Name: Madhu
Pai
Town: South
Orange
Years living
in district: 9 (7 in Maplewood, 2 in South Orange)
Children in
district: 2 (Rohan, 3rd grade and Priya, 6th grade)
Occupation:
Communications (Advertising)
Why do you want to be on the school
board?
Our schools
are going to determine the success of two things that matter greatly to me: our
children and our community.
With the
hiring of Dr. Ramos as our Superintendent, we have filled a leadership gap
that, frankly, started before I was elected on the Board of Education in
2012. We are already behind in the work
that needs to get done to move our school district from good to great – and we
have a lot to do.
With the
Equity and Access Policy finally in front of the board, we have the opportunity
to redefine how teaching and learning happens in this district. We are on the cusp of great things!
Over the last
three years, I have learned to be an effective board member who can lead,
collaborate, inspire and motivate. Over the last few months, I’ve built a
relationship of mutual trust with our Superintendent. We have defined goals that include improving
on our district’s operations, with a focus on communication and responsiveness.
Now, more
than ever - when we are playing catch up –
ü
Experience
matters
ü
Expertise
in how to achieve great teaching and learning matters
ü
Having
the background knowledge to quickly align with our Superintendent on district
priorities matters
These are the
qualifications that I along with my running mates, Mr. Wayne Eastman and Ms. Peggy
Freedson, will bring to the Board of Education.
What is your top priority for the
district?
My top
priority for the district is to have the BOE pass, and the Administration
implement with excellence, the new Access
and Equity policy. This policy is truly visionary because it will redefine
the way the school district operates by providing choice and open access for
all students to take more rigorous classes.
The policy will ensure that rigor is a fundamental part of the K-12
curriculum. It will empower and enable students to take on challenging
coursework. It will also hopefully
provide teachers with a voice in driving how teaching and learning will happen
in this district.
The creation
of this policy is particularly rewarding for me because it was based on the
platform for choice that Wayne and I ran on in 2012. Once it is voted on by the
BOE, and hopefully passed, the Superintendent will be responsible for bringing
forth a plan to implement the Access and Equity policy, including the specifics
of how. And we’ll be responsible for holding him accountable for good
implementation.
How would you cut costs without
cutting education?
Every BOE
candidate is asked questions about how they will approach the budget. In truth,
the BOE doesn’t create the budget. Nor does the BOE redline or vote on
individual items on the budget. The BOE’s role is to oversee an effective
budget development process, and set a tax cap on the Operating Budget intended
to prevent tax increases that would hurt taxpayers.
While
prioritizing the delivery of a first-rate education for our students, my
running mates and I will seek to curtail our community’s rising local property
tax burden by carrying on Jeff Bennett’s work to secure our fair share of State
Aid. During our time in office, Mr.
Eastman and I have voted and fought for a 2% tax cap for the Operating Budget.
We pressed the Administration to find more innovative solutions to bridge the
school district’s $20 million budget deficit – one that cannot be addressed by
simply cutting programs, or solved by increasing taxes.
We will also
provide the Superintendent with clearly focused budget objectives and advocate
aggressively for pragmatic cost solutions like better, lower-cost healthcare
plans. The board recently passed a resolution to enter into a new Healthcare
plan that will reduce the district’s premium payments by $600,000 while
providing the same healthcare benefits to our staff. Given that 95% of the school budget is fixed
costs like salary and healthcare, this savings is substantial. It will allow
the district more dollars to allocate toward supporting our teachers and
supporting sound educational programs.
What is your opinion of Dr. John Ramos
and did you support his hiring?
I believe Dr.
John Ramos is the right administrative leader our district needs to take it
from good to great. This past summer, in
a unanimous 8-0 vote (among all voting members), the BOE hired Dr. Ramos to be
our Superintendent, filling a multi-year leadership gap. Dr. Ramos comes to this district with many
years experience in teaching, district administration and prior service as a
Superintendent.
He is a rare
find given his balanced focus on getting the basics of our district’s
operations right, and pushing forward well thought out and properly paced
innovation. This balance is something we’ve been lacking in our district. Through a comprehensive process that gathered
extensive input from the community, we were able to bring someone of Dr. Ramos’
caliber to our district despite the terrible disadvantage of the Governor’s
salary cap.
How will you improve district
communications with residents and parents?
As someone
who works in an executive position in the Communications industry, improving
communications was among the first priorities that I discussed with Dr. Ramos. There
are three prongs to communication that should be addressed: 1. Responsiveness,
2. Transparency and 3. BOE Communication with the community.
As it relates
to responsiveness, the Board recently approved a three-month pilot of the
“Let’s Talk” program to help improve communication. “Let’s Talk” is a portal
for the community to reach the Superintendent, key Administrators and the
BOE. It tracks and provides analytics
around response rates and timing to ensure we are all delivering on timely and meaningful communication. I am hopeful that it will bring systematic
operational excellence, powered by tracking and analytics, in the area of
district communication.
The new
Access and Equity policy will enable and require the district to be more
transparent in proactively communicating out critical information that students
and parents need to make decisions about class choices and academic
placement. It will require that
expectations of each class and placement level is defined by teachers and clearly
communicated so students, caregivers so that all have the same understanding of
expectations. Timeliness in communication will also need to be re-evaluated.
