Photo by Yael Katzwer
South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education candidates, from left, Elizabeth Baker, Maureen Jones, Godwin Molokwu and Donna Smith, debate issues facing the school district at an Oct. 13 forum.
MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE — The candidates running for the open seats on the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education shared their opinions on several important issues Oct. 13 at their second candidates forum, this one co-hosted by the League of Women Voters of Maplewood and South Orange and by the SOMSD Presidents’ Council in the SOMSD Meeting Room on Academy Street in Maplewood.
This year’s Nov. 4 election will see four local residents vying for three open seats. The candidates are Elizabeth Baker, Maureen Jones and Dr. Godwin Molokwu, all of Maplewood, and Donna Smith of South Orange. Baker and Jones are running a joint campaign.
The three seats are being left vacant by the following departing BOE members: First Vice President Sandra Karriem, Second Vice President Bill Gaudelli and Andrea Wren-Hardin. While six locals originally threw their hats into the ring, Elissa Malespina of South Orange and Anthony Mazzocchi of Maplewood have withdrawn from the race.
The Oct. 13 forum, moderated by Diane Gallo of the LWV of Berkeley Heights-New Providence-Summit, featured opening statements, the candidates’ responses to questions they had received prior to the forum, a question-and-answer session and closing statements.
Baker, a 12-year resident of Maplewood, is mother to two girls, one a Tuscan Elementary student and the other a seventh-grader at Maplewood Middle School. She served on the Tuscan Elementary School PTA Board from 2010 to 2012 and as the PTA’s science, technology, engineering and math co-chairwoman during the 2012-13 school year. In spring 2014, Baker served on the Schools Subcommittee of the Maplewood Citizens’ Budget Advisory Committee, reviewing the school budget. She is an associate general counsel of the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ in New York City, with experience in financial oversight, negotiations and governance.
“I want to make sure the vision we’ve adapted at Academy Street becomes the reality in every school,” Baker said in her opening statement. She stressed that while some students excel in the local schools, obstacles such as poor consistency, failed communication and low expectations exist. “We can and must do better for our children,” she said.
Dr. Molokwu, a longtime Maplewood resident and former math and science teacher, is currently a practicing gastroenterologist who has won several awards, including the Distinguished Achievement Award for his contributions to the study of hepatitis C. According to his personal statement, Molokwu, a Nigerian immigrant, has always had a healthy respect for education. He has four children, which gives him firsthand experience with the school district. He is a fixture at BOE meetings, sometimes speaking during the public-comment period to address issues.
“Most of the kids that graduate these days are not able to write,” Molokwu said during his opening statement, lamenting the current results of public education and saying that the school district is visibly worse today than it was when he moved to Maplewood 17 years ago. Molokwu believes that if the SOMSD maintains its status quo, local children will be unable to compete on a global stage. “No one cares about our children; they are flunking out.”
Smith, a 24-year resident of South Orange, has been actively involved in the school community for more than 15 years, ranging from PTA volunteer to leadership roles on BOE committees. Smith spearheaded two parent groups, “Levels Can Work” and “Group for Objective Academic Leveling”; as a result, she was asked to participate on the district’s “Task Force on Excellence and Equity.” Smith’s three children attended schools in the district, from elementary school through Columbia High School, and her youngest will graduate from CHS in June 2015. Smith is an attorney specializing in customs and international trade.
“I keep hearing, ‘My child is not being challenged enough,’” Smith said in her opening statement, referring to parents’ comments at recent forums held by the school district to gain input for selecting a new superintendent. Smith wants to see the district hire good teachers, increase the professional development offered to those teachers, and increase student access to honors and AP classes. “It’s time for me to take up that challenge.”
Jones, a four-year resident of Maplewood, is an educator who works with special-needs children, specializing in speech and language pathology. She has worked with children from birth through age 12 in a variety of settings, including preschool programs, public schools, community health delivery and home-based services. With two daughters at Clinton Elementary School, Jones served as president of the school’s PTA last school year and as vice president for the 2012-2013 school year.
“We need to make sure every student gets the help they need,” Jones said in her opening statement, telling the community that she immigrated to the United States from Haiti at age 7 and attended an English-speaking school when she did not speak English, and therefore understands the diverse needs of local children and the challenges they face. “Good things are happening in the district, but we also know we have our challenges.”
When asked what qualities the candidates would like to see in a new superintendent of schools, all agreed that the new superintendent must be responsible, accessible and supportive.
Baker stressed that the district needs a superintendent who is “the whole package,” a manager, an educator, a communicator, a leader and more. She said that the new superintendent must be able to build a great team, because no one can run the district alone. She also believes the new superintendent should support teachers, especially novice teachers. “We are a district that someone who is the total package should want to join,” Baker said.
Smith is looking for a “visionary, someone who can hit the ground running.” She cited the many changes currently taking place within the school district, such as the Common Core curriculum, the International Baccalaureate program in the middle schools, the PARCC exams for students, the Achieve NJ teacher evaluations and the recent turnover in administrative positions, and said that the district needs a good manager who “can take charge of all of these vast changes.”
Jones said she wants a superintendent who understands the district’s diversity and can use it as a strength, as well as someone who knows how to balance a school district budget. “We need someone who is able to say ‘no’ when the board asks for too much at once,” Jones said with regard to fiscal requests.
