4 Takeaways From Bernards Township School Board Candidate Night

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Voters got a glimpse of the four candidates seeking election for the three available positions for the Bernards Township Board of Education recently.

Ridge High School Empowerment for Political Participation (REPP) hosted a Bernards Township Board of Education Candidates Forum on Oct. 8 in the Performing Arts Center at Ridge High School in Basking Ridge, which was moderated by the League of Women Voters.

Bernards Township Board of Education candidates include:

• Incumbent Keith Molinari
• Incumbent Smrithi Mohan
• Challenger Faisal Anwar Chaudhry
• Challenger Adam Lefkowitz

The format for the forum consisted of opening and closing statements from each candidate and about 60 minutes of questions from the audience.

Four Main Takeaways From The Night:

Opening Statements:

Chaudhry - I'm running for the school board because I believe that your concerns and your voice should be integral to shaping the shared future of our schools and our students. My campaign is built on three core pillars: listening, brainstorming, and problem-solving. These are the values that I live by as a husband, as a father, and as a scientist. And I plan to apply them to improve our schools.

Mohan - I am a proud product of Bernards Township Schools from Cedar Hill to William Annin to Ridge High. Now, as a parent of two young daughters in the district and being the daughter of retired parents living here in town, I bring a true multi-generational perspective to our community’s needs. And a perspective that no other candidate or other sitting board member has.

Lefkowitz - I have lived in town for three years and have a son at Cedar Hill. If elected, my goal is to improve upon the quality of the education in the district. My mother and grandmother were public school teachers. I believe our children excel the most when board members support our teachers.

Molinari - I am a 25 year resident with two kids who went through the school system... My core motivation for staying on the board is to do my part to ensure that students just starting out have the opportunity for the same sort of experience that my children have. I also believe in public service, in my time in town I have coached youth sports, helped distribute food to the needy during the pandemic, and I am active member at the St. James Church… Also I ama veteran of US Army.

Question One: Our district is facing so many budget issues. How do you plan to deal with them? If you were forced to, what would you cut?

Mohan - My top priority would be to do everything possible to protect classroom instruction, student support, and programs that make our schools well-rounded, like arts, music, and extracurriculars. Any reduction would be made completely transparently with community input and only after exhausting all of our alternatives. I think, given the ongoing budget constraints, we need to be very creative and collaborative in finding efficiencies elsewhere, and that includes exploring non-essential expenditures just to ensure that every dollar is working for students. We need to take a more proactive approach and anticipate what is coming down the pipeline rather than being reactive... I think the approach essentially is to prioritize transparency, involve the community in tough decisions, and keep student outcomes at the center of every financial choice.

Molinari - The district has become more creative over the last several years in managing the budget. Actions have been taken, such as bringing some services in-house, such as plumbing and painting, to save on union fees. Triple tiering the buses which has been substantial annual savings and moving our district finance reserves into more cost-friendly accounts. I think any discussion we do have to look at personnel is the largest cost center in the district accounting for 75 percent in salary and benefits but we have to look at that with a thoughtful eye. We have to really examine whether we need to backfill positions as they become open, and really take into account whether we can do the same or more with less.

Lefkowitz - My top priority for running for Board of Ed is to have a board that does what’s best in the students interests. Obviously that means having a well-balanced budget… We must have a board that can come together, challenge the administration to think creatively, listen to other members, listen to students, listen to parents, and ultimately make decisions in the students’ best interests.

Chaudhry - We should not prematurely decide to cut something. We should be looking at programs and looking at it from a student perspective. If we do have to get to that sad state of having to cut something it better not affect any students and their current curriculum and how they’re progressing towards graduation out of Ridge High School... Use more public forums to get more feedback from parents and students.

Question Two: What is your approach to the use of technology in school? Including cell phones and AI.

Molinari - I’ve been advocating for the district’s effort to curtail smartphone usage during the school day. Being a parent and a BOE member I’ve seen firsthand the impact that smart phones have had on children’s attention span, focus, and social interactions. It’s been a privilege to contribute to the district's step-wise approach in getting a handle on this, from doing the research, from reading the anxious generation, to attending the town meetings and BT connect meetings…

Since the cell phone policy has gone in effect at Ridge High School, both the wellness committee and the student government have reported very good results.

