New Providence School Candidate: Adam Smith

NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ — Adam Smith is one of the four candidates running for election in the contested New Providence School Board election being held on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

There are four candidates vying for three three-year seats on the board with candidates including: Robert S. Dinerman, Rebecca P. Coniglio, Adam Smith and William H. Dibble.

Adam Smith

Description:

My name is Adam Smith. I have lived in New Providence since 1995, raising my five children here. Two of those children are still in the schools (middle and high school), with the other three being proud graduates of New Providence High School. I am an attorney with offices in New York and New Jersey.

Why are you running for the school board?

I have been a member of the New Providence Board of Education since 1999. I was initially drawn to joining the Board because of desire to give back to the community and because I wanted to give back in a way the served the community’s children. My father was teacher for more than 40 years, so the school system seemed a great way to get involved. In addition, with my children just entering the schools at that time, I had a vested interest ensuring the best possible education for the students in our District.

During my tenure on the Board, we have achieved much success and received many accolades in the District. We have consistently been a very high-ranked school system while maintaining a very efficient operation that minimized that tax burden on our taxpayers, as evidenced by our low cost per pupil compared to other districts. While ever being mindful of the limited resources we have, we have been able to substantially improve our facilities and our technology infrastructure, find alternative revenue sources, keep our curriculum relevant in an ever-changing economy and provide additional support services to our students.

I am running for the Board for another term because I want to use my experience to maintain and continue the successes and excellence that this community expects from its schools.

What experience do you have that would help you serving on the school board?

Since I began on the Board in 1999, I have exhibited a commitment and dedication to this District that provides me with a solid foundation to help me going forward. Since 1999, I have served 6 terms as President of the Board, and served as chairman of the Finance, Facilities & Safety/Security Committee, the Personnel Committee and the Negotiations Committee. I helped to oversee two major construction projects for our school, conducted two searches for new Superintendents, helped to start up the New Providence Education Foundation and have overseen the development of numerous school budgets. I have been involved in numerous community outreach forums to help create long range goals and a vision for the District as it moved into a 21 st Century learning environment. These experiences will provide a solid foundation that will help me if I am privileged to serve another term on the Board.

What issues would you like to see addressed if elected?

There are three things that I want to ensure we as District address going forward.

First is a comprehensive review our World Language programs to look for areas of improvement. From a purely educational programming perspective, I think it is an area that could use improvement and updating. Over the last 10 years, the department was hit by budget cuts during the recession and then fell victim to our focus on expanding our STEM programs. With the evolution of our society, a global economy and changing demographics in our town, it is important that we ensure our teaching of world cultures and languages remains current and relevant.

Second, we must undertake a careful study of the potential impact of the Borough Council’s affordable housing settlement and the potential development in town that could ensue. Our current facilities are at capacity. Based upon existing enrollment projections, we do not anticipate a significant increase in enrollment for the next five years. That projection changes if there is significant increase in available housing in our town. We need to ensure we have a plan in place to address whatever potential development could come from any settlement of our affordable housing obligation.

Third, we must continue to assess and review the security of our buildings and the safety of our students, physically and emotionally. We have worked very hard to ensure our children understand the need for respect of others and responsibility for their own actions through our comprehensive Character Education program. That program must continue to evolve as the risks to children today are different than they were 15 to 20 years ago. In addition, given the world we live in, it is critical that security at our schools be sufficient to meet any potential risks that exist in our society to schools and children.

— (If you are a candidate and would like to participate in the profile, please email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com)

(Image provided: Adam Smith)

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