South Brunswick Board Of Education Profile: Arthur Robinson
SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ – Arthur L. Robinson, loves collecting rare books and textbooks to build his personal library. A current member of the South Brunswick Board of Education, Robinson says that the court’s decision to add more housing to the district could eventually strain school resources. But he hopes to tackle this problem through experience and leadership skills and lead the district toward achieving its academic goals.
Read below to learn more about Robinson and his platform for the upcoming elections in South Brunswick.
Name - Arthur L. Robinson
Age (as of Election Day) - 63
Position Sought - South Brunswick School Board Member
Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? - No
Education -
Master’s in Environmental Policy Studies, NJIT
Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University
Professional diploma, Wharton Management Program, UPENN
Professional diploma, Naval Command and Staff Program, U.S. Naval War College
Certified Public Manager, Rutgers University and the state of New Jersey Civil Service Commission
Occupation -
Manager, state of New Jersey, Department of Environmental Protection and formerly as a Chemical Safety Engineer, 16 years.
Retired U.S. Navy Commander, 22 years
Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office -
South Brunswick Board of Education member since 2008, presently serving as vice-President and chair of the Policy Committee; previously served as Budget Committee Chair.
Served on the Negotiations Committee.
Former member of the South Brunswick Township Planning Board.
Why are you seeking elective office?
I'm seeking reelection to the South Brunswick School Board to continue providing leadership and continuity of board operations as a part of the policy-making body during these tough times fighting the COVID-19 Pandemic and to continue ensuring that the district receives its economic fair share of resources from the state. I will continue to work steadfast with my fellow board members, the administration, the community, and parents to ensure that each and every kid receives and adequate education to pursue their dreams whether through college or trade or military service.
The single most pressing issue facing our school district is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.
The single most pressing issue facing our community is the eventual court's decision to add more housing to the district, which will cause an increase in the student population thus producing a tremendous strain on the existing school resources: fiscal, physical and human to accommodate the rapid increase in student population. I will work through the Board's liaisons to the Planning and Zoning Boards to emphasize the impact on the existing school resources and provide solutions to ensure that the District concerns are a part of the decision-making process. I will ensure that the District's Sending Map is balanced across the district, if this happens due to a potential increase in student population.
What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?
I would say that the critical differences are that I am a sitting board member with twelve years of experience, having board leadership skills, served on committees of the Board, and the ability to handle a variety of policy-making decisions confronting the Board as a member. I'm a member of the New Jersey School Boards Association's (NJSBA) Legislative Committee representing the 16th Legislative District as a resource. Members of the NJSBA Legislative Committee meets quarterly, from across the state, to discuss a variety of school related issues such as pending new laws from the N.J. Legislature.
Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.
Here are a couple of other issues defining my campaign platform:
Quality education with adequate funding from the state to ensure that each and every kid succeed in any career path they have chosen in life. I would continue to work with my colleagues on the Board and our community to ensure that each and every child has the necessary skills to succeed academically for college or develop skills for trade school.
Adequate resources for special education services and for those economically disadvantaged kids. I would continue working with the Board to ensure adequate resources are available to assist our kids requiring special services. In addition, I would continue my advocacy for kids that deserve caring attention to succeed in life.
What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?
My accomplishments would be preparing several responsible annual school budgets even though a budget vote was not required under the 2 percent cap; academic performance of students taking the SAT has increased in scoring over the past several years; improvement in student achievement scores; as a result of the uncertainty of returning to some sort of normalcy during the COVID-19 Pandemic by provide resources allowing students to learn remotely since March 2019 and with the start-up of a new school term in the Fall by continuing remote learning and providing learning centers throughout the District and to eventually bring students, teachers, staff back to a near-normal learning environment.
The best advice ever shared with me was:
From a former School Board member: "When the election is over don't get consumed by the number of votes that you got over your competitor ". "It's time to govern, which is truly derived from the vote outcome of the election."
What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?
My hobbies are collecting rare books and used textbooks to build my personal library, taking care of my adopted Lovebird "Sunny", gardening and just recently visiting a few of New Jersey's historical sites.
In anticipation of the upcoming election, Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns. We will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.
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This article originally appeared on the South Brunswick Patch
