This November we will be electing three new members to the Teaneck BOE. There are five candidates running:
Shahanaz Arjumand* (Appointed by BOE early 2018)
Victoria Fisher*
Lisa Dash-Grimes
Sarah Rappaport*
Gerald Reiner
As a result, the Facebook group Teaneck Newsroom recently sent out a questionnaire to all the BOE candidates regarding multiple issues and concerns. These questions were asked by the members (and Teaneck residents) in the group and then sent to the candidates with a maximum word count and a delivery date. With permission from Stephen Gruber the moderator of Teaneck Newsroom a subset of the Q&A is reprinted here, the full list can be found on the Facebook group’s website.
Teaneck Newsroom is an independent Facebook group explicitly for Teaneck residents about what’s going on in Teaneck. The group has approximately 1,500 Teaneck residents as members. Please feel free to request access to the closed group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1674127012807838/
With the tightening budget and increasing salaries, how do you propose to cut/not cut programming?
Dash-Grimes: The first thing I will always do on all matters of finance if elected to the board is listen. My role as a board member is to understand that we can’t do anything without a vote and we can’t take a vote without all the information. What I will ask of the superintendent and of the finance committee is to take a look at all the line items on the budget that have increased over last year and are presently over budget. We will take a look at those items first to make some determinations as to the necessity and success of those items and if it makes sense to keep them as they compare to other items and programs.
My strength is not in finance or budgeting and I will always defer to the experts on that subject. However, I do have a great strength in problem solving and alternative solutions. Once decisions have been made with the budget, I will participate as greatly as I can in the limitations as a board member to offer those solutions to obtain a financial win/win outcome for the district.
Incumbents: We are always seeking to enrich our programs with outside resources, whether by community volunteers, public/private partnerships or grants.In recent years this has included “Top Chef” challenges, accessible playgrounds, Black Box theatre programs, and most recently the expansion of pre-k 3 and pre-k 4.
Additionally, we are addressing structural deficits by taking a hard look at spending and reviewing our needs, line-by-line. We work with parent volunteers to seek creative alternatives to expand after school programs for all Teaneck children, such as adding a chess program and offering Chinese language courses, with no cost to the district.
Reiner: To promise that nothing can be cut would be disingenuous to our community overall as that is a promise no board member can ever make. What I can promise is to be guided by priorities, these priorities would put in-classroom educational and support services first as they are the core mission of our schools. I do vow to also bring my expertise in municipal finance to the board to look at the same problems in a different light. I have found in my experience with other governmental budgets that the money isn’t necessarily not there but that it may be in the wrong place.
How do you feel about courtesy busing for private school students?
Dash-Grimes: I am okay with courtesy busing for private and public school students. I believe courtesy busing is when a child in grades preschool through grade four resides more than 1.3 miles from their school they are able to obtain busing. These kids are too young to walk when they live that distance and parents may not be able to drive them all the time due to work schedules. So I am in favor of courtesy busing for public and private school children. I would not be in favor of having this available for private school students and NOT public school students. The public school students should always be the district’s first priority.
Incumbents: There is extensive state regulation of expenditures on busing, governing the companies with whom we are allowed to contract. It is the BOE’s responsibility to ensure that the busing is provided to our independent school students in a fashion that is (most importantly) safe for the students and their families and consistent with state requirements. We have consistently approved funding for courtesy busing for public and private school students and we adhere to the law and policy on all matters. Furthermore, we have approved subscription busing for those who do not qualify for courtesy busing to provide access to more families.
Reiner: I believe that the district policy should be to interpret N.J.A.C. 6A:27 liberally so that we provide safe reliable transportation to all children who are eligible in the district without seeking technicalities to deny children this benefit. I also propose a committee made up of parents who send their children in district, and those who do not, to ensure any changes in the law or policy are addressed through recommendations from this committee and not arbitrary. This not only includes private school busing but also for in district children so they are not traversing dangerous intersections.
What accountability is there/review process for school employees that have tenure, to ensure that they are doing their job in a satisfactory manner as their salaries climb?
Dash-Grimes: There are a few issues here and I will try see if I can answer all of the questions. I am not aware what the review process is but as I learn more about what it means to be a board member, I am hoping to find out. The review and assessment of teachers is the responsibility of the superintendent and he would need to bring to the board the issues as he sees them and what his recommendations might be and the board will vote on it. On the issue of tenure, this is a world unto itself and there are legal ramifications if a tenured teacher’s right were violated or disregarded. I don’t know enough to say what I would do or what is being done now, but what I can say is that the policies surrounding tenured teachers and their success as it relates to the achievement gaps are being reviewed around the country. I would also say this is being reviewed in both K-12 and higher education. As far as quality control, schools fall under all kind of state mandates, OSHA requirements and legalities. They are constantly being measured for a great many things and that information is reported back into the state and also made aware to the public. As far as a suggestion box, parents have the right to speak to their teachers, their school principals, the superintendent and ultimately the school board to let them know what suggestions they want to offer. That is your right as a parent and a taxpayer/resident of the community.
Incumbents: It is the role of a board trustee to work with the superintendent to ensure that personnel decisions are well researched and thought out, but not to make the decisions themselves. Every spring, the committee reviews the performance of all non-tenured staff with the superintendent and hears his/her recommendation for renewal or separation. We can vouch for the thoroughness of the tenure granting process since we have been on the BOE. Passionate, knowledgeable and experienced teachers are the hallmark of Teaneck schools.
We are always seeking to remove barriers between the community and our schools. We frequently seek out opportunities to solicit feedback from the community. As anyone who has attended a Board meeting can report, we welcome public participation and our decisions are always made with consideration of that feedback. Additionally, Dr. Irving has announced a holistic feedback process from selected parents, students, teachers and other stakeholders to identify problems and bring solutions for our schools.
Reiner: The Superintendent is responsible for making the recommendation to hire and remove staff. As a policy the board can review the way teachers are evaluated so that we can be sure we keep our best teachers in the classroom. Overall there is a personnel committee as a function of the board to review the employment recommendations of the superintendent. Lastly, other than the high school I have not seen a suggestion box, I think that is a great idea, however there also needs to be a digital counterpart. This will allow suggestions that are similar to be aggregated easier so we know the priorities of our community.
By Stephen Gruber
