By Donald Gilpin

Beth Behrend and Michele Tuck-Ponder will be running for reelection in the November 7 election, and Adam Bierman, Eleanor Hubbard, and Rene Obregon Jr., will be competing with them for three seats on the Princeton Public Schools (PPS) Board of Education (BOE).

BOE member Jean Durbin, the third incumbent whose term is up at the end of the year, had not filed for reelection by the July 31 deadline and could not be reached for comment.

Behrend and Tuck-Ponder have both served on the BOE for two three-year terms. Behrend, a Riverside Drive resident, was board president from 2019 to 2021. She has worked as an attorney in New York and Princeton and has been a frequent community volunteer. The youngest of her three children is a rising senior at Princeton High School (PHS).

Michele Tuck-Ponder

Tuck-Ponder, a Laurel Circle resident, has served as vice president of the BOE and has held various local offices, including mayor of Princeton Township, over the past 30 years. Her daughter graduated from PHS in 2017 and her son is a rising PHS junior. Tuck-Ponder is executive director of an educational administration nonprofit based in Cherry Hill.

Bierman, who lives on Grover Avenue and was unsuccessful in two previous campaigns for BOE, works as a teacher at the State Division of Children and Families in Trenton. He has served as an educational administrator, a shop steward for the Communications Workers of America, and a member of the executive board of the Princeton Community Democratic Organization.

Hubbard, who lives on Prospect Avenue, taught in the history department at Princeton University from 2009-2020. She has three children in the PPS, one at Princeton Middle School and two at Riverside, where Hubbard is currently garden vice president in the PTO.

Rene Obregon Jr.

She earned her BA and Ph.D. from Harvard University, has served as a NYC Teaching Fellow, and taught for two years at PS 65 in the South Bronx. For eight years she was a trustee of UNOW, the University-affiliated early childhood center, and served one year as board president there.

Obregon is a lifelong New Jersey resident — Princeton for the last 14 years. He has been an active volunteering parent in the activities and schools of his two sons, who are currently rising 10th and 11th graders at PHS.

Obregon, who lives on Walker Drive, is the CEO of Numis Securities Inc., the United States arm of a U.K. investment bank in New York City.

Each candidate was asked to state in about 100 words why they were running for the BOE.  Their responses follow.

Behrend: “I’m running for our children.  My youngest graduates next year from PHS, and I want to ensure that all of our children continue to enjoy the benefits and opportunities offered by one of the best public school systems in the nation, for years to come. Public education, by no means perfect, is essential to our democracy. Stewarding and improving our public schools — to better serve every child’s needs — is challenging but deeply rewarding work. I’ve been privileged to serve for six years on the BOE; I’d like to continue contributing my experience and expertise to this important work.”

Beth Behrend

Bierman: “Education and public service are in my family’s DNA. I have taught diverse students worldwide. Currently, I teach teen moms in Trenton. I grew up in Princeton and went through the Princeton public school system. My mother taught at Princeton public schools for over 30 years. My dad was president of the Board of Education in the late’70s. As a devoted educator, I see the firsthand impact of public education on students.”

Hubbard: “I am running for the Board of Education because high quality public education is critical for the well-being and advancement of both individual students and our society at large. I want all students in our schools to receive excellent educations with expert teaching and rich and challenging curricula, so they will graduate with strong academic foundations and informed critical thinking skills. I would like to promote effective and positive leadership, good governance, and sound judgment in the district so that it can focus its resources on meeting our students’ needs, now and in the future.” 

Obregon: “I believe a strong education is vital for the future career development of all PPS graduates. Where achievement gaps exist, our focus should be on helping those students bridge the gap. Concurrently, we should also push to continually raise the bar for all of PPS — not create obstacles to higher achievement. I believe prudent forecasting and planning is vital to ensure PPS is a good steward of our tax dollars, as we manage the pulling forces of growing enrollment and maintaining high educational standards. I plan to listen and engage with all constituents of the community, and be transparent on all issues. I have the background (finance, consensus, and team-building) and desire to work constructively to move PPS forward. I look forward to engaging with the community to discuss and address the issues at hand.”

Eleanor Hubbard

Tuck-Ponder: “Throughout my six years on the BOE, I have been an independent voice for equity and excellence in education for all students. This elusive and challenging goal must be approached with consistency, clarity of intent, and a commitment to fairness. I believe that the voters have recognized that I bring those qualities and strengths to the Board as well as a long record of public service to Princeton and will support my candidacy in the November election.”

In three months, Princeton voters will be asked to cast their ballots for three of the five candidates in the November 7 election.