Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Rusty Reeves expounds on the video that became a central point of discussion in the recent BOE campaign.
I have never met Mr. Steve Latz, but I want to thank him for posting the video of me on March 5 at the BOE meeting. I had not given that evening a thought until I saw the video. I wish to apologize to our community for the clumsy manner in which I tried in two rushed minutes to convey my opinions regarding the achievement gap and the BOE’s address of the same. In addition, I was angry with a BOE and a Superintendent whose priorities offer little for my children. That meeting was no forum to discuss my opinions. I overstated and insulted. I am better than that, and the residents of Maplewood and South Orange deserve better than that. I said that “broadly culture” and “single-parent families” account for the achievement gap, rather than “…
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Issues of race came into play in the 2012 Board of Education election.
Published April 18, 2012, 10:33 a.m.: In Maplewood and South Orange, we pride ourselves on being forward-thinking, progressive towns. We move here for the diversity. We embrace it. We brag about it. We use it to market ourselves. This past election, we were tearing ourselves apart over it. The issue came crashing into the forefront late in the campaign. On April 12 — less than five days before polls would open — an awkward audience question was the main takeaway for many from the Community Coalition on Race-hosted candidates forum. The question was as follows (see video): "This question refers to the March 5 board meeting when a close supporter — this questioner says — a close supporter, Dr. Reeves — I'm not sure of this context — said the…
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Wayne Eastman looks to have just won his third term on the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education. His running mates, Madhu Pai and Jeff Bennett, also appear to have won.
In terms of moral intensity, the “hot” issue of the election on Tuesday was leveling. Having a well-governed Board that accepts its responsibility to define the vision and mission of the district and that holds administration accountable for student performance is a considerably more significant issue—but it does not engage people’s passions on either side the way the leveling issue does. Madhu, Jeff, and I have consistently adhered to a moderate, non-ideological position on levels. We are all levelers and we are all delevelers. For younger children and more elementary work, levels are not appropriate. For older students and more complex work, they are. People of good faith will not always agree on where to draw the lines as to where …
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Results are final.
With all districts across South Orange and Maplewood reporting, the slate of Madhu Pai, Wayne Eastman and Jeff Bennett for the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education has won election. A report that there were uncounted votes from a voting machine at Prospect Church polling place in Maplewood was incorrect. All votes were counted last night and were included in the uncertified totals, according to Maplewood Town Clerk Liz Fritzen. With all districts reporting, the vote count stands at 1912, 1921, and 2023 for Pai, Bennett and Eastman, over 1723, 1627, and 1429 for Jennifer Payne Parrish, Amy Higer and Tia Swanson (see full uncertified results in the attached pdf). The air at Pai, Bennett and Eastman headquarters was filled with cautious …
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Each candidate was given 500 words to explain his or her qualifications and platform.
Update: Joe Stupp, aka Maplewoodian, is now providing podcasts of interviews with five of the six canidates. Listen here. On Tuesday, April 17, 2012, the residents of Maplewood and South Orange will go to the polls — between 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. — to select one-third of the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education. Each year, three seats on the nine-person board are up for election. Terms are for three years. The board steers a district of more than 6,600 students and an annual budget of more than $114 million. This year, two incumbents — Wayne Eastman and Jennifer Payne Parrish — are running along with four newcomers: Jeffrey Bennett, Amy Higer, Madhu Pai and Karen (Tia) Swanson. The candidates are running on two tickets: Eastman, Bennett …
Thursday, April 12, 2012
A forum on the 12th will give the six candidates a chance to shine — and differentiate.
As the April 17 South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education election nears, locals have one more chance to see all six candidates — Jeff Bennett, Wayne Eastman, Amy Higer, Madhu Pai, Jennifer Payne-Parrish and Tia (Karen) Swanson — vying for three seats up for grabs on the nine-person board. The Community Coalition on Race is sponsoring the final community Board of Education Candidates' Forum on Thursday, April 12 at 7:00 p.m. at Marshall Elementary School, 262 Grove Street, South Orange. The Coalition advertises the event as follows: "Hear their views on sustaining our community's integration culture and academic excellence and ask your questions." For more information, call the Coalition at 973-761-6116, ext. 6.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Bennett is one of six candidates vying for three seats on the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education. Election day is Tuesday, April 17, 2012.
For the last several months, Madhu Pai, Wayne Eastman, and I have listened to the community, researched best practices in education, analyzed South Orange-Maplewood’s own strengths and weaknesses, and used those findings to create articulate a bold, positive, budget-realistic 21st Century agenda for our schools. The following profile is a summary of the ideas we hope to implement to support excellence for all children My running mates and I bring backgrounds, skills, and knowledge to the Board of Education that give us perspectives that will benefit all students. I am a proud graduate of public schools and have been passionately interested in education since I was in high school. I tutored and mentored throughout college in Chicago and …
Madhu Pai is one of six candidates vying for three seats on the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education. Election day is Tuesday, April 17, 2012.
South Orange and Maplewood are truly special towns. Many people move here because they fall in love with the kind of life this community has to offer. I want them to stay because they fall in love with what our school district has to offer. As the mother of a second grader and an incoming kindergartner, I am inheriting this school district. I have a personal stake in ensuring our schools are best in class. As the daughter of immigrants for whom a strong education led to a better life America, I believe academic achievement is the key to a bright future. I’ve put this to practice working with students from under-privileged communities in New York City through Minds Matter and the Knowledge is Power Program. As a proud graduate of …
Wayne Eastman is one of six candidates vying for three seats on the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education. Election day is Tuesday, April 17, 2012.
I’m proud to be running as part of a team with Madhu Pai and Jeffrey Bennett, two newcomers who share a deep commitment to education and stellar skills as generators of thoughtful new ideas. A good school board needs a blend of dynamic newcomers such as Madhu and Jeff and experienced members such as myself. As a board member, I have focused on fiscal responsibility as chair of the Finance, Facilities, and Technology committee. Throughout, I have worked hard to combine collegiality with respectful independence from administration, concern for proper governance, and adherence to the principle that the vision and mission of our district belong to the Board on behalf of the community. On academic placement, we had a governance breakdown. The …
Swanson is running for one of three seats up for election on the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education. Election day is Tuesday, April 17, 2012.
I grew up in a village of 300 in the middle of the Allegheny National Forest, the fifth of six children born to a country lawyer and his English major wife. When I was in high school my mother and two others founded the local weekly newspaper. A few years later, I would follow her into journalism, but first I, too, became an English major, getting a bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College and a master’s from Oxford University. For as long as I can remember, I wanted to write, and so out of grad school I took a job as the education reporter for a small daily in upstate New York. For two years, I covered some 30 school districts. After a sojourn to Japan, I returned to newspapering in the suburban bureaus of the Philadelphia Inquirer, …
Maura Walsh
9:03 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Our tax dollars should not be used to fund the CCR's efforts to support their chosen candidates. This is absolutely illegal. more ›