According to Molokwu, the new superintendent should have strong leadership skills, be an effective communicator and, most importantly, be trustworthy. He wants someone who has demonstrated they can lead, whether in a school or a governmental atmosphere. “You don’t have to be a teacher,” Molokwu said. “You can come from anywhere.” However, Molokwu had stated at the Sept. 16 candidates’ forum that the new superintendent should have an education background as “this is not a time to learn on the job.”
Gallo then asked the candidates how they believe the board should respond to municipal development, changes that are increasing enrollment in the district, which is already at full capacity.
Baker, Jones and Smith were in agreement that increased enrollment is a reality and that the district is already working to address this by adding the new wing to Maplewood Middle School, planning to renovate Columbia High School, and moving the preschool programs at Marshall, Jefferson and South Mountain elementary schools to empty space located in the Montrose School.
Smith believes that convincing more parents to opt their children into the Seth Boyden School could help the overcrowding problem, as there is available space at that school. Jones, like Smith, believes that the district should utilize the space it has and “can’t compromise on class size.”
Baker believes the real issue is finding adequate revenue sources to support these children; she wants to see the school board and the two towns work collaboratively to find a fiscal solution, as was formerly done when the district had a Board of School Estimate.
Unlike the other three candidates Molokwu believes “increased enrollment is good news.” He said the district has unused venues that need to be filled. “We need to use what we have; don’t bus kids out,” he urged. “We want more students.”
All candidates voiced agreement, however, when asked whether the IB program should be implemented at the high school level — they all said “not yet.” The four candidates agreed that, although IB appears to be beneficial in the middle schools, until it has been in effect in the middle schools for a longer time and has been fully evaluated, it should not be expanded to the high school.
The last question from the LWV questioned how the board should address equity with regard to Maplewood and South Orange’s diverse ethnic and socioeconomic population.
Smith said the district should make it “a top priority to challenge all students,” regardless of race and socioeconomic or class level. She believes this can be done through better teacher training and by increasing access to AP and honors classes, to which parents of color often claim their children do not have access. “If there aren’t enough offerings, open up more,” Smith said.
The ACLU has recently filed a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights claiming that the school district racially discriminates against children of color through leveling.
Baker promised that she is, “committed to challenge and opportunity for all children in our district.” She believes that the achievement gap between white students and students of color can be reduced through early intervention in the elementary schools.
“True success only happens when the superintendent, board of education and teachers truly see the value of every child,” Jones said, stressing that all children, regardless of race or socioeconomic level have opportunities. “Every parent wants their child to be truly seen in the classroom,” Jones told the audience.
Molokwu argued that the students who are currently underachieving need to receive more help. He wants to “put emphasis” on the students in the lower levels who may be struggling. “Do we need to invest in the kids doing well? No,” Molokwu said.
During the Q-and-A portion of the evening, an audience member asked the candidates how they would work to retain specialist teachers, such as librarians, art teachers and music teachers, in the district.
“The arts are really an important part of our curriculum,” Jones said, stressing that the arts help all children. She wants to keep cuts away from the arts as much as possible.
Smith said that they obviously want to maintain arts in the district and need to work to resolve financial and scheduling issues that may bar some students from accessing these classes.
Baker informed the audience that the school board eliminated 13 teaching positions, nearly all of whom were arts and special education teachers, last year. “We need to work with Trenton to maintain programs and teachers,” Baker said, adding that she wants to look into grants, citing how the physical education program in the school district is proactive in gaining grants.
Molokwu, who did not appear to understand the question, responded that the district needs to help special education teachers and students in every way possible.
Candidates were asked by another audience member how they would propose to keep good teachers in the district.
Smith reiterated that the new superintendent has to be good manager and that the administration must make teachers partners in developing and implementing new programs and ideas. “Teachers need to be respected,” Smith said.
Baker pointed out that the country is now seeing a wave of retirements from baby boomers, which gives the district the opportunity to bring in fresh faces. She cautioned, however, that these new teachers need respect and career paths that give them the opportunity to advance.
Molokwu suggested using rewards and incentives to keep good teachers and to help the good teachers influence and ameliorate the bad teachers. “We don’t want bad teachers,” Molokwu said, referring to underperforming teachers, as well as the recent scandal involving CHS teacher Nicole DuFault, who was arrested for allegedly having sex with five of her students. “We don’t want teachers who abuse kids — let them go somewhere else.”
Jones said she believes good teachers can be retained by hiring a superintendent who forms relationships with them, maintaining that teachers will stay if they are supported and respected.
After answering a few more questions, candidates gave their closing statements.
“Improvement in the schools should be something we do with our teachers, not to our teachers,” Jones said, stressing that students needs “challenge, rigor and opportunity.”
“I care very much about the quality of education being provided to our children,” Smith said, calling herself a “consensus builder.”
“We can change things,” Molokwu said, telling the audience that the status quo was unacceptable. “Give me chance; if I don’t do a good job, I will resign.”
“I believe in making opportunities out of obstacles,” Baker said, stressing that the district’s current challenges will be more difficult to solve due to the current deficit. “No one board member can do it alone.”