It was a bittersweet moment for Dan Dart and Peter Katz, whose terms on the Princeton Public Schools Board of Education came to a close at the school board’s last meeting of the year.
Dart, who did not seek re-election to the school board, and Katz, whose term as the Cranbury Public Schools Board of Education representative to the Princeton school board expired, were feted by their colleagues at the school board meeting Dec. 14.
School board member Debbie Bronfeld and school board President Beth Behrend read resolutions that honored Dart and Katz. The resolutions noted Dart’s service on the school board’s Operation, Student Achievement and Personnel committees, and the ad hoc revenue group; and Katz’s service on the Policy Committee.
Bronfeld said she had learned “a whole lot” about bonds, interest rates, taxes and other financial terms from Dart. She said she loved Dart’s out-of-the-box thinking about how to save money and offer more for the students.
“Dan excels at research. If he says he read a 20-page article, he read a 20-page article about something and then he will share everything with the rest of us,” Bronfeld said.
Bronfeld said she enjoyed working with Dart and becoming friends with him.
Katz, who represents the Cranbury Public Schools on the Princeton school board, was a wonderful school board member, said school board member Brian McDonald. The Cranbury school district sends its high school students to Princeton High School because it does not have its own high school.
“I appreciated your thoughtful perspective, clear thinking and wise counsel that you provided on a range of subjects. You not only represented Cranbury, but you have been a hardworking member of the Princeton school board,” McDonald said.
“On a personal level, I am grateful for the time you took to sit down with me on more than one occasion to share information and your point of view,” McDonald told Katz.
Behrend said she appreciated Dart’s and Katz’s service, and reminded them that they had all been through a lot together – including the many hours spent on the search for an interim superintendent of schools and then for a permanent superintendent of schools.
School board member Betsy Baglio said she appreciated their service.
“We say often at the last school board meeting of the year that one of the best things about being on the school board is that you get to meet people in the community that you would not necessarily get to know,” Baglio said.
Being on the school board is a really hard job, said school board member Michele Tuck Ponder. She said she learned an “enormous” amount from Dart and Katz.
“We disagreed a lot, but I have enormous respect for both of these gentlemen. They were terrific colleagues. I thank you for engaging me and sometimes even changing my mind,” Tuck Ponder told Dart and Katz.
Dart, in turn, thanked the school board. He said he was looking forward to engaging in school board-related research, which he promised to share with the school board.
Katz said it was a pleasure and a privilege to represent the Cranbury school district on the Princeton school board. He thanked the school board and said he is looking forward to all the good work that it will be doing without him.
