Summary of SOMSD BOE Candidate info (aggregate.. synthesis... cheat-sheet... compendium)
Page 1 of summary chart (cheat-sheet): See Jamie's post with image uploaded about 8 messages down (I couldn't upload).
ETA:
Or you can download the PDF version of this 2-page summary chart from this MOL link:
http://www.maplewoodonline.com/BOE2015.pdf
(Thank you for providing both options, Jamie!)
That chart provides a very brief summary based on the VillageGreen Q&A to each of the candidates.
The VillageGreen Q&A asked each candidate to answer at least 5 of 11 submitted questions, either individually or as a team with their running mates. While many of the answers are interesting/informative, the questions that some decided NOT to answer I found similarly informative.
In the charts, the unanswered questions are white blank squares.
Page 2 of summary chart (see the image in Jaime's post ~9 messages down)
Full Q&A responses on VillageGreen from which my summaries were created:
===================
Lind:
http://villagegreennj.com/schools-kids/dorcas-lind-board-education-candidate-profile-qa/
Maini & Sabin Slate (same answers on each webpage)
http://villagegreennj.com/schools-kids/annemarie-maini-board-education-candidate-profile-qa/
http://villagegreennj.com/schools-kids/chris-sabin-board-education-candidate-profile-qa/
Pai, Eastman & Freedson Slate (same answers on each webpage)
http://villagegreennj.com/schools-kids/madhu-pai-board-education-candidate-profile-qa/
http://villagegreennj.com/schools-kids/wayne-eastman-board-education-candidate-profile-qa/
http://villagegreennj.com/schools-kids/margaret-peggy-freedson-board-education-candidate-profile-qa/
Raab, Roberts, Malespina Slate (SOMA2015) (different answers on each webpage)
Raab
http://villagegreennj.com/schools-kids/marian-raab-board-education-candidate-profile-qa/
Roberts
http://villagegreennj.com/schools-kids/shannel-roberts-board-education-candidate-profile-qa/
Malespina
http://villagegreennj.com/schools-kids/elissa-malespina-board-education-candidate-profile-qa/
Additional Information: Provided by Candidates, Slates, and Incumbent BOE Voting info
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All Candidates' responses to SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Committee) questions:
http://villagegreennj.com/schools-kids/soma-board-ed-candidates-weigh-special-education/
=======================
Websites and Op-Eds
=======================
Lind
No website?
Pai, Eastman & Freedson Slate's website:
http://www.boe2015.com/
Eastman Op-Ed
http://villagegreennj.com/schools-kids/eastman-team-will-advance-choice-empowerment-som-schools/
http://villagegreennj.com/schools-kids/eastman-learning-k-12-college-university-teaching/
Pai Op-Ed
http://villagegreennj.com/schools-kids/opinion-board-education-member-care/
Freedson Op-ED
http://villagegreennj.com/schools-kids/freedson-stronger-early-education-key-access-equity-policy/
Maini & Sabin Slate's website:
http://www.maini-sabin-2015.com/
Raab, Roberts, Malespina (SOMA2015) Slate's website:
http://www.soma2015.com/
Malespina Op-Ed:
http://villagegreennj.com/schools-kids/malespina-soma2015-will-bring-better-communication-common-sense-boe/
==================
BOE votes of incumbents (will add more if I can find them):
http://villagegreennj.com/schools-kids/board-ed-passes-streamlined-goals-defeats-pai-motion-cap-tax-hike-2/
Links to Videos of all Debates:
https://maplewood.worldwebs.com/forums/discussion/id/122050-Links-for-all-three-BOE-debates-
ctrzaska said:
I sense a conspiracy.
I think if Spout used "aggregate" in the title, instead of "summarize", that would allay any fears. 
[Edited to add] And thank you very much, Sprout, for pulling all of this together.
Thanks Jamie!
(Edited
To read the summary chart Jamie posted for me (above), click to open the images.
If you have difficulty viewing, or want to print, use the link (in my second post from the top, or in Jamie's post below) to get the PDF version instead.
Apologies for any inaccurate interpretations or forgotten links to candidate information. Let me know if you see any, and I'm happy to make edits/updates, but I may need to go through Jamie again to re-post if there are any updates to the charts.
Apologies if I am missing something, but is it the case that none of the Village Green questions address special education?
There is a separate SEPAC Q&A, which I didn't summarize, but just included as a link above. Here it is again (so it's not all mixed in with everything else):
All Candidates' responses to SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Committee) questions:
http://villagegreennj.com/schools-kids/soma-board-ed-candidates-weigh-special-education/
Yes, thanks I am aware of the SEPAC questions and responses. Just wanted to confirm that the Village Green questions do not address special education in any way. Thanks for your reply.
Helpful chart. I find it interesting how Raab and Malespina are so adamantly against PARCC--I hadn't quite caught that earlier. How do they reconcile the fact that it's a Board member's responsibility to ensure a district is following state standards and practices, with this position?
Thanks for the chart, @sprout. A few questions:
Did Maini-Sabin ever clarify what they mean by "major" versus "minor" de-leveling in the high school?
