Five candidates are running for three, three-year open seats on the Princeton Public Schools Board of Education.
Incumbent school board members Deborah Bronfeld, Susan Kanter and Dafna Kendal will face challengers Rita Rafalovsky and Lishian “Lisa” Wu in the November school board election.
Bronfeld has lived in Princeton for more than 20 years. Her children are graduates of Princeton High School.
Bronfeld said she is seeking re-election because she wants to focus on several areas. She wants to create a budget that ensures every student is offered an excellent education. At the same time, “the budget must be crafted so that residents will be able to stay in their homes and pay reasonable property taxes,” she said.
Noting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ “education, social development and mental well-being,” Bronfeld said she would focus on supporting more counselors to ensure there are services available to meet students’ needs.
“My highest priority is to ensure that every student receives a free high school degree from Princeton High School. A high priority is to prepare our students for life after high school, whether they head to work, a two- or four-year college, a vocational school, the military or a gap year,” Bronfeld said.
Kanter has lived in Princeton for more than 20 years. Her children are graduates of Princeton High School.
Kanter said she is running for re-election because she wants to help strengthen the school district with sound and informed oversight – to ensure that it is well run and that all students are learning to their full potential.
If she is re-elected, Kanter said she would focus on seeing through the projects associated with the 2018 and 2022 referenda. Those projects provide maintenance to the school buildings and “real progress” toward the district’s sustainability goals, she said.
Kanter said she is looking forward to the completion of the school district’s new strategic plan, which she said will “set out clear goals and measurable outcomes.”
Kendal has lived in Princeton for more than 10 years and has two children enrolled in the Princeton Public Schools.
“I am running for re-election because I believe continuity on the board is important, given all of the turnover our district – like many districts across the country – has experienced,” she said.
Kendal said that if she is re-elected, she would focus on ensuring that the Princeton Public Schools remains “one of the top public school districts in New Jersey, while at the same time offering all students opportunities to reach their full potential.”
She said she would also continue to address students’ needs that were amplified because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The years of isolation that resulted from remote learning have taken a toll on the students,” she said adding the district has “formed partnerships with mental health providers to help them and will continue to do so.”
Rafalovsky has lived in Princeton for more than 10 years. One of her two young children is enrolled in the Princeton Public Schools and the other child is enrolled at a private school. She expects both children to attend Princeton High School.
Rafalovsky said she is running for the school board because she wants the Princeton Public Schools to regain its ranking as the best public school district in New Jersey. Its ranking has slipped in recent years, she said. “U.S. News & World Report” ranked the district at 94th in the nation in 2009, but it fell to 490th in 2022, she said.
“Princeton High School students’ math proficiency is 13 to 19 points behind neighboring Montgomery High School and the two West Windsor-Plainsboro high schools,” Rafalovsky said. Rankings are not the final grade, but they are indicative of overall perceived quality, she said.
“I have the passion, skill set and tenacity to advocate on behalf of Princeton’s parents with school district leaders to define measurable district goals to evaluate performance and establish accountability. We should be employing proven ‘best practices’ from districts outperforming ours,” she said.
Wu has lived in Princeton for seven years. She has two adult daughters and one adult son.
“‘Take back pride’ is why I am running for school board. Princeton’s ranking dropped from 94th in 2009 to 490th in 2022,” Wu said.
“I am suggesting [the board] focus on students getting a real education, not ideology. The school board should have a policy of openness and fiscal responsibility. We are here for all students and the school district,” she said.
Polls open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 8.
