Lucy Li (Lanfang Li)
Age:
Town of residence: Bridgewater
Position sought: Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District Board of Education
Family: Married with 3 children attending district schools
Education: BA Physics; MS Chemical Physics; PhD Materials Science
Occupation: Scientist, Educator, Entrepreneur
Previous or current elected appointed office – Incumbent BOE member
Campaign website: www.Li-Maxwell-Nye.org
- Why are you seeking election for Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education?
I have served on the BOE since 2023. I am seeking reelection to continue serving the Bridgewater-Raritan community with my background, knowledge, experience, and passion to benefit the children and families of our community.
- 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?
I believe in responsible budgeting. We need to make sure any tax dollar spent is necessary, effective, and efficient. When we look at the budget, we should look at the revenue and expenses.
Revenues come from the local tax levy, state aid, and federal funding. To maintain a steady source, we need to make sure we follow federal and state laws and requirements to the extent necessary to satisfy all funding requirements. State aid has been difficult to predict with the S2 formula, and we hope there will be a reform to stabilize this portion, which has been the current discussion in the state legislature and executive.
Expenses include salaries and benefits, followed by maintenance, operations and utilities, transportation, miscellaneous business expenses, tuition, supplies and texts, equipment, and projects, in this order. To stabilize the expenses, each of the categories needs to be looked at to ensure proper appropriation. Negotiating fair contracts will ensure that the salaries are predictable and stable. The benefit portion can vary greatly due to the health care premium increase, which might need to be compensated for by other revenue sources. We can also look into competitive contracting with service vendors to further reduce costs without reducing service.
We have a declining enrollment that can reduce overall expenses, and we have a healthy buffer of reserves that we can use to stabilize S2 variation in state aid and health care premiums. We have used this strategy in this past budget cycle, and when needed, we can continue this approach. With overall declining enrollment and resulting reduced expenses, we should ensure any reduced expenses pass to taxpayers in the form of less tax increase. I believe we should have taxpayers in mind and aim for a 0% tax increase whenever possible, while ensuring services, operations, and long-term strategic planning for sustainability and success.
- 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?
In an ideal world, schools would start within the same optimal time window for all students. This means high schools should not start too early, and other schools should not start too late. The current discussion about school start times is largely a transportation issue. I have written two articles on this topic in the past, and they remain relevant today.
Compromises must be made in practical situations. I believe primary schools, where students are more dependent on parents to get them ready for the bus in the morning, should not start too late. A late start for younger grades not only impacts parents’ work schedules but also affects young students, who are often awake, alert, and ready to learn yet cannot begin their school day because of transportation limitations. It is possible to better define which requirements can be relaxed and which cannot when optimizing school start times. Having a start time for primary schools that’s not too late could be one of those requirements, as it ensures both quality learning for young students and support for families with typical work schedules.
Follow up case study:
https://liforboe.info/news/case-analysis-on-transportation-a-followup-1683949443.html
- What other issues do you feel need to be tackled in the school district?
It is important to further improve academic excellence with a focus on serving all students. We