South Brunswick Board Of Education Election 2023: Joyce Mehta

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — Former Board President Joyce Mehta is seeking another term on the South Brunswick Board of Education.

Mehta believes that there currently is mismanagement of budget finance and transportation is an issue with 250 families not receiving busing in the district, due to state aid cuts.

She outlines her plans for the district in a Q&A.

This year's election will be held on Nov. 7. Early voting has already begun.

Name: Joyce Mehta

Age: 56 years

Town of residence: South Brunswick

Position sought: Board of Education Member

Family: I am married with two daughters

Education: Lawyer (UK)

Occupation: Community Leader

Previous or current elected appointed office: Past President South Brunswick Board of Education

Campaign website: www.facebook.com/JoyceMageshVi...

Why are you seeking to run for a seat on the South Brunswick Board of Education?
I am running for the School Board because I am a passionate, fearless advocate whose goal is to represent students and staff, and foster community, unity, equity and critical collaboration with all stakeholders within our amazing school district. I am a key stakeholder in South Brunswick, with two daughters who have been educated in our schools and who are incredibly amazing young women, because of the teachers who educated, motivated and empowered them. I first ran for the board in 2017, in 2019 and in 2022 to make a difference, and to act as a voice for students and parents in our community. Board members are responsible for maintaining checks and balances, questioning district or state policies and procedures, asking difficult questions, and voting for policies in line with state requests and also mindfulness of the community’s needs.

What according to you is the biggest issue facing the school district right now?

• State Aid deficit
• Limited Mental Health Support (for students & staff)
• Drastic enrollment decline
• Mismanagement of budget finance- multiple administrators with highest salaries in NJ while lowest pay for paraprofessionals, elimination of courtesy bussing increasing risk for student safety
• Teacher shortages

SBSD is seeing regular cuts in state aid due to the funding formula. What plans do you have to ensure student services are not cut and there are no job losses for employees?

• Review new hiring of administrators and the highest salaries
• Support existing staff to retain excellent, dedicated professionals by increasing salaries comparable to neighboring districts, and conducting exit interviews by independent organizations to determine the cause for leaving the district. Give stipends to cover expenses for the classroom
• Conduct exit interviews for students & families leaving South Brunswick
• Prioritize mental health support and resources for Special Education families
• Eliminate wasteful spending- hiring one board attorney (instead of two), foster collaboration, mediation and negotiation to settle, rather than to litigate; Eliminate Facilitron (high charges for each facility rental); to bring back revenue to our district
• Advocate for a legitimate return of monies/appeal due- eg $500K shortfall every year, past 5 years for bussing students
• Ensuring funding is allocated to students and staff first

How many budget meetings have you attended and have you put forth any solutions?

Attended Budget meetings (as a regular board member) and proposed several solutions including the hiring of one board attorney (instead of two), amicable resolution and mediation, instead of litigation. I DO NOT advocate for outsourcing (wherever possible) and would eliminate outsourcing to Facilitron (who charge the district a high percentage for each facility rental); and bring back the before and after school programs to the district, where the paraprofessionals can operate it once again. This not only brings back employment to South Brunswick, but continues to allow the nurtured relationships between the student and staff member.

Transportation is a statewide issue. Do you feel transportation issues are being handled well by the district? If not, how do you propose improving it?

Transportation (shortage of bus drivers) is a statewide issue and the newly implemented triple route proved successful. This year:

• Many bus routes were eliminated this year affecting at least 250 students ranging from elementary, middle and high school. They were informed after the BOE had decided to eliminate routes and after giving the contracts to bussing vendors.
• Followed by a petition with over 1000 signatures, huge attendances at the BOE meetings, a bussing march, meetings with SBPD and public comments at the township.
• Although key stakeholders will try to shift the responsibility to others- the safety of students is the number one priority.
• Key questions as to why there was no transparency when making such decisions, why safety studies were not conducted beforehand, why parents were not informed, why there were no other options offered to parents.

The safety of every student is the first priority and safety studies should be carried out prior to any decision.

What other issues do you feel need to be tackled in the district?

We must treat mental health and bullying as a priority. Although we have an HIB Policy and administrators to implement it, there are many instances of bullying which do not fall within these definitions, students are asked to apologize and their actions continue
Advocated for a “Safe to say culture” for almost 9 years, where students or parents can report anonymously- to report incidents safely without fear of repercussion. This may also act as a deterrent to other students. Some districts have adopted a hotline to offer this service which has proved productive. Other districts have invested in software which flags key words & phrases

What sets you apart from other candidates?

My journey began in 2014 when I persistently advocated at every BOE meeting for almost 2 1/2 years campaigning against mental health and stress. As a result, the district gave Homework Free Holidays for almost 9000 students, a White Paper Policy was established, and Professional Development was modified to examine these issues.

You need only to see my track record of voting with my conscience, the first to ask tough questions, first to ask why, first to abstain or to say when I disagree. To date, I have voiced my concerns, voted in line with students’ best interests, and collaborated with board members to collectively reach amicable decisions. To be an effective BOE, it is vital to render independent, unbiased judgment and to vote in the same way.

If the board merely exists to blindly rubber-stamp all decisions, there is no need for a BOE in South Brunswick.

What else would you like to share about yourself or your campaign?

My family and I have lived in South Brunswick for 19 years and since I moved here, I have been involved with the community joining the steering committee of the YMCA. Since then we bought a local business offering jobs, and joined the township's Municipal Alliance Against Substance Abuse, the South Brunswick Commission On Women, the Rent Control Committee, the NJ American Academy of Pediatrics, I am a proud South Brunswick Township Lion and sit on the Women Of Color Taskforce for the NJ Coalition to End Domestic Violence.

I first ran for the board in 2017 to make a difference, to be the voice. Board members are the effective checks and balances, to be intelligent enough to question district or State policies & procedures, to ask the difficult questions and have the courage to vote as they think best. To date, I have voiced my concerns, voted with my conscience, and voted nowhere needed, in the best interests of students & worked in collaboration with board members to collectively reach amicable decisions, for the best interests of our district at large.

We have come a long way since my last election with greater community involvement, more forums for discussion & active participation. Nothing is more important to me than full transparency and parents being fully informed and for the opportunity to collaborate. There are less chances for conflict where there is information before a vote, ideas to consider & mutual understanding

We have great challenges & great opportunities, & with your help we will meet them to make this next year the best year in history!

Please vote for Joyce Mehta column 6! Thank you for all your incredible support over the years.