By Donald Gilpin

When Princeton voters go to the polls on November 6, the much discussed facilities referendum won’t be the only important question they face in determining the future of thousands of Princeton Public Schools (PPS) children. Also on the ballot will be five candidates vying for three positions on the Board of Education (BOE).

Two one-term incumbents, Betsy Baglio and Dafna Kendal, and three new hopefuls, Mary Clurman, Daniel J. Dart, and Brian J. McDonald, are all seeking three-year terms on the ten-member board.

Clurman, 76, who has lived in Princeton for the past ten years, is a retired Montessori teacher, child care consultant to major New Jersey hospitals, child care grant winner and administrator, and professional association board member.

She expressed reservations about the $130M bond referendum proposal ”because it is being planned without concern for critical input from the community it must serve.“ Calling for a more responsive school system, she warned, “A Board of Education that presents its plans on a ‘we know best, take it or leave it’ basis does not understand the Princeton community and sets a poor example for students.”

Clurman noted that a major priority for her would be “to help develop a better support system for students, teachers, and families, for those who need extra help, as well as those seeking advanced work.”

Dart is a private investor and volunteer leader in several nonprofit organizations in the Princeton area, including The Watershed Institute, Corner House Foundation, and Trinity Church, according to his LinkedIn profile. He is also an ambassador for the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential and a passionate consumer health advocate.

Dart, 62, retired as chief operating officer of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers in December 2006 after more than four years in that position. Before that he was national sales manager for AllianceBernstein. Dart has two daughters, one a 2017 PHS graduate and the other currently at Johnson Park. He could not be reached for comment at press time.

McDonald, 57, a sculptor and designer who also advises nonprofits on governance and fundraising, has served in a senior role at a veterinary medicine start-up (2011-2013), as vice president for development for Princeton University (2002-2010), before 2002 in public finance at Kidder Peabody & Co. and The First Boston Corporation, and as an entrepreneur in the restaurant, music, and fine arts fields. He has served on several local boards and from 2011-17 was a member of the town of Princeton’s Citizens’ Finance Advisory Committee.

A Princeton resident since 1995, McDonald has three children who have all gone through the Princeton Public Schools, with the youngest now a sophomore at Princeton High School (PHS).

Expressing concerns about aging facilities; students’ health, security, and fair treatment; increasing enrollment; and budget stress; McDonald stated, “I think that I can help chart a path forward that achieves important priorities for our schools and our town — making critical investments in our schools while also keeping tax increases as low as possible.” Generally supportive of the district’s initiatives and the current referendum, McDonald emphasized the importance of transparency and community participation in decision-making. He also proposed the establishment of two citizens’ committees to advise the BOE; one on finances and the other on facilities’ construction, renovation, and maintenance.

Baglio, 43, noting her “important perspective as a former public school teacher,” has served as chair of Student Achievement and Ad Hoc Equity Committees and as a member of the Personnel Committee of the BOE.

She emphasized her goal of increased collaboration among staff, students, parents, community, and Board as key to her platform in the 2015 election and noted the positive results of such collaboration in “meaningful changes for students, such as a new PHS schedule, consideration of meaningful homework, new programs for our underserved student population, and the development and distribution of multiple surveys to families in order to inform instructional and district-wide practices.”

Baglio, who has two sons in district schools, stated that increasing communication among all stakeholders and “equity for all within our schools” would be priorities for her if re-elected.

Kendal, 46, a lawyer, has served as chair of the Board Facilities Committee and also member of Student Achievement and Negotiations Committees and an alternate on the Policy Committee. She said she is running for a second term “to continue the work I have started.”

Kendal noted specifically the later start time at PHS in response to community concerns and scientific research; approval of responsible union contracts through 2020; creation of the Alternate Revenue Committee with voluntary contributions to the district’s operating fund so far negotiated with the Institute for Advanced Study and the Princeton Theological Seminary; and increased transparency and communication, including public commentary opportunities at the start, middle, and end of board meetings; and summaries of meetings sent to all PPS parents and staff, with a link to the video recording of the meeting.

If re-elected, said Kendal, who has two children in district schools, “my priorities would include renewing the labor union contracts in an efficient and respectful manner, continuing to improve communications with all stakeholders in the community, and proposing that the district conduct an audit of its special education services.”

All five office-seekers filed petitions to run by the July 30, 2018 deadline, according to the Mercer County Clerk’s Office. Board President Patrick Sullivan earlier announced that he will be stepping down from the BOE when his term ends at the end of this year.