For the Pai-Eastman-Freedson G&T answer, what does "hardest first" mean?
Why are there so many unanswered areas?
ctrzaska said:
I sense a conspiracy.
Only one slate was named specifically and allowed individual answers in this chart. Someone summarized it the way they wanted it to appear.
alp said:
Why are there so many unanswered areas?
Village Green let the candidates choose which of the 11 questions to answer, as long as they answered at least five.
Rob_Sandow said:
Only one slate was named specifically and allowed individual answers in this chart.
Could that be because only one slate has a name, and only one slate answered the Village Green's questions individually?
I don't know if it is still happening, but when I lived in Houston, the League of women voters did a voters guide for every election, with questions to candidates and the results were summarized in charts like this and provided, free of charge, to voters. I was surprised and disappointed when I moved and learned that the same was not true here. Thanks Village Green for doing this, but next time I think the option to answer only some of the questions should not be made explicitly like that. Let the candidates answer or not answer, but (as noted) not answering is also telling in many cases.
Thanks for the chart and links to information . It is interesting what questions were and were not answered. Some candidates lay their positions out fairly clearly ( whether you agree or not) and others kind of talk out of both sides of their mouth.
Thank you for the summary sprout. It is helpful and it would have been nice if someone in the media had taken the time to put something like this out.
As for the PARCC question - yes Team SOMA 2015 is against PARCC and our children refused the exam. So did 40% of the High School students in SOMSD. While we are against the exam we know we have to follow state law as board members. I refused the test for my so but still went on to proctor it for others, SOMA 2015 will do what is required by law even if they don't fully agree with it
I have strong doubts about such a position and am again, grateful to the chart to help in sorting with a bit more clarity, the different candidate statements--thank you all on that. To deem PARCC a 'failure' after one year is to me a reactive position, fair enough for a parent, but certainly not appropriate for someone seeking a public office which must guide a district through compliance not just with the testing, but a curriculum aligned to the testing (which in of itself being adjusted). And, as a point, many high schoolers opted out because for 11th and 12th grade, it's a non-issue, since it has no impact on the rest of their time in the district, and those administering the PARCC test are aware of this.
Another interesting comparison is the source of funding for each of the campaigns:
The team of Marian Raab, Elissa Malespina and Shannel Roberts have raised at least $2,845, with $1,500 of that from the New Jersey Education Association, the state-level umbrella group for the South Orange Maplewood Education Association, which endorsed the trio.
Raab also contributed $600 of her own money, while Malespina donated $1,300.
Meanwhile, the duo of Chris Sabin and Annemarie Maini have raised at least $3,802, with most of that -- $3,302 -- coming from Maini herself.
For incumbents Wayne Eastman and Madhu Pai, and their running mate, challenger Margaret "Peggy" Freedson, total contributions have reached $4,390, with $3021.06 already spent.Among the contributors to Pai, Eastman and Freedson is fellow board member Donna Smith, who donated $500. Eastman and Freedson have each also contributed $500 to their joint campaign committee.
http://www.maplewoodian.com/
Rob_Sandow said:
ctrzaska said:Only one slate was named specifically and allowed individual answers in this chart. Someone summarized it the way they wanted it to appear.
I sense a conspiracy.
It was a joke (much too subtle, I suppose) referencing sprout's inability to post pics, nothing more.
I have no children in the system. I am not up on the current issues regarding education in this District. I am a voter and, as many posters on here know, have strong political opinions. I have read the linked answers by the candidates and have looked at the Chart but I am still in need of guidance.
Would those of you whose opinion on other issues I trust, such as NoHero, ctrzaska, tell me for whom they are voting and why?
LOST said:
Would those of you whose opinion on other issues I trust, such as NoHero, ctrzaska, tell me for whom they are voting and why?
You may want to start a new thread for that since this thread has managed to stay factual for people who are researching the candidates. Just a suggestion.
Thank you sprout for the table. Really helpful. Some thoughts below.
I am confused by Lind wanting to cut PAARC readiness $, current communications, Montrose Preschool, consultants, and PD that does not address achievement gap as cost savings to implement the Access and Equity policy. But then a communications master plan is added back later on.
If we don't have an expertise in house, I think it makes sense to hire consultants. In addition, there is much more to PD than addressing achievement gap. (ETA: Agree with others on other threads that cutting PAARC readiness $ and Montrose Preschool after spending $$$ to get that project on the ground does not make much sense.)
Maini Sabin mention reducing operational costs in - energy, transportation, tech, maintenance and other areas that make up a fourth of our spending. Theoretically, this seems feasible but I think I remember Osborne talking about how hard it was to cut back on several of the above areas because of the state of our infrastructure. To get real efficiencies in energy or tech, we'd need a very large capital outlay.
ETA: It looks like none of these three candidates have given much thought to whether their proposed cuts are feasible at all.
I started to review the many pieces of info about each BOE candidate, and thought I would share. (This info summary is spread over the next several posts).