Brian McDonald To Run For Princeton School Board

PRINCETON, NJ — Brian J. McDonald is throwing his hat into the ring for this year’s Princeton Board of Education elections. McDonald announced his candidacy for one of three seats that are open on the Board of Education in November’s elections.

Betsy Baglio and Dafna Kendal are both up for re-election. They have announced their intentions to run for re-election, according to the Princeton Packet. Mary Clurman and Daniel Dart are also running for the seats, making McDonald the fifth person to announce his candidacy.

The deadline to file a petition to run in the November elections is Monday, July 30, 4 p.m.

“Our schools are now at a critical point in their history as they need to make important decisions about aging facilities; issues pertaining to the health, safety, security and fair treatment of our students; increasing enrollment that is already resulting in overcrowding; and an operating budget that is under considerable stress,” McDonald said in a statement announcing his candidacy. “I do not believe there are easy solutions, but I do think that I can help chart a path forward that achieves important priorities for our schools and our town — making critical investments in our schools while also keeping tax increases as low as possible.”

McDonald has lived in Princeton for more than two decades, and all his children have gone through the Princeton Public School system. His youngest child is a sophomore at the high school, he said.

“I recognize that while our schools are excellent overall by many measures, the experiences of our schoolchildren, especially at our high school, have varied greatly over many decades,” McDonald said. “Our schools continue to struggle with persistent problems of racism and economic inequities that our society struggles with, and not all of our children are being educated as well as they should be. Similarly, for too long the mental and physical health and wellness of our high school students have not been sufficiently addressed. I am encouraged by the steps the district is beginning to take to address these and other long-standing issues. It is imperative that these initiatives continue despite the financial challenges we have to overcome.”

He said he is running because he believes few things are more important than a high quality public education.

“Regarding the proposed referendum, I believe it provides an opportunity for the district to address urgent and emerging needs and hope that it passes,” McDonald said. “I also am very sympathetic with concerns raised by residents who would have preferred more time for planning and even greater community engagement. If elected, I would work diligently to ensure as much transparency and community participation as possible in the referendum, in district finances, and in other major decisions.

“Our town benefits enormously from the work of hundreds of talented, knowledgeable and dedicated volunteers who serve on a broad range of committees, commissions and boards. I believe the schools also can benefit from this kind of volunteer engagement, and I would immediately propose the appointment of two committees of citizens to advise the Board of Education: one modeled after the town’s Citizens’ Finance Advisory Committee, on which I served for seven years, and another to support the district's efforts to construct, renovate and maintain the schools and other district facilities.“While those are two areas where I believe my experience prepares me to be most helpful, I want to say again that I am also deeply interested in and strongly support the Board’s initiatives with respect to equity and curriculum reform, and its persistent pursuit of an excellent education for every child in our district, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, level of family income or ability.

“I would greatly welcome the opportunity to be of further service to our community as a member of the Board of Education.”

Election Day is Nov. 6.

The attached image of Brian J. McDonald was provided