By Nancy LaCorte.

I have proudly served on the Board of Education since 2006. One of the many things I have learned is that if we want to provide a quality education for ALL students we need to work together as a team. Funny, that is a lesson I learned many years ago from my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Peterson, at Middlebush School, where the Board office is located.

That doesn’t mean that as a team we don’t disagree and question. In order to cast an informed vote on behalf of you, the residents of Franklin Township, we need to be well-informed and ask questions of administration. We are dealing with a lot of money, and most importantly, the future of a lot of students. We might have different opinions on certain items but our focus should always be on all of the students of Franklin Township Public Schools.

Hopefully you see that we are working as a team with the district, staff, parents, and students. Our mission statement is succinct, our goals for the superintendent and district are well-defined and measurable; our curriculum is innovative and offers something for all students; our extra-curricular activities are outstanding; we have meaningful and excellent professional development; we have staff that are highly qualified and genuinely want our kids to succeed; we have parents that want the best for their child; we have a community that has confidence in us; and we have great kids who are doing amazing things every day.

I am supporting the team of Mike Smith, Nikita Desai, and Ed Potosnak because they understand teamwork. We have all worked as a team (Ed as President of the Franklin BOE and Nishita and Mike as members of Franklin CARES) to make sure that money, your money, stays in the classroom. I have worked with Ed Potosnak for four years, three of which he served as BOE president. Ed is an excellent leader. Our BOE meetings are efficient and transparent. Community outreach and communications are at an unprecedented level. In fact, Mike, Nishita, and Ed have held a few coffee gatherings throughout their campaign at local eateries so they could listen to the concerns of the community and the community could get to know them and why they are running for election and re-election. Mike, Nishita, and Ed are present at community functions and school events, not because they are running for office; they have been active community members for years. In fact, I met Ed through his seat on the Franklin Township Planning Board before he ran for the BOE. I heard from members on the Planning Board (both Republicans and Democrats) that he is an excellent member. Both sides endorsed him to me when Ed initially ran for a BOE vacant seat four years ago.

I have served on many BOE committees with Ed. He genuinely cares about providing the best education while still being a steward of the taxpayer’s money. He protects the district’s interests, as is his job, but you can see the passion in his commitment to our kids, Franklin’s kids.

We have made great progress on the Board of Education. Check our voting records to see how (and who) is supporting the education of Franklin’s children. Check the voting records to see how your money is spent and how it stays in our classrooms. The BOE is transparent.

To continue the progress we need teamwork. Elect the team of Mike Smith and Nishita Desai and Ed Potosnak in serving Franklin Township and the kids!

Nancy LaCorte is the vice-president of the Board of Education.