The Livingston Board of Education held a special workshop meeting on Wednesday, August 6, to interview the six individuals who have volunteered to fill the two Board positions vacated when Leslie Winograd and Dr. David Jasin moved out of town. It will appoint two people to serve the balance of the year, to January 6, 2015, at its meeting next Wednesday, August 13.
Each candidate − Lisa Cook Bayer, Rosaura Bagolie, Corinne Kyle, Patty Arnold, Ron Spring and Ronnie Konner − responded to questions from Board president Barry Funt, vice president Pamela Chirls, and member Arthur Altman. They each explained what they see as the role of the Board, why they want to be a member, what they bring to the position, and their views of the district's strengths and weaknesses, and then responded to individual questions and comments. They were also invited to ask questions of the Board.
Breaking up the interviews was a question credited to interim superintendent James O'Neill: "If Livingston public school students could be one of the following which would you prefer – the healthiest, the most intelligent, the best citizens, or the hardest working?"
The dialogue gave the Board and audience a way to see how people approach the temporary position as well as how they present and express themselves.
Board president Barry Funt said that the role of the Board is to establish goals and policies, approve budgets, hire the superintendent, and approve actions. "It is not our job to administer schools but rather to oversee administration," he said.
The first candidate to be interviewed was Lisa Cook Bayer, who talked about being a parent in the district, involved in volunteer groups such as Vision 20/20 and the PTA and helping to pass the budget. She "brings a different perspective," she said, and is interested in the long term. "Our job is not to run the schools, but to help them run better," she noted. She is an attorney and president of LMR Elder Care. Her daughter graduated from Livingston High School and her son will be a junior this year.
Bayer's response to O'Neill's question was, "best citizens – building them comes with the territory."
Dr. Rosaura Bagolie, an elementary school principal, talked about her experience in teaching, special education and administration. A strength of the district, she feels, is that Livingston has great programs, and she suggested doing more with technology and special education. Students in her school ...
