Simmens, Luxenberg chosen to lead board

BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer

Scott Luxenberg EAST BRUNSWICK - The Board of Education reorganized last week, gaining a new, 18-year-old member and electing a new president and vice president for the year.

Michael Hughes, a senior at East Brunswick High School, was sworn in to a three-year term on the board May 3, while incumbent Scott Luxenberg began his second full term and Holly Howard was sworn in for a fifth term.

The board voted for Todd Simmens to serve as president for the next 12 months, and Luxenberg to be vice president. Simmens, who served as vice president over the past year when Howard was president, has been a board member since April 2005.

Simmens said he was "honored and flattered" that board members chose to make him president.

"It's really a tremendous honor," he said.

Simmens said a top priority will be making sure the completion of construction at Lawrence Brook and Central elementary schools and the reopening of the renovated facilities go smoothly. Both schools have been under construction since last summer, and students are already occupying several newly renovated areas of the schools. The final phase of construction at the two facilities is scheduled to be completed by September.

Todd Simmens Construction is also well underway at Hammarskjold Middle School, and Simmens noted that project will have to be overseen.

Things will be busy in other areas, as well, he said, because the state Legislature may move on a proposal to no longer require school boards to go out to popular vote for budgets that meet certain requirements. The budgets would have to be at or below the state spending cap to avoid the public vote, he said.

Simmens said he would "love to see" some serious dialogue about changing the way education is funded in New Jersey, and noted that there are good models in use in other states. He would like to see a change made in New Jersey "so that we don't need to rely on property tax increases."

First on the agenda, however, is to dole out the board's committee assignments for the year, he said, and to review the board policies to make sure they are "current and up to date," a process that will last throughout the year.

Simmens said he was glad to see voters approve the school budget in April, and thanked the members of the community, especially the PTA groups, who helped to pass the budget.

"We had an amazing turnout, and I'd like to see that continue," he said of the budget vote, in which about 18 percent of registered voters cast ballots.

Luxenberg said he is excited to win a new term and to continue working as part of the board. He said things have changed since his first swearing in because at that time the makeup of the board was different.

"We've gotten a little bit younger," he noted.

However, the challenges the board faces, such as the budget and overcrowding, are similar to those of three years ago.

The ongoing construction work is exciting, especially now that the mostly new and expanded Hammarskjold Middle School is scheduled to be completed next year.

Luxenberg was also pleased to be selected as vice president.

"This will be my first time in a leadership role and I think it will be an exciting time," he said.

Hughes, who took the place of Stacy Bravman on the board, said he is still getting up to speed on the various board members' areas of expertise and is using them to further educate himself about the way the board does business and the district's operations. He also is learning more about the construction projects and about the protocol at board meetings.

Despite his winning the election while still a student, Hughes said no classmates have voiced any specific concerns to him about the district.

"They're confident I can do a good job," he said.

Hughes said classmates were also supportive of him during the campaign, helping to spread word about his candidacy, putting up campaign signs, and ultimately, voting for him and getting their parents to go out to vote for him.

"They've all been really supportive and positive. I can't say I've gotten any negative feedback from anyone," he said.

Hughes, who will attend Rutgers University in the fall, said it felt great to be sworn in and finally take his place as a board member.

"I know I have a lot of work ahead of me and a lot to catch up on," he said. "I'm optimistic about working with the other members of the board."