Some people on both "sides" in this election, have cast the contests as "us" versus "them," suggesting that the so-called "private school parents" seek to impoverish the public schools to cut taxes, while some "public school parents" would cut spending on private schools to the bare minimum in order to solve the district's financial woes.
We live in one of the most affluent communities in the country. The notion that we cannot afford to provide a first-class education to every student in the district is shameful. So is the idea that one group of students or the other must suffer in order to balance the budget and keep taxes in line. This is not a zero-sum game. The goal should not be for one side to win at the expense of the other, but to make sure that all our children are winners when it comes to education.
Another goal, which goes hand in glove with improving education, must be to cut the waste and inefficiency from the district's bloated budget. If the proposed budget passes, taxes will have increased 21 percent in two years. No one except the present board -- not even its own budget advisory committee -- thinks such increases are reasonable.
The Lawrence schools are at a crossroads; they are in need of new leadership and a new direction. With the budget in disarray, escalating school taxes, poor test scores, charges of anti-Semitism against a controversial coach/teacher, the elections on May 21 have taken on added significance.
Two of seven seats on the seven-member Board of Education are at stake in Tuesday's election. Three candidates, Mel Lifshitz of Lawrence, Rose Furcon Harris of Inwood and Vicki Fishof of Cedarhurst, are vying for the seat being vacated by Dr. Sol Blisko. In the other race, Jay Gelman of Lawrence and Anthony Licatesi of Atlantic Beach are battling it out for the seat left open by Chickie Granet's decision not to seek re-election.
We believe Lifshitz and Gelman have the background and experience needed to help lead the district out of the current crisis and set it on the path to financial stability. A long history of fiscal mismanagement has thrown the district's finances into disarray and it will take some very creative thinking and courage to bring the district back into the black.
Lifshitz and Gelman are endorsed by ALERT, which stands for the Association for Learning and Education with Responsible Taxation -- a group consisting primarily of parents of yeshiva students. And, while their children do attend private yeshivas, Lifshitz and Gelman seem earnest in attempting to fix what is wrong with the Lawrence Public Schools. Their professed intentions are noble.
While we admit that we, too, were initially skeptical of their motives, their reasons for wanting to keep the public schools strong are sound. They understand that property values and stability in the commercial districts strongly depend upon a rock-solid school system that has its budget under control and its students excelling in the classroom. We believe they also understand that the public schools help foster an atmosphere of tolerance and diversity that allows all elements of the community -- including the Orthodox -- to live in harmony.
Lifshitz is an attorney in securities litigation; Gelman has 20 years of business experience. Both will be valuable assets when teacher contracts expire.
It's clear that they both have spent untold hours going over the budget with a fine-tooth comb. They have already proposed several cost-cutting measures that would cut waste and trim fat.
Harris and Licatesi are being endorsed by the Alliance for Lawrence Public Schools, a group which also pushes fiscal responsibility. Although her children attended private schools, Harris has a long involvement in the Lawrence Public Schools and truly wants to make them better. Licatesi, too, is committed to being a part of a turnaround in District 15; his three children attend the Number One School and Lawrence Middle School. Both candidates are creative and bright thinkers in their own way and would make good school board members if the district's circumstances were different.
Fishof's ideas for an about-face by the district are also admirable. She has been running as an independent with no ties to any group. She has also been touting her ability to unify the district. She, too, might make a good candidate in normal times.
But, these are not normal times in the Lawrence schools.
Lifshitz and Gelman will bring new energy and new vision to a board -- and a district -- that desperately needs it. Cast your vote for Lifshitz and Gelman on May 21.
