Budget, Charter School, Next Superintendent Discussed At BOE Candidate Forum

shared their views on the school budget, improving classroom experiences and the new at a candidates forum Monday night.

Those in attendance also learned that the search for the next superintendent of schools has ended. An announcement is planned for Wednesday’s Board of Education meeting, according to incumbent and BOE President Ardie Walser.

“We did have a search; we do have a final candidate, and we’ll make that announcement to the public on Wednesday,” Walser said. “This superintendent … she donates her time and her energy tutoring kids; she’s on the front line, and she brings with that a certain level of credibility, a certain level of respectability with that. She has the respect of her peers and certainly the strong support of the Board and actually the community at large.”

Walser did not name any specific pick. Hinting that it might be current Interim Superintendent of Schools Barbara Pinsak, BOE candidate Alan Sohn had some fun dancing around the secret.

“I’m just putting two and two together – but I’m going to guess that this person’s name might be Barbara P. or B. Pinsak,” Sohn said. “I think she’s an excellent choice, but I won’t say anything; I won’t tell anyone.”

Candidate Patricia King-Butler, who is co-president of the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) Council, said she admires Pinsak but was critical of the superintendent search process.

“We most certainly should have had a more open and transparent process of looking for our superintendent,” King-Butler said. “So, I’m not happy that did not occur in the manner in which I would have wanted to see it.”

The night’s forum, held at the , was sponsored by the North East Teaneck Block President’s Association and attracted about 80 people.

After brief introductions by all the candidates, which included Walser, Sohn, King-Butler, Howard Rose and Clara Williams – the panel got to work answering questions from the moderator and the audience. Current Board of Education trustee Margaret Angeli, whose seat is up for re-election, was not in attendance. She did not immediately return a call for comment late Monday night.

In response to an audience member’s question on improvement in fiscal responsibility, King-Butler said there are many areas in which costs can be reined in.

“I think our administrative costs are high,” she said. “I believe that we should talk to the unions about maybe having them give, put some givebacks. I think there’s room for looking at other opportunities for innovative ways to reduce spending in things like going green, looking at how we deal with our supplies in the school system, shared services with the town council – there are many ways for decreasing spending.”

Rose raised issue with the $6 million in cuts made one year ago by the Township Council. He said the cuts were made in “in one fell swoop” and favored a more gradual cut, such as $2 million in cuts each year over three years.

“You could have done more through attrition rather than through layoffs,” he said. “That might have been a more generous way in dealing with people.”

Sohn said fiscal responsibility is a critical issue for the district.

“If you look across the board, Teaneck is spending substantially more than other districts statewide in virtually every category,” he said. “I think just as we negotiated with the custodial staff and were able to get concessions on both salary and benefits I think this sets a precedent for the teacher negotiations -- looking at total compensation, not just teacher salaries. But looking at the skyrocketing costs of pensions and especially with health care -- what can we do to find a way to work together so that we can put the resources in the classroom and help provide an excellent education for all students?”

Williams said she would take a different approach when it comes to saving money in the district.

“I would see if there are some alternative revenue streams,” she said. Partnerships and corporate support for the schools were two ideas she suggested.

Walser said diversity is costly.

“And I’m not just talking about ethnically or in terms of race lines,” he said. “We have a lot of children from a lot of different places with a lot of different needs, and we aim to please.”

"I cannot promise you that we are going to reduce the cost of education because education is expensive. But I will promise you that we will do everything in our power to make sure that every dollar somehow ends up in that classroom, and that’s really what it’s all about."

On the topic of the Shalom Academy Hebrew-language immersion charter school, moderator Pat White asked if the candidates were troubled with the state’s decision to have Teaneck taxpayers pay for the charter school that she said may be teaching religion.  State officials have said the school complies with its public education guidelines.

Williams said she’s a supporter of charter schools to an extent.

“There is a separation of church and state because the emerging Hebrew school is not supposed to teach religion, so it is a charter school that is focused on teaching Hebrew in the classroom,” she said. “I believe in choice, but I don’t care for the way that these charter schools are funded.”

Sohn reiterated that the Shalom Academy is a language-immersion program, not a religious school. He agreed with Walser and Williams that it’s more about a funding the new school.  The charter could cost the district more than $1.3 million.

Rose said that charters and district schools are in competition and do not have equal regulations.

“It’s a quasi-public, quasi-private, selective school system that doesn’t adhere to the same rules in terms of salaries, unionization – there are so many variables it’s not a level playing field,” he said. “I think there is also a competition academically. I would like to see the Teaneck school system so strong educationally, academically that most people will say, ‘If I have to choose a school, hands down it’s the Teaneck Public School system.' "

Another Board of Education Candidate’s will be held at 7:30 p.m. April 11 at Teaneck High School’s Student Center. The event will be sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the Teaneck PTO Council.  . For more information, call Shirley Sosland at 201-692-0238.