About Heather James for EB Board of Education
I am a college professor who believes in the transformative power of a quality public education. I've spent over 10 years in the classroom. I know the struggles our young people face since COVID and the difference that one dedicated person can make in the life of a student. I purchased a home in East Brunswick in 2018 so that my oldest son could begin kindergarten in our town's Blue Ribbon public schools. Our district's dedicated teachers, diversity, and resources for a wide range of programs attract people to this community. We face new challenges (e.g the full implementation of the state funding formula and the possibility of a new high school), but with cooperation and community engagement we can continue to thrive.
In addition to my background in education, I have experience analyzing budgets and fighting for more funding for schools. When I am not in the classroom, I serve as the Legislative Representative for the PSC-CUNY. The PSC is a faculty and staff union representing approximately 30,000 members. This requires work similar to what is necessary to understand East Brunswick's public school budget and its relationship to state and municipal budgets.
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I've spent many years volunteering in our schools beginning when I was the room parent for oldest son's kindergarten class. When he was in first and second grades, I served on the Warnsdorfer PTA Executive Board as the VP of Cultural Arts. In this role, I collaborated with the principal and faculty to bring assemblies that augmented the curriculum. During COVID, I worked with two other PTAs to create a virtual assembly for three elementary schools. I also brought a presenter from Ohio to educate students on the centennial of the 19th Amendment. During my son's third and fourth grade years, I was the Warnsdorfer PTA president. In that role, I served as a liaison between parents and the school and helped fundraise for a new sound system for the cafetorium. Currently, I run the HUES school store and serve as our Executive Board Secretary. I was also a founding member of the East Brunswick Educational Justice Alliance, which sought to bring parents together to make our schools more inclusive and address bias issues. I became interested in the East Brunswick School Board in 2022 because of a busing issue in my neighborhood. In response, I organized my community to attend board meetings to advocate for change. I began attending meetings on a regular basis. In late May 2024, I was sworn in to fill a temporary vacancy. If elected, this will be my first term on the board.
Priorities
Communication
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Curriculum
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Facilities
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Issues
Communication
​Transparent communication is the key to building community trust. I believe we can take measures to improve our online communication and responsiveness, reformat meetings to be more informative, and create opportunities for the public to speak to administration. I am a parent and am committed to listening to other parents, attending PTA meetings across the district, and being generally accessible.
Curriculum
Curriculum is the core of our schools. Some areas of focus include: helping our students learn post-COVID, evaluating test scores so we can adjust if they are lagging, investing in electives to keep our schools vibrant and competitive.
Facilities
As a district we need to make progress on plans regarding a new or renovated high school and redistricting. I want our kids to have the best facilities possible while being mindful of taxes. Collaboration with the town and feedback from the community are critical.
Transportation
Busing concerns are the initial reason that I became interested in the Board of Education. I believe that we should bring more of our bus routes back "in house" as opposed to using contractors. This is cheaper and allows for better oversight. We must also deal with bullying on buses, especially when there is downtime (e.g. buses parked outside the school with students still on them).
Inclusivity
All students should feel safe in East Brunswick. Adopting anti-bias curriculum that reflects our religious, cultural and other diversities will not solve all issues but may help set a tone for the culture of our schools. Incidents should be thoroughly investigated and have appropriate consequences, including restorative interventions.
Hammarskjold Playground
HUES students have mandatory recess (mandatory for 5th grade) but they do not have age-appropriate play spaces. Recess is important to children's development and ability to focus. The district should work with parents and the staff at HUES to find a creative solution to the problem.
Budgeting
As a union and student advocate, I have experience with public school budgeting and efforts to fully fund public education. Since we expect that the full implementation of the state funding formula will result in cuts to East Brunswick next year, we must plan to reduce costs so that we are not surprised. Vacancy reductions may not generate enough savings and must not come at the expense of student services.
Special Education
I value the commitment of the Special Education Parent Advisory Group (SEPAG), which is a key partner in this area. As a fellow parent, I would be responsive to parents and faculty experts. Additionally an audit of special education programs and staffing levels is needed as more students require services each year.
Mental Health
My oldest son was in first grade during the COVID shutdown. Luckily, I was working from home and had the flexibility needed to help him. Many families could not provide the same support. I saw how kids and parents struggled during this time and the ways in which social and emotional learning stagnated. While mental health services have always been important, COVID highlighted the importance of mental health services for me in a new way. In the face of a nationwide shortage, it can be difficult to hire mental health professionals. At a minimum, we should make every effort to keep these positions staffed and should never subject them to budget cuts.
Sustainability
I support the creation of a sustainability committee on the board. Auditing our vendor contracts to make sure they are following laws and have sustainable practices could help make our school a leader in this area. Some specific starting points include addressing the use of lunch trays that cannot be reused and the use and recycling of single use plastics.