Op-Ed: What you should know before the school board election in November

Although I am a member of the Trenton Board of Education, this article is not authorized by or being made on behalf of the Trenton School Board but in my capacity as the great-grandfather of a Trenton student, a private citizen, taxpayer, and advocate of Trenton Public School students. 

Prior to the Trenton City Council voting to move to an elected school board I penned an op-ed entitled, “JUST SAY NO” to an elected school board in Trenton, NJ.  The question I asked myself was, “Why would a City Council (remember that one of the former Council members is a current school board candidate), that voted down the resolution for an elected school board in the previous year, in March decide to raise the issue again?”  What changed? What I found puzzling is that a group of people that had demonstrated extremely poor decision making and had clearly been the barriers to the progress of Trenton, would present themselves as a group that knows what’s best for Trenton students. The City of Trenton was once a Type I, elected school board, which begged the question: “Why did Mayor Holland and the residents of Trenton in 1988 decide that an elected school board was not in the best interest of Trenton students?”

Now that we are here, and the school board election just a month away, I think it is important that the parents and Trenton residents make an informed decision.  Two of the candidates, are existing school board members, Addie Lane and Yolonda Marrero-Lopez are certified school board members by the NJSBA.  The responsible choices for elected school board members are:

• Addie D Lane – Attended Trenton Public Schools, taught in Trenton Public schools, was a VP, was a Principal (retired after 37 years as district employee) and School Board member for six years, serving as President for three terms and is the current Chair of the Board Curriculum Committee.
• Yolanda Marreo-Lopez – Has served on the school board for six years, and is the current President of the School Board, former Chair of Board HR Committee, and current Chair of the Board Negotiating and Grievance Committees. Parent of 3 Trenton High School graduates, pastor of a Trenton Church, and Latino community advocate.
• Larry Traylor – Graduate of Rutgers with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Africana Studies in May 2020.  Leadership experience; President of the Rutgers NAACP, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Mercer County Young Democrats, Treasurer, Trenton, NJ and New Leaders Council and current member of Trenton NAACP.

The continuity in governance for Trenton Public Schools is critical to continued progress. There is a long list of positive accomplishments over the past six years with two standouts. The district is in the third year of a five year strategic plan. The yardstick the DOE is using to measure school districts is QSAC. In 2017, the district score in Instruction and Programs was 27% on an 80% target. This year’s score is 72%. The decision of which candidates to choose is as easy as 1-2-3 on the ballot; Lane, Marreo-Lopez, and Traylor.

Gene Bouie is the President/Founder of Tahsin Consulting Group, LLC and a Trenton Public Schools Board Member. The views expressed here are his own.