One can’t enable choice with late-breaking communication like, for example, the
timing of the current middle school math placement letters.
In our own
outreach with the community, the BOE has held multiple public forums including
a joint session with Township officials on school safety and a forum to discuss
the future of Seth Boyden. I also led the pilot of BOE Office Hours, intended
to provide the community with opportunities for face-to-face interaction with
BOE members outside of the monthly board meetings. Although we discontinued Office
Hours due to low community attendance, it was an important step in making the
BOE more accessible to the community. I
welcome the opportunity to bring it back!
Should the board increase to two
meetings per month to avoid late actions?
The Board has
not discussed going to two meetings a month.
From what I understand, when this was practice years ago, meetings still
went late into the night – two times a month.
I personally don’t believe two meetings is a solve to meetings that go
late.
Under the current
leadership (of which I count myself, as 1st Vice President), we are
getting better at running more efficient meetings. However, when there are polarizing issues on
for vote or contentious issues in our schools, there is often a long list of
Public Speaks. A long list of speakers
can often drive the BOE meeting long into the night. Public Speaks is a requirement of public
meetings but it’s not entirely meaningful. The Board listens but does not
respond to keep efficient meetings running on time, and because it must answer
as one body vs. 9 individuals. This can
often, understandably, frustrate members of the public or give the impression
that we are emotionless robots. That
could not be further from the truth.
I believe separate,
monthly Board Office Hours, which I piloted, can deliver on the need for more
meaningful engagement with Board Members.
It offers the public an
alternative to only being able to speak at Board of Education meetings. It could be a win-win initiative for both the
BOE and the public.
What would you do to reduce the number
of standardized tests for our students such as NJ ASK and PARCC?
We’ve been
through an era of massive expansion of high-stakes standardized testing that
may have been right for the accountability needs of the time. We are in a different time now. While I strongly believe in accountability given
the high taxes we pay in these towns (with nearly 60% of our tax dollars going
toward the schools), I do not believe it can be achieved without a measured and
thoughtful approach to testing.
The governing
board of the PARCC exam has already decided that the English and math tests
will be reduced by about 90 minutes in each grade beginning in 2015-16. There will
also be a consolidation of the two Spring testing windows into one at the end
of the school year.
Education in
our district must be organized around a rich, engaging and multifaceted
curriculum - not dominated by test preparation or “teaching to the test.” Most
importantly, we must ensure that the test data we collect is used for its true
purpose: to identify student strengths
and needs, and to improve classroom instruction.
How would you change math placement in
the upper grades?
The Access
and Equity policy will change placement criteria across all subjects in all
grades, across the district. It will ensure
all students are empowered to pursue their own greatest academic challenges by
increasing access to higher-level classes and promoting clear expectations of
personal responsibility and achievement.
To be successful, we will need energetic and committed support from
educators at all grade levels K-12, and will encourage the development of
strategies that encourage and support student success with exposure to rich and
rigorous content.
There have been many complaints about
team coaches being dismissed, how would you make sure fairness is exercised in
such hirings and firings?
South
Orange-Maplewood must be a destination for top-notch educators—in the classroom
and out on the field. We must do a
better job of retaining and recognizing the great talent we already have. We
must also ensure that the same expectations we have of our teachers in the
classroom are carried through to those who coach sports teams on a field or
court.
The Board has
nearly 50 policies that outline both the rights and expectations of staff. We also have a clearly laid out code of
conduct, which is tied to our anti-bullying efforts. We hold the Superintendent accountable for
implementing these policies and the code of conduct, ensuring fair hiring
practices and ensuring there is a clear process in place, and which is followed
for non-renewals. This expectation of
accountability is both a part of our Board goals and built into the evaluation
criteria for the Superintendent.
Anything else you want to say?
Being a Board
of Education member is a complex role that requires a fundamental understanding
of “policy governance.” It takes work
and time to learn, which is why I feel a whole-scale turn over of the Board
this year would not be good for the district. This is why I am running again. We have a lot to do, and we must move
quickly.
The lines
between policy governance (BOE work)
and district management
(Administration work) can get blurred on the campaign trail with promises made
or ideas presented about specific programs or budget items. It’s important to note that management is not
the role of a school board. The Superintendent manages running the district,
focusing on details like developing curriculum, managing staff, creating the
budget and deciding on specific educational programs.
A good BOE
doesn’t interfere with the Superintendent’s operation with the district, or
with the day-to-day work of principals or teachers. To do so would demoralize
district Administration and also prevent the BOE from doing it’s own work to
move our schools forward.
A good BOE
member understands that what matters most isn’t simply supporting or punishing
the Superintendent and Administration. Rather, our role is to find thoughtful
ways to motivate the Administration while demanding accountability and
providing constructive feedback. Over
the past few months, the BOE has built a relationship of mutual respect and
understanding with Dr. Ramos. We are already working in partnership to drive
the district forward in ways that will positively impact on our students and
staff.
To learn more
about why Madhu Pai, Wayne Eastman and Margaret (Peggy) Freedson are the right
choice for Board of Education, please visit our website at http://www.boe2015.com/
and make sure to view our comprehensive platform!
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