Meet the Candidates: Arthur Robinson

Six candidates are vying for three open seats on the South Brunswick Board of Education in next week's school elections.  School elections will be held on Wednesday, April 27 with polls open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.  Voters will cast their ballots to decide on a $95 million general fund levy and on the six candidates seeking three open three-year seats on the Board of Education. Incumbents Matthew Speesler, of Kendall Park and Arthur Robinson, of Kendall Park, will be challenged by Edward Birch, of Kendall Park; Patrick Del Piano, of Monmouth Junction; Raymond A. Kuehner Jr., of Dayton; and Deven M. Patel, of Dayton.

Robinson, 54, is a chemical safety engineer for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and he had a son graduate from South Brunswick High School in 2007.  He also serves in the United States Navy Reserve.  Robinson was first elected to the board in 2008 and he is also a member of the Middlesex County School Board Association and serves as liaison to township zoning  board.

"What first drove me to get involved with the board is my passion for education," Robinson said.  "I wanted to get involved with teaching the next generation to help them get to the next level in their educational career."

Robinson said one of the biggest challenges facing the Board of Education lies in the way that schools are funded by the state.

"Schools are funded through property taxes state-wide and this is a decades old problem," he said.  "That has caused shrinking state aid on the local level. In my three years on the board, we've looked at things like Pay to Participate and we've scrutinized every tax dollar. Programs where the attendance wasn't there, we've gotten rid of them and we've streamlined a lot of things in the curriculum.  

"We kept as many sports and programs that we could, but the ratable decrease is a problem and will be a problem next year, so we have to continue to streamline our approach and keep our expenses down."

Robinson said the creation of the Citizens Budget Advisory Committee this year was an initiative the board should continue because it involved community members in an open process that provided valuable insight.  He said the board must continue to find ways of reducing expenditures.

"We need to continue to look to shared services on the local level as we've done with the municipal government with pavement and parking lots," he said.  "I'd like to see more shared services with some surrounding districts because that could help a lot with the budget.  A lot of our budget is eaten up through energy costs and we just had an energy audit.  So we need to look at ways of reducing those costs, be it through renewable energy or some more shared services to keep costs down."

Robinson also expressed concern at the $1.6 million from state aid that the district is losing to charter schools and said South Brunswick needs to highlight its academic achievements to illustrate that attending public school in the district is the correct choice for students.

"We're a well established district with a great record of student achievement," Robinson said.   "These schools that come in and want to siphon off students have no record to stand on.  We produce a well rounded student and have the records to prove it.  As a board member I'm proud of our record."

Robinson said he hopes the public will give him another opportunity to serve on the Board of Education because of his strong belief in volunteerism.

"I have 20 years of volunteer service to the municipal government and nation as a Naval Reservist," he said.  "During my three years on the board I've maybe missed three meetings.  I've been quite vocal and have been involved with a number of committees because I believe in volunteerism.  I encourage everyone to come out and vote on April 27, whatever they decide to vote for.  But I hope people will support our schools and look upon me favorably when they vote."