Three incumbent school board members have filed to run for three open seats on the Princeton Public Schools Board of Education.
Incumbent school board members Beth Behrend, Adam Bierman and Eleanor Hubbard filed nominating petitions by the July 27 deadline. They are running uncontested for reelection in the Nov. 3 general election.
The term is for three years.
Behrend said she is seeking her fourth term on the school board because she wants to help take the school district to the next level in meeting students’ needs.
Behrend said Superintendent of Schools Mike LaSusa, who was hired last year, has made a difference. The school district is functioning smoothly and effectively, even with increased inflationary pressure and referendum projects under way.
“It’s an exciting time for PPS, and I would like to remain part of a well-functioning board that supports our new district leadership with continuity and expertise,” she said.
Behrend said that over the next three years, she would like the district to take a more thoughtful and limited use of technology in support of student wellness and learning.
She said she would also like to see state level legislative solutions to employee benefit and school funding mechanisms that are bankrupting local communities and unduly burdening taxpayers.
Behrend said she would like to see the district take a more respectful approach to students who receive special education services. It should be rooted in trust and high expectations for what those students can achieve.
Bierman, who grew up in Princeton, said he is seeking his second term in part to honor his parents’ legacy. His father served on the school board and was its president in the 1960s, and his mother taught in the school district.
Bierman said he is an independent voice and that’s what he brings to the school board. He pledged in his first term to scrutinize the district’s operating budget to ensure every dollar counts, and to stay transparent with the public – pledges that he said he has kept.
In his next term, Bierman said he plans to deliver on the referendum projects approved by voters in 2025 – on time and on budget, and with minimal disruption to students.
Bierman also wants to fix the budget’s structural deficit. The school district spends more each year than it brings in, which results in a deficit or shortfall. Recurring expenses must match recurring revenue, he said.
“(There should be) a clear explanation of how taxes increase, changes in state aid and rising expenses affect the operating budget. You should be able to look at one page and see exactly where your money goes,” he said.
Finally, Bierman said he would like to control health care costs, which consume a large part of the school district budget. Those expenses put pressure on classroom resources, he said.
Hubbard said she is running for a second term to continue working to make public education in Princeton as good as it can be.
While the district has excellent administrators, teachers and staff who are doing the work of educating the students, there is a role for the school board to support good people and good initiatives, she said.
“Since I have joined the school board, I am happy to say that real progress has been made in terms of improving our schools. By running again, I hope to contribute toward maintaining that positive momentum,” she said.
Hubbard said her special interest on the school board has always been on academics. She is pleased that concerns about the math curriculum have been addressed. It was one of the reasons that she sought to serve on the school board.
“Going forward, I hope to support efforts to strengthen and improve other elements of the curriculum – particularly in the humanities – which have received less attention in discussions about the schools in Princeton,” she said.
“As someone who loves to read, I hope to defend the human activities of reading, thinking, talking and writing in a world increasingly flattened by screens,” Hubbard said.
