughts on the 2017 School Board candidates...

Ahhhh...the school board. Despite some personal connections, in general, I knew very little about this topic. But I'll tell ya, given the role the school board plays, I am ashamed of how little attention I have personally placed on this crucial body and their role in our community.

Believe it or not, this was one of the hardest articles to write. The reason is...we've got some really fine people running for school board. It is actually a testament to our community and amidst other current events, it felt great writing an article that could have an err of such positive energy.

Before I share my thoughts and findings on the candidates, themselves, let's first understand the role a school board plays. The following bullet points were copied from the Center For Public Education's website, which is an initiative by the National School Boards Association-

• The local school board is a critical public link to public schools. Whether elected or appointed, school board members serve their communities in several important ways.
• First and foremost school boards look out for students. Education is not a line item on the school board’s agenda—it is the only item.
• When making decisions about school programs, school boards incorporate their community’s view of what students should know and be able to do.
• School boards are accessible to the public and accountable for the performance of their schools.
• School boards are the education watchdog for their communities, ensuring that students get the best education for the tax dollars spent.

School boards also create, manage, and are accountable for educational budgets. This often also includes negotiating teacher contracts, bond referendums and more. That is a tough gig! And let's please remember that being on the school board is completely voluntary.

This is a seriously hard job. In one hand, you have parents with kids in schools who are eager to ensure the programs that are available are well-funded and managed. In contrast, you have others without kids, including seniors, who aren't thrilled with the tax burden placed on them. To some degree, I understand this argument- "I don't have any kids in the school, why should I be paying for it?"

The 2017 school board candidates-

Kim Barron
Peter DePasquale
Rick DeSilva Jr.
John Dinice
Ben Kezmarsky - (I did not receive responses from Ben but will update this article should he submit them)
Salvatore Trabona
Lynda Zaccone

Community Involvement

Every candidate owns their home in Mahwah and has been heavily involved in community service for years. Kim is an Education activist and has testified in Trenton before the NJ State Board of Education. She has also met with legislators to advocate for our students, teachers and schools. Further, Kim is also an active member of Mahwah CERT (Community Emergency Response Team). Peter has been a Cub Scout leader and actively coaches boys soccer. Rick is a member of our local Rotary Club and is actively involved in parent volunteer days at his children's school. For John, his current role as 2nd Vice President of Mahwah's current school board takes up a lot of time. Prior to holding this role, however, John was involved with the Mahwah Youth Sports League. Sal was the Director of the Mahwah Instructional Softball program for the past two seasons. Lynda is a founding member of the Helping Hands for Children Committee (founders of Mahwah Day), is an EMT and member of Mahwah Ambulance and Rescue Squad Co.

Ways to save money

I asked this question thinking that many of you would want to read the responses from each candidate on ways they feel Mahwah's schools can be more, fiscally responsible. But upon reading their responses, I found that this was a tough question to evaluate as I felt it could (potentially) create an unfair advantage for those who are currently serving on the school board. I have, therefore, purposely left out the responses to this question.

Why are you running?

Kim is re-running because she is proud of the way the board currently functions as compared to the dysfunction that she observed four years ago. Peter has a personal connection and passion to place more emphasis on improving the special education programs in Mahwah. He has seen places where there is room for improvement, in his view, and welcomes the chance to spearhead initiatives. Rick is re-running because he wants his daughters to experience the same quality education he received growing up in Mahwah, that he quickly saw others did not as he progressed into college. John believes that strong schools, make strong communities and enhance everyone's quality of life. He wants to continue to play a role in maintaining the quality and reputation of Mahwah's schools. Sal would like to restore the sense of family that, he feels, has been lost by the current administration. He believes that in recent years, there has been fracturing in the relationship between our educators, administration and board members. For Lynda, this is the first year she has been eligible to run for school board after retiring from teaching for 28 years. She feels that her unique perspective as a parent and educator, when coupled with her passion for Mahwah, will be a truly motivating factor in her focus on success for the district.

PARCC

To gauge their knowledge of PARCC testing, I positioned my question to each candidate as- "Which of the following statements most accurately describes PARCC?" Each candidate answered this correctly: It tests student achievement of the Common Core Standards for their grade.

When asking about PARCC, typical responses from most people I have asked in preparing for this article, ultimately proved to demonstrate that there are exactly four perspectives on the test- Hate it, don't mind it, it has potential, or what's PARCC?

Because of this, when I posed a question to the candidates on their feelings regarding the test, I wanted to ask in unique way. Therefore, I posed this question to them- When you were growing up, PARCC didn't exist. Why do you feel such a test would be needed today when it wasn't when you were a kid?

Here are their responses-

Kim Barron

“I personally do not believe in excessive standardized testing and I believe PARCC constitutes excessive testing. I have traveled to Trenton to testify against the use of the Common Core State Standards and PARCC.“

Kim noted a lot more in her response to this question and demonstrated a very firm stance and grasp of PARCC, as well as standardized testing as a whole.

Peter DePasquale

"When I was a kid PARCC did not exist, but there were standardized assessments in place that we routinely took. I do feel that assessment has its place and provides some potential, but I am concerned that we spend too much time teaching to the test and not working to provide a distinct experience for every child."

