Issues

Education

The Edison Board of Education needs to improve in several areas if students are to prosper in its schools. They must provide more computers and upgrade the wiring infrastructure. Students taking Advanced Placement courses should receive greater incentives to earn college credit by taking the AP tests; currently, only one of three students enrolled in AP courses is tested. The World Language offerings must be vetted and changed, if necessary, so that our students are properly prepared for the evolving global society of the future. Due to the high number of student suspensions relative to state averages in the high schools and middle schools, a program to reduce student suspensions should be launched, following the example of the in-school suspension program at Edison High School.

Fiscal Responsibility

The Board should oversee taxpayers’ money with greater prudence and frugality, especially in these stressful times with Edison residents losing their jobs and foreclosing on their homes. The current leadership of the Edison Board has squandered taxpayer resources by unilaterally placing a superintendent on leave for two and a half years at a cost of $500,000. The Board Leadership has failed to carry out its key job of searching for and hiring the most qualified superintendent. All decisions of the Board, including raising the required graduation credits from 115 to 130, must consider the fiscal implications to taxpayers relative to the educational benefit to students.

School Overcrowding

The Edison community has displayed its distrust of Board leadership by rejecting several recent bond referenda to relieve the overcrowded conditions of Edison’s Public Schools. Student enrollment in the District for the 20 year period from 1988 to 2008 has increased over 40% with only a modest amount of classrooms added to accommodate the increased number of students. Science classrooms and labs must replace “science on a cart” with adequate instructional spaces to compete with other global students in an increasingly scientific world of the future. The taxpayers need a School Board with leadership they can trust to create a long-term plan to address the overcrowded conditions of Edison’s schools, balancing the student enrollment cycles with the affordability of Edison’s taxpayers.

Accountability

The Board should be accountable and should listen to the public. Some members of the current Board have conflicts of interest with family members as employees and consequently are ineligible to vote on many critical issues that come before the Board. I have no conflicts of interests, no family members on the District payroll nor do I have any personal interest in businesses dealing with the District.
Students deserve the best teachers and staff based on ability and I will uphold integrity in the hiring and promotion process.