By AUBRIE GEORGE | The Marlton Telegram
The race for three seats opening on the Evesham Township School District Board of Education will culminate at the upcoming school board election on April 20.
Incumbent Board members Barry Fitzgerald, Lisa Mansfield and Joseph De Julius have submitted their names to run against newcomer Jay Levenson. The four candidates continue to race for a chance to fill the three, full, 3-year terms on the Board.
In our final round of questions for this year’s candidates, we gave them each some time to talk about their backgrounds and their candidacy. Each explained why they think they’re the best choice when it comes to leading your local school district.
The following are their responses:
Jay Levenson
I am a businessman, proud father, and proud grandfather. My late wife and I raised three children, and experienced the joy of watching them mature into productive adults. I see the same emotion in my children as they watch my grandchildren grow and learn in today’s environment.
The education of our children, and the decisions made on their behalf, are among the most important things that we can do today for the future of our community and our society. That is why I am so passionate about attaining a seat on the School Board.
Our student body makeup seems to compare well with those of other, similar districts. And, I am sure that every Evesham pupil’s parents are intensely interested in their success. Our dedicated teachers do a terrific job, within the bounds set by our administrators through the curriculum and budgets they establish. But, somehow our students still fail to measure up to the performance of students in neighboring districts. Why is this happening?
From my analysis of documents made available to the public, we are spending as much, if not more per pupil as these other districts. Our taxes keep rising while enrollment declines, and we receive our fair share of state and federal aid.
So, the problem does not appear to be money.
Where is the problem?
The problem is that we, as a community, have allowed our school district to succumb to the “more is better syndrome.” The old policy of tax and spend, and tax some more, has prevailed. And, if one dares to challenge this policy, administrators and unions block any path toward change.
We have a School Board that fails to tackle difficult decisions about district staffing levels; that has failed to even explore potential cost saving measures such as the outsourcing of transportation and redistricting; and that sits idly by as administration after administration proposes ever increasing budgets. We have a School Board that fails to assert its power to halt this progression toward the fiscal precipice. This is a failure that cannot persist.
At the March 31st School Board meeting, the 2010–2011 budget was approved by the Board. This was not a painless process.
The district superintendent presented his budget. District administrators presented their case for why they were all so indispensable. There were impassioned statements from taxpayers, politicians, teachers, and their union head. There were unwise motions to increase the budget and smart ones to decrease it. Both were defeated.
Several things disturbed me about the conduct of the meeting. It was obvious that our district superintendent does not really want to hear from critics of his work. He changed his demeanor from informational, when making his presentation, to annoyance when questioned. The microphone was cut off during several voter statements when they ran a little long. This is no way to treat the people who live in this town and pay the bills. We have the right to question the use of our tax dollars.
It was clear, from statements by administrators and the teachers union president that they are all about their money. These people do not even live in our community. Where is their commitment to the children of this district? Our children will surely suffer from future programmatic cuts that will have to be made if this is their attitude.
When elected, I promise to work tirelessly to rectify the failures of the Board and to advocate for the taxpaying public and the children of this wonderful Township of Evesham. We can operate a school district that is both effective and efficient. It is time for change and I represent the only opportunity for change in this election.
Barry Fitzgerald, Lisa Mansfield and Joseph De Julius
In these tough economic times we are committed to providing a quality education to all of our students. It is our goal to work within the limits set by the state of New Jersey and the taxpayers of Evesham Township to ensure that such an education is provided in the most efficient, effective and economically responsible manner. To ensure that each child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged we:
• Worked collaboratively to ensure all of our students receive a quality education
• Approved several green initiatives, saving the district thousands of dollars
• Restructured administrative staff, eliminating two assistant superintendent positions
• Revised world language curriculum, enabling our students to earn high school credit at the middle school level
• Advocated for the integration of technology across the curriculum
• Established use of Global Connect, providing direct communication to your phone
• Changed employee healthcare benefits, saving the district $2.5 million
Lisa Mansfield and her husband, Mark have lived in Evesham Township for 12 years. They have three children who attend the elementary, middle and high schools. Lisa has broad community involvement in the school PTAs, Marlton Recreation Council, Yellow Ribbon Club and Rapp Room. Lisa is also the treasurer of the Cherokee Boys Lacrosse Booster Club and is a member of the Evesham Education Foundation Golf Committee. During her three years on the Evesham Township School Board she has served on the curriculum, legislative, policy and personnel committees. Lisa is currently the vice president of the Evesham Township Board of Education.
Lisa is seeking a seat on the school board so that she can continue to provide all of our students with an outstanding education. She recognizes that this is becoming increasingly difficult to do in light of the state’s fiscal crisis. Lisa wants to use her experience as a Board member to help secure funding that will allow the district to continue to provide the educational experiences that should be a priority for our students.
Joseph M. De Julius has lived in Evesham Township for 15 years. As a graduate of the Evesham Township School District and Cherokee High School, Joseph understands the importance our schools place on teaching and learning. It is this love of teaching and learning that inspired him to pursue a career in education. Joseph graduated from Temple University in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in education and is currently the technology teacher at Eastampton Community School in Eastampton Township. To better understand how to make decisions that are in the best interest of teaching and learning, Joseph enrolled in graduate school and earned an master’s in educational administration from Rider University in 2008.
Joseph is a member of the Evesham Township Board of Education, chairman of the Evesham Municipal Utilities Authority Board of Commissioners, president of the New Jersey Business/Technology Education Association, member of the National Business Education Association Technology Task Force, and former chairman of the Evesham Township Historic Preservation Commission.
Joseph has worked diligently to give back to the community, which has given so much to him. He is seeking a seat on the Evesham Township School Board so that he can use his experience to demand fiscal responsibility while ensuring the district continues to expand its capacity for innovation and problem solving.
Barry Fitzgerald and his wife, Renee, have lived in Evesham Township for 18 years. They have two children. Their daughter is a freshman at the University of Maryland and their son is a sophomore at Cherokee High School. Barry is an executive account manager for a regionally based truck leasing company.
Barry has been a Marlton Recreation Council Coach for the past 13 years. As a MRC volunteer, he has coached girls and boys soccer, track, softball, baseball, street hockey and roller hockey.
Barry served six years on the Rice Elementary School PTA Executive Board. During the last two years of his tenure, his peers elected him president. Barry is the man behind the scenes who brought the Rice Owl mascot to life for many years. Barry has also served on the Evesham Township Recreation Advisory Committee and the RapRoom/CAEC Board.
Barry has been on the school board for seven years. He is currently the president of the Evesham Township Board of Education. Barry is seeking a seat on the school board so that he can continue to work collaboratively with other Board members and district administrators to stabilize the tax levy while maintaining a quality educational and extracurricular program for our students.
On Tuesday, April 20 please vote for: №1 Lisa Mansfield. №3 Joseph M. De Julius and №4 Barry Fitzgerald.
