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My name is Paul Stephan. I’m an environmental lawyer and former teacher running for the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education.

If elected, I’ll work to develop a productive partnership with other Board members and the new superintendent, focus on ensuring that students from all backgrounds thrive, and advocate for a budget process to prevent perpetual deficits and keep teachers in the classroom.

Priorities

My wife and I moved here for the same reason many people do: We want to raise a family in a diverse community that shares our values, and in a public school district where students receive a well-rounded education that prepares them to participate in our democracy.

We already have much to be proud of in our district—it is home to talented, hardworking, and dedicated students who demonstrate their excellence every day in and outside the classroom; and we have many skilled and devoted teachers. What we need is Board governance that fosters the kind of district our students and teachers deserve.

  • I will strengthen relationships with other Board members. It is easy to promise cooperation; it is another thing to deliver it. My day-to-day job is about getting things accomplished in an adversarial environment. I have to find a way to work with lawyers representing powerful companies whose goals are exactly opposite mine. I have to persuade judges not inclined to agree with me. And I have to be a champion for my clients even in trying circumstances. I will bring those skills to bear as a Board member. If elected, I will seek to work with every other Board member, and find areas of agreement so we can improve our district for our students.

    I will work persistently to unify the Board behind sound governance and a productive partnership with the administration. Good partnership requires a trusting and informed relationship and a never-ceasing constructive dialogue. It requires ongoing communication; every Board member needs to be informed about major aspects of the District’s operation, and have the opportunity ask questions about problems they see.

    We must remember that the Superintendent, not the Board, is ultimately responsible for the day-to-day operations of the District. With a constructive partnership, the Board can provide informed oversight over the Superintendent’s work, and that oversight should be focused on a few categories: educational outcomes, culture and climate, operations, and finance.

    The Board can’t take its eye off implementation of policy. At almost every Board meeting, the Board passes new policies and revises old ones. But policies don’t implement themselves. The Board must provide the administration with the resources it needs to carry out what the Board thinks is important, and it must monitor progress.

    I am dedicated to strengthening relationships with teachers, students, and families. With every step we take, we should be asking ourselves, “What will this look like day-to-day in the classroom?” We can answer that question by listening to teachers, students, and families.

  • If elected, I will work with other Board members on the central project of our District—ensuring that all students, from all backgrounds, thrive in their school.

    The Intentional Integration Initiative is an important part of our work towards equitable outcomes among students. That’s why it must be implemented as effectively as possible.

    There is a significant drop-off in student achievement, particularly in ELA, between fifth and sixth grade. We need to work with our teachers to address this issue. We should be working closely with the Superintendent and school leadership to study this issue, give additional supports to middle school educators, and open space for conversations between fifth and sixth grade teachers.

    As a former music teacher, I understand the value of the arts. We should work to ensure that the arts remain a point of pride in our district.

    These are not easy goals. They don’t happen overnight, and the Board can’t bring them to fruition by themselves. The Board must remain focused on these goals, monitor progress on them, and have continuous dialogue with the administration about them.

  • I will advocate for better processes to prevent perpetual deficits and keep teachers in the classroom.

    Right now, the Board considers the budget one year at a time, without knowing what the budget will look like in the years ahead. We should be projecting our budget out three to five years. Otherwise, we may be filling gaps in the budget this year while leaving deficits in future years.

    The Board approves the preliminary budget in March, but budget discussions should begin long before that. In the past, the Board began considering the budget in September, and we should return to that practice. The Board and the administration need time to come up with solutions.

    The Board should have the analyses it needs to make informed decisions about the budget, and it should share important analyses with the public. This includes a “cost center view,” which has not been done since the 2019-20 budget.

    We need creative solutions to bring in more revenue and save money. We should explore solar panels and energy efficiency projects to reduce electricity costs in our buildings. We should explore selling advertising space at sports fields and other places. And we should work with our community to find other creative ways to save money.