I think there is still work to be done in the field of AI. That’s going to be a challenge. AI offers a lot of opportunities but a lot of risks that is pervasive in the outside world. So we have to prepare our students for that environment, but at the same time have to tackle some very real concerns regarding academic integrity and face-to-face interactions among students and teachers.

Chaudhry - AI can be used by teachers to help keep track of students.

From my professional perspectiv,e AI is a good confirmation tool. You can use it to generate content… but it's definitely something you can use as a tool... I definitely encourage a disciplined use of AI in the classroom. And as far as cell phones are concerned, I do feel that controlling cell phone usage in the school space is excellent.

Mohan - Currently, there is a phone-free policy. I 100 percent support that. I think it helps students focus and build real connections and reduces the impact of cyberbullying that can happen through social media. And so removing phones during school hours, I think, is a very productive move.

When it comes to AI, I believe that we need to balance innovation with responsibility. In the classroom, I am excited to see teachers using AI to create personalized lesson plans and helping students learn how to use these tools very thoughtfully and ethically.

Beyond the classroom, I think that AI can be a very powerful tool and for the back-end operations, it can help efficiencies, streamline processes and even identify cost savings.

Lefkowitz - I fully support the phone-free policy. When it comes to AI, I believe AI, like lots of other technologies, is a tool that we should teach our children how to use.

Question Three: Do you feel teachers should have the freedom to choose the books that work best in their classrooms?

Chaudhry - I grew up in a military dictatorship, and book banning was something that was used as a method of controlling popular thought. So I am instinctively against that word and the use of book banning for any purpose or shape or form.

Lefkowitz - I firmly believe in subject matter expertise, whether you’re calling on an attorney or a doctor. When you do that, you’re relying on the person on the other end of the phone to provide you with their expert opinion. And being a teacher is to have a profession and to develop expertise in that subject matter.

Mohan - I'm a lawyer and the board's job is to follow the law, and that means whether we personally agree with it or not. If the law allows for opt-outs we will honor that and consult with the board attorney to ensure compliance. I think in general if a parent or a child has an issue with anything that’s being taught or a lesson plan or whatever it is and wants to opt out then that child’s parent has the right to reach out to their child’s teacher directly and be able to come to a resolution that works for them.. But ultimately our job is to follow the law.

Molianri - I do feel that book banning is a bit of a loaded term that gets thrown around a lot. Luckily, I haven't experienced that in Bernards Township… I do agree with following the law… Board members are sometimes hesitant to become involved in matters of curriculum. Assume it's better left to district administrators or professional educators, but on the contrary, it's critical for board members to be involved because curriculum goes to the very heart of what a school district is about. Those aren’t my words those are from the NJ School Board Association.

Textbooks should be decided by a full majority vote of the board. That is the law. I am opposed to book banning. I am in favor of curating a curriculum and also ensuring that what is put in front of students is age-appropriate.

Question Four: What do you think about class sizes and overcrowding?

Molinari - Class sizes are always a concern when looking at personnel. It’s pretty well documented that a better smaller student to teacher ratio does influence outcomes. I would say class sizes are dictated by board policy. To my knowledge, we haven’t deviated from that even through personnel difficulties we’ve gone through over the last several years.

Mohan - I think ultimately it’s going to be about what is best for the community and if the data shows that we need to do something about the problem, that it's necessary for students' success and safety then of course I’m going to support that.

Lefkowitz - Overcrowding is definitely a concern for me. I am a parent, my son is in third grade. Whenever I go to a back to school night or meet a teacher night, I see it. I see that the classrooms are filled with desks, and as a parent, that's not something I love to see. I do want to work with the board on finding ways that we can keep class sizes manageable, but I also know it's not just a question about how many students are in the district. It’s also a question of the physical capabilities of the school.

Chaudhry - This really needs to be examined further and decisions will have to be made. I can tell you, for me personally, with my kids going through Cedar Hill for the past six years, and me volunteering at the library for the past three years. It’s just amazing how crowded the hallways have gotten. And the noise level is sometimes so high that I've actually dropped books while shelving them in the library. It's gets so bad and then the shouting and yelling is really distracting for the kids. I do hope we can work together as a community to come up with a reasonable solution at the same time keeping in mind our financial constraints.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.