'Stark' Differences Emerging Between BOE Candidates

The lines have been drawn in this year's Harrison Board of Education election, as incumbents and challengers in three separate races continue to showcase their vastly different points of view heading into next week's vote.

Challengers Joseph Magnus, Robert Piliero and Matthew Joseph used Tuesday's candidates forum at LMK Middle School to point out changes they say need to be made within the district. Incumbents David Singer, Paul Curtis and Philip Silano, meanwhile, largely defended the current direction of the board of education. 

A core issue during the election process has been the use of advanced placement classes at the high school level. Incumbents view increased AP participation as a sign of progress, pointing to a movement toward open enrollment over the past decade. Challengers, however, say many of these students are being pushed into these classes unprepared, setting them up for failure.

"We hear a lot about how bad it was, I don't think that a bad yesterday is an excuse or a justification for a mediocre today," said Piliero, who is challenging Silano for his seat. "We should not be satisfied with what we are doing, we should be very, very, upset about that."

Silano, meanwhile views the numbers differently, pointing to Harrison's current programs that he says have drawn admiration from other area districts. Curtis said the district provides plenty of options for students of all ability levels, leaving the final decision to students, parents and the guidance staff.

"I am troubled by these comments, I am proud of what we have accomplished, we have taken a low performing school district and turned it into a model of success," said Silano, who is seeking his fourth term on the board of education.

"High performing district", however, is defined differently depending on the candidate. Challengers, especially Magnus and Piliero, members of the Parents Educational Partnership (PEP) group, say the high failure rate in the AP tests taken by Harrison students is indicative of a failed system that needs reform. Each said Tuesday that they support open enrollment, but Magnus said he is against universal acceleration, especially within the eight and ninth grade math program.

Joseph, the only challenger who is not a PEP member, also said the district has room for improvement based on test results that place Harrison near the bottom of its pier group in several areas.

"Numbers are not everything, but a lot of our numbers are showing that we could be doing better," he said.

The current board has said low scores presented by the PEP group are taken out of context. Several times this year current board members have said other districts pick and choose who takes certain tests, while Harrison does not. Incumbents have also mentioned that challenging students better prepares them for life after high school.

"We have to be very careful not to sell our children an empty bag of promises — giving them some course that is so watered down and so irrelevant that it will basically do nothing for them," said Curtis, who is seeking his second term.

Candidates also addressed the role of the local board of education. Piliero said the current board hasn't done its job overseeing the actions of Superintendent Louis Wool.

"There is supposed to be a healthy tension between the two (board and superintendent), we're not supposed to rubber stamp everything the president says, we're not supposed to go along with everything he says as a good idea—we're supposed to kick the tires," said Piliero. "I don't think the tires have been kicked enough here, that's a big problem."

Magnus, who will run against Curtis, echoed this sentiment, saying Tuesday he thinks the board is too closely associated with the Friends of Harrison group and has been hesitant to go against opinions of the district's administration.

"It's time for some adult supervision at the Board of Education," he said. "We need people who are not beholden to the Friends of Harrison organization, a group that supports an elitist constituency."

Curtis, Singer and Silano each dismissed the notion that they haven't provided independent analysis while on the board. Singer mentioned that he and other board members have been working toward a common goal that it has adapted over time—which isn't to be confused with blind like-mindedness.

"This is a school district that is on the mark, continues to be on the mark and is profoundly recognized as such by colleges and universities," said Singer, who will run against Joseph in a bid for his fourth term.

Several times during the 90-minute debate incumbents and PEP members Magnus and Piliero used the term "we", displaying the now established lines between the two sides. During Singer's closing statement he made his stance on the parent group very clear, pitting PEP against the current board of education.

"I think progress now is at risk because a group of self-anointed Harrison Avenue Elementary parents formed a political organization and have been ceaselessly and shamelessly slandering Harrison High School, its students, as well as the school board members and the superintendent virtually non-stop for the last year or more," Singer said.

Piliero shot back that Singer's statement exemplified the type of slander that has become commonplace from the incumbents. He said misinformation has been circulating about his stance on teachers (he said he supports the district's teachers) and tracking (he emphasized he is against it).

But those thoughts were debated, as Silano claims that as recently as this year Piliero and PEP supported a form of tracking, but have since backed down.

Per-pupil spending was also discussed. In his opening statement Magnus said that Harrison's per-pupil spending is second highest in the region among comparable districts. He said this spending is unacceptable given the low test scores he cited on standardized tests. 

"We have so much fat in this budget that needs to be cut—on the face of it you can see it," he said.

Curtis defended the district's budgeting, citing the current Standard and Poors "AAA" rating that he describes as a major accomplishment shared by only 27 other school districts in the country.

The district's perceived lack of transparency was also discussed at length. Piliero mentioned several times his struggle to obtain test scores from the district that he said could provide a better understanding of the district's performance. 

Singer and Piliero both used the work "stark" while describing the contrast between incumbents and challengers for this year's election. Voters will choose their side on May 17.

Each candidate's closing remarks are .