School Board Candidates Introduce Selves, Talk Budget Cuts

Incumbents Sheila Brogan and Laurie Goodman gave their pitch to the voting public as to why the should remain entrenched in their positions on the school board, while challenger Christina Krauss said it's time to see someone new at Cottage Place on Monday evenings.

On Thursday night, the trio answered questions crafted by the League of Women Voters–which moderated and hosted the forum at the Education Center–while addressing many pointed questions from the comments ranging from the field turf, tenure system, field lights, administrator salaries, redistricting, and negotiations with instructional staff.

While many questions were answered, some in attendance said they thought candidates "skirted" some of the questions, saying a lot without really saying a lot.

The three candidates are vying for two three-year seats, so an incumbent is guaranteed a spot. A forth candidate, Gerry Clark, withdrew his candidacy a few days before Candidae's Night.

The voters will vote for both the , which represents an increase of $191 for the average home assessed just shy of $800,000, as well as the school board candidates on April 27, a Wednesday.

In part one of our four-part series, meet the candidates a bit better and hear their thoughts on how budget savings can be realized in tough economic times and a 'Two-Percent Cap New Reality'.

• Brogan

The two incumbents opened the night touting the efficiencies and progress the district has made along many fronts, which has led to a cost savings realized by taxpayers. Outsourced custodial staff, landscaping, maintenance contracts, pursuit of consortiums, reduced telecommunications costs and others were among the efficiencies cited.

Brogan, certainly a known entity in town, spoke of the commitment administrators, parents and students have to making Ridgewood education among the best, particularly "in these challenging times for public education."

Among the challenges, she cited the uncertainty of state aid, over-reliance on local tax levies, the superintendent salary cap and the increasing mandates from Trenton and Washington, many of which aren't funded. Brogan also identified challenges within Ridgewood such as the need to find a balance of student athlete needs as well as neighbors, stress on students, bullying, and developing a budget "honoring our community's request to do more with less."

Brogan said she's invested in working cooperatively with all contituents and said her experience and knowledge of education law, along with energy, curiosity, open-mindedness are attributes she brings to the school board.

• Goodman

Social media maven and first-term incumbent Laurie Goodman espoused many of Brogan's points on why the district is successful, but also took the opportunity to stump for why she should stay seated. "I believe wholeheartedly that public education is managed at the local level. Every community needs committed, thoughtful, passionate citizens to serve on its board of education," she said.

"I still have all those qualities."

Goodman said she is "in awe" of what good teachers accomplish, and is proud of the parents and students for their dedication to education. A "quiet" board member who "listens a lot," Goodman said she's not a politician but won't give up in fighting for education. "I want to keep working at this job," she said.

The copywriter by profession said things will only get harder with tight finances and while the district has "improved its communication" with residents, it's "also dropped the ball a few times." It's something Goodman wants to work on, she said.

Goodman remarked that she wants a greater emphasis on technology for students, which extends to teachers as well.

In her closing statement, she said that the district has come a long way in its communication process, including the district parent survey, Facebook page, where she's been key in getting done as a member of the communications committe. While being a school board member is the "hardest job I've ever had," she said it's one she wants for another three-year term.

• Krauss

The newcomer may be a fresh face for some, but Krauss has a long history of volunteering in Ridgewood, where she's lived with her husband and two children for over two decades and had run a small women's clothing shop with her mother before being a homemaker.

Krauss said she'd bring two big things to the table – a small business mindset, where costs are cut, numbers are analyzed and pragmatic solutions are developed; and a voice of representation from the K-8 community, which she says is not present at Cottage Place Board of Education meetings. Krauss has two children, one in college and a fourth-grader at Somerville.

"I've dealt with all the challenges that come with owning a small business – difficult customers, payment and payroll issues, state and local restrictions placed on small businesses," among others, she said on the business side. "I think having a small business mentality often helps with problem solving." The same skills, she said, translate to being an effective board of education member.

"I need to be able to pursuade at times and gently disuade at other times when perhaps something might be unsuitable or isn't the right fit." She also said board members must be sensitive, open to suggestions and "able to make suggestions without being heavy-handed."

• Krauss

The challenger said that New Jersey doesn't understand a simple rule of economics – you can't spend what you don't have. As a result, people are fleeing the state as taxes continue to rise.

The mother of two said her taxes have gone up five percent every year since she arrived close to two decades ago. "That's a pretty big increase for a struggling family," she said.

In terms of specifics, Krauss said it was difficult to offer solutions without being privy to all of the information as afforded to the incumbents.

"There's much more detail than is available to the average person," she said of the budget.

She did say, however, that the burden needs to be reduced on taxpayers.

When asked by Goodman to offer specifics, Krauss said "you have to be in it to see where those [potential savings] are," but added that she wouldn't be looking to "slash" but "find those little details in other places that might not normally be found." Still, she conceded, "They may not be there."

• Brogan

Confronted with the "New Reality," as it's been coined, the 25-year resident said the district has done well in keeping costs low in non-instructional areas.

The big-ticket items, however, are in personnel costs, which are currently grabbing over 70 percent of the largely taxpayer-supported budget. One of her goals, she said, was to work out a contract with the Ridgewood Education Association that both retains excellent teachers while confronting the reality of the 2 percent cap.

The district has already outsourced numerous services in landscaping, busing, custodial services, cafeteria, maintenance, done consortiums in telecommunications, worked out shared services with other districts, cut health insurance costs, while exploring the idea of putting solar panels on its building roofs, but "we must do more," she said.

Brogan said the district needs to be mindful of the impact to taxpayers as it crafts its budgets.

• Goodman

Although they've also battled losses to staff and reading programs, changes in Spanish and a new substitute policy at the high school that have not been easy, Goodman said the district has put forth a budget that is reasonable, one that represents the lowest tax increase percentage in decades.

Goodman also tacked on to Brogan's comments that the real costs to taxpayers are in personnel. She said that all of the other efficiencies have been considered for a district that spends less per student than most, and that's "not as a pat on the back" but a greater point that it may have found all it can find outside salaries and benefits.

While she "couldn't discuss" the particulars of the teacher contract negotiations, Goodman said the economy dictates contracts. The district had budgeted zero percent increases for salaries in its proposed 2011-2012 budget; the contract with the REA expires before July.