Rick DeSilva Jr

"When we grew up, we all sat for standardized testing, sometimes for a week at a time…remember those stupid ScanTron cards? I don’t remember what those tests were called, but they definitely existed when I was a kid, and I enjoyed sitting for them back then just as much as my kids do now.

The thing about standardized testing is that it sucks. It displaces instructional time, the results are not provided by the state in a timely manner, and whether it accurately predicts a student’s “Readiness for College and Career” is easily debatable…we all know kids that are brilliant but don’t test well, kids that can take the hell out of a test but have trouble applying what they know to real world situations, and kids everywhere in between.

The problem is accountability. Since our government sends a significant amount of tax money to school districts, the State and Federal elected officials charged with dispersing these funds need a way to hold districts accountable for how effectively this tax money is spent. So, how do you hold thousands of individual districts, each with their own challenges accountable for how they spend tax money? Standardized test results provide these governing bodies with data collected on a theoretically level playing field that can be used to measure the return that taxpayers are getting on their investment. Is it perfect? Not by a long shot…there are many factors that will influence these test results that cannot be accounted for, even when you try to account for these through the use of District Factor Groups. I have no doubt that someone is working on the next best thing, and that in a few years, PARCC will be a thing of the past, replaced by a “better” standardized test with an even fancier acronym."

John Dinice

"Simply put...the PARCC is just another standardized test. There has always been standardized tests in the public school, even when we were growing up, remember bringing the #2 pencil to class to fill in the tiny boxes. I'm not a fan of standardized testing and "teaching to the test" however I do see where it does have its place in identifying at risk students."

Salvatore Trabona

"I feel that standards and testing are a part of Education today, just as much as they have been in the past. When I was a child there were standardized state assessments to be taken just as the PARCC is required today. I believe there are benefits and drawbacks to any and all standardized testing."

Lynda Zaccone

"As far as I can remember, there has always been some type of standardized testing in the public schools. State officials touted the PARCC as a means of setting higher standards for learning and helping to improve school instruction.

According to state officials, the test was needed because students had been graduating without basic skills they needed to succeed in college and in their careers. In my opinion the PARCC is a better measure of college readiness than earlier state exams. The PARCC is needed because it allows us to see where kids are at, and provides feedback to both the teachers and the students."

What is differentiated instruction?

I asked each candidate to respond to this question without looking it up. Each candidate answered correctly. John had a unique take on this topic, stating- "Differentiated instruction to me is pretty much the opposite of Common Core. There are no common standards and it takes into consideration a students individual learning style. Assessments, therefore, are based on the students individual needs and abilities and not a set of grade level standards. We all learn differently so the teacher adjusts their instruction or learning method to accommodate each students learning needs."

These candidates really are fantastic. They all have a clear passion for the school board. I do have one question, however. Sal shared his concern over the relationship between our educators, administration and board members. As no other candidate brought this up, it leads me to wonder where he is deriving this from? I am not even remotely implying he is making this up. In fact, it would more likely be the case that do believe him and question why others aren't sharing this observation. There is no time for politics with our school board and I would implore parents, active with our schools, to identify what this concern is and not dismiss it solely because only one person is bringing it to the forefront.

Who are the winners? Again, I feel all of these candidates are strong. However, I would be remised if I did not share a summary of my thoughts after reading these responses. I think the school board, given its function, should have representation from parents, veteran educators, and business professionals. But allow me to please stress that I (personally) feel that by having too many representatives from any of these groups would not be favorable.

To me, Kim Barron won me over when she stated in one of her responses that "we hold administrators accountable while supporting them so they can perform their duties." This contradicts Sal's point I shared above. And so, I will reserve my total admiration for this statement until it can be proven/disproven as to how well-oiled this machine truly is. But, nonetheless, I want to be optimistic and this was one of the best sentences I could have read.

Rick DeSilva Jr. is also a standout to me. He comes across as incredibly competent. And no...I'm not looking for a good deal on a Subaru! :-) In all seriousness, each and every one of his responses was so well articulated, thought out...even formatted! This tells me he REALLY wants this, cares about the small details, and I, for one, look forward to pushing that button for Rick on November 7th.

Lynda Zaccone has a wealth of experience. When looking at her responses versus the others, my one fear is that there could be issues with her interacting with others on the board. That is not a negative against Lynda but rather a fear related to the board, as a whole. Will they be resistent to change if someone with a strong personality, such as Lynda, wins? The board needs to work well together. Silos and infighting achieve nothing.

Peter also mentioned STEM in one of his answers, which was not referenced above. The fact that he has an interest in this is very impressive and exciting to me on a personal level. I believe STEM and differentiated instruction are paramount in improving student competency and achievements. However, this is absolutely my opinion. He was the only one to mention STEM and I believe that makes his candidacy, quite exciting. I'd love to see what he can bring to the board.

Sal's perception on any fracturing has me concerned about the school board, overall. I do, however, really like how much emphasis he places on this all being about the students. I feel some folks lose site of this fact every now and again.

If, for some reason, Peter does not win, I do think that his passion for special education should not go unnoticed by the board of education and challenge them to create a resident led task force which could lead to ensure fiscal efficiencies and quality-assurance services.