Letter to the Editor: Bennett, Schwartz, Veliky for Franklin Lakes BOE

There’s much talk around town about who to choose for the Franklin Lakes Board of Education.  I will cast my vote for the people that I want to sit with at the board table, Margaret Bennett, Kathie Schwartz and Jackie Veliky.

When I joined the Board of Education two years ago my goal was simple, to make the best possible decisions for the students and taxpayers of Franklin Lakes.  After all, I am a parent so I want my kids to have a stellar education.  But I am also a taxpayer and will be, long after my kids graduate.  What I learned is that balancing these priorities is not easy.  Sometimes decisions that are best for students cost money that we hadn’t planned on spending.  Sometimes we simply can’t provide a desired resource because it isn’t the best use of our budget. Sometimes, to achieve an educational goal, we need to make changes that are not instantly popular.  These are realities that trustees must deal with and how we deal with them determines our success.  I want to work with trustees who are open-minded, thoughtful, willing to collaborate with administrators, supportive of all constituent groups and will bring a positive attitude to the table.

In the past two years our district has implemented significant curriculum improvements, made possible because the administration understood the needs of the students, the board approved materials and provided resources to train staff and the teachers embraced the curriculum and are teaching it well.  This is called collaboration.  The end result is progress.  I want the progress to continue.  We owe that to our children and that’s why I will vote for Bennett, Schwartz and Veliky.

These opinions are my own and not those of the Franklin Lakes Board of Education.

Christine Christopoul,
Franklin Lakes

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