Gregory Stankiewicz: Princeton BOE Candidate Profile

PRINCETON, NJ —There is a contested race for the Princeton Board of Education election this upcoming November election with four candidates vying for the three open seats.

Incumbent Gregory Stankiewicz is one of four candidates running for the three, three-year seats in the election being held on Tuesday, Nov. 5. The other three candidates include: Susan Kanter, Debbie Bronfeld, and Dafna Kendal.

Here is a look at who Stankiewicz is and why he is running. Candidates were asked to answer the same questions and each candidate profile will be posted on Patch's site as it gets closer to the election.

Gregory Stankiewicz

Describe yourself:

I am a proud parent of a Princeton High School senior. My wife and I moved to Princeton in 2004
because we wanted our daughter to grow up in a caring, supportive community with a tradition of
strong schools. I want to ensure that this tradition continues.

I currently serve as the Statewide Coordinator of the NJ Community Schools Coalition. In addition, I teach community development as a Lecturer at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers. I have 30 years of policy experience, earning a master’s and PhD from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University.

My professional experience includes working in the budget office of the NYC Board of Education; as a budget specialist for the State of NJ's Office of Management and Budget (OMB); and as Chief Operating Officer for New Jersey Community Capital, a nonprofit which finances affordable housing, community facilities, and businesses in low-income communities.

Why are you running for school board?

I am running for re-election because I am committed to strengthening public education. I believe we do so by listening to each other and engaging with a wide variety of student, teacher, administrator, and community voices and expertise. I was elected Vice President of the Board of Education this past January, and I want to work with our community to continue the progress this Board is making.

Why do you feel you are qualified for this position?

I offer a strong policy background and experience working at the local and state levels in New Jersey. I currently serve as our Board’s representative to the Princeton Planning Board. I also serve as the Mercer County representative to the New Jersey School Boards Association and am a member of its Finance Committee. I believe such partnerships are beneficial, strengthening this Board’s ability to forge alliances to better serve our students.

What are some issues you would like to address if re-elected?

If re-elected, I will focus on the following priorities:

• Increase Equity: This Board and District have made a fundamental commitment to treating every child and family equally. We have made great progress — expanding Prekindergarten to serve more families; undertaking an equity audit; introducing new and more representative curricula; and hiring outstanding teachers, administrators, and staff who reflect our diverse community. We cannot let up — moving forward, we are focusing on strengthening culturally responsive teaching; instituting restorative practices in all our schools; and undertaking an outside evaluation of our Special education services and programs.
• Reduce Student Stress: Our students face levels of stress far higher than in the past. In response, the Princeton Public Schools used the results of an outside survey of our students to support innovative approaches to reducing stress, including instituting a later school start time and a modified block schedule at the high school and providing our middle school students with more connections to caring adults. Going forward, we must continue working with students, teachers, and staff to identify additional ways of making sure every child is known and feels welcome.
• Strengthen District Finances: Our schools face an ongoing funding shortfall brought on by a multi-year failure by our State to fulfill its funding obligations; higher costs due to factors such as rising student enrollments and inflation; and a State-mandated 2 percent cap on the property tax levy, which has the unintended consequence of not allowing our schools to share in the benefits derived from increased growth in our community. Over the past three years, this combination depleted our District’s reserves, requiring us to cut staff this year by 3 percent — a terrible outcome that we must do everything possible to avoid in the future. The Board has worked with the Superintendent and his team to identify new revenue opportunities; examine options for shared services; and implement multiple years of cost-saving measures. We will continue doing so, but these actions alone will not address the magnitude of the shortfall, which equaled $2 million this past Spring. We as a community need to work with our legislators and fellow school districts to ask for aid that rightfully should flow to our students, along with changing State laws that currently penalize districts like ours. We did so successfully last year, when we joined with other school districts in advocating for a one-time increase in Extraordinary Special Education Aid. Going forward, we need to continue these efforts, including supporting new State legislation that proposes that charter schools be funded directly by the State. In our case, that would free approximately $6.5 million a year for Princeton Public Schools. It also would benefit both the District and the Charter School, by ending the competition for resources that in the past has divided neighbors and weakened us as a community.
• Meet the Needs of Our Growing Student Enrollment: Our student population is growing— we are educating 10 percent more students than we did five years ago, with an additional 1 percent increase since June. I believe that now is the ideal time to engage the community in comprehensive planning for how to address this growth, working together to identify creative, cost-efficient ways to make sure that our schools and community remain strong and vibrant.

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

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