Ketrin Maxwell, PhD, LPC

Age: NA

Town of residence: Bridgewater

Position sought: Bridgewater-Raritan Reginal School District Board of Education member

Family: Married with one son

Education: BA Sociology/Education; EdM Psychological Counseling; PhD Counseling Psychology

Occupation: Former Teacher & Educator; Professor Emeritus; Licensed Professional Counselor 

Previous or current elected appointed office – Appointed & Served on NJ State Board of Family Therapy and Professional Counselors for 14 years. 

Campaign website: www.Li-Maxwell-Nye.org

• Why are you seeking election for Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education?

I seek election for the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education to apply my broad education knowledge and experience to establish improved and meaningful outcomes in academics and mental health so that each student can obtain the skills and knowledge to enable them to become a positive and productive contributor to society.  I also seek to serve to promote accountability for academic outcomes, budget management, and transparency in communication, particularly with parents, making parents allies and indispensable part of their child’s academic and personal development.  

•  School finances have been continuously discussed in the district. The district recently approved a budget where 33 staff positions were cut and a 2.46 percent tax increase. Do you have any comments or suggestions on how the district could handle its budget?

The Board needs to demonstrate their commitment to the public to reduce the school tax burden as much as possible, while making sure to provide excellent education for the children. The high school taxes are one of the drivers making the state unaffordable causing residents to leave our state. To keep costs and taxes stable, and still provide the full range of services students need, there are a number of options: to share services where appropriate, assure competitive bidding, and find cost savings opportunities in each line item and to streamline administrative costs.  With the impending decline of student enrollment due to demographic trends of fewer children, there should theoretically be opportunities for cost savings that can ideally be passed down to the taxpayer. The Board needs to commit to a plan to make that happen.

1. The district is looking at adjusting its school start times, possibly later for high school students, and transportation options. What do you think about this?

School start times are linked to the challenges involved in the transportation of students in a town which is geographically spread out and the location of schools while not raising transportation costs.  The current 7:20 AM makes the school day very long for high school students who typically have many after school activities, oftentimes till 5 and 6 pm.  To not increase costs involved in transportation, it would be helpful to investigate the possibility of a later start time for high school students and an earlier start time for Intermediate students, who currently start at 9:15 AM.  This affects many parents of Intermediate students who need to pay for before school and afterschool care for their children because of the late start time.    

• What other issues do you feel need to be tackled in the school district?

One issue that needs to be tackled is the proficiency rates for reading and math to ensure that all students can succeed beyond high school.  Currently, reading proficiency is 61% and math proficiency is 51% for 11th graders.  In other words, only slightly more than half of 11th graders are proficient in reading and only about half are proficient in math, and this data does not include those students who have dropped out before taking the tests in 11th grade.  Also take into consideration that these levels of proficiency are in a district where the substantial portion of the population are highly educated with 62% holding a Bachelor’s degree or above and 27% holding a postgraduate degree.  Given the student proficiency rates and the characteristics of the Bridgewater population, the data indicates we need to do better in increasing reading and math proficiency.  The Administration needs to develop a plan and goals, subject to board approval, to improve academic performance within a specific timeframe. This should be a top priority. 

The Board also needs to be transparent with parents.  Most parents are not aware that district policy 5756 states that the district “shall accept a student’s asserted gender identity” and that “parental consent is not required… A student need not meet any threshold diagnosis or treatment requirements to have his or her gender identity recognized and respected by the school district, school or schools staff members. In addition, a legal or court-ordered name change is not required.  There is no affirmative duty for any school district staff member to notify a student’s parent of the student’s gender identity or expression.”  Parents do not know that this policy allows minor children to secretly make a major life choice to socially transition and change their names and pronouns in school without parental notification, knowledge or consent. Although there exist differences in opinion on how to work with individuals with transgenderism, there is no mental health recommendation as an intervention for minor students to keep secrets from parents.  Rather, there is a vast amount of literature indicating that abuse (sexual, emotional, physical) thrives in secrecy.  Therefore, for the safety and well-being of minors. In the event a school employee suspects that a parent may harm a child, there is an agency, which is not the school, that specifically addresses such a concern, namely, DCP&P (Child Protective Services). To protect minors, there should be no policy that allows secrets between school employees involving minor students under their supervision and their parents.  Parental involvement is crucial for a child’s mental health, for it acts as a protective factor that improves academic success, emotional functioning, and reduces the risk of mental health problems and risky behavior. 

5, What sets you apart from the challenging candidates?

What sets me apart from the challenging candidates is my background, education and experience.  As a daughter of Cuban refugees who fled the Castro regime, the value of education was instilled in me at a very young age as well as the value of being a positive and productive member of American society, particularly in gratitude for what the United States offered us.   Consequently, after achieving degrees in higher education, I taught in a bilingual (English/Spanish) elementary class and was an educator at the high school, college, and graduate levels.   I have provided bilingual psychological counseling and mental health assessments for clients with a variety of mental health issues for over 25 years in diverse settings such as hospitals, clinics, college counseling centers, high school, and private practice.    In addition, on the state level, I served for 14 years on the NJ Licensing Board of Marriage and Family Therapy and the NJ Professional Counselors Examiners Licensing Committee as Vice Chair.  In my work as a licensed professional counselor and professor, I am very much aware of the issues and challenges facing young people and families.  I would like to apply my knowledge and experience on the school board level for the benefit of students of Bridgewater-Raritan. I am grateful for the many educational and work opportunities this country has given me and will do all I can as a Board Member for the students of Bridgewater-Raritan to have similar opportunities.  Furthermore, as I am bilingual in Spanish, and am well versed in the Hispanic culture, I have the ability and desire to serve as a bridge between the Board and the broad community. 

• Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself or your campaign?

I have been impressed by board member Dr Lucy Li, who is knowledgeable, approachable, and listens and is responsive to the voices of families and communities. Her compassion for students, commitment to the best education outcome possible, logical and balanced decision making and reasoning, support and protection of all students, overseeing for efficient and responsible spending are all for the best of our district, are all needed on our board. In addition, Mrs. Deanna Nye, who is a loving mother of medically complex children, has been sharing her experiences and knowledge helping children with special needs. Not only did she do this herself, she founded and worked tirelessly leading an organization helping kids and families in need. I believe the combined attributes of Dr Lucy Li, Mrs. Deanna Nye and I will bring beneficial contributions to the BOE in our own unique way, yet working together to build a stronger, more compassionate, more responsive, and collaborative school district where parents are respected and involved, staff are valued, and every child achieves their potential. Please support Li Maxwell and Nye for BOE and vote for all 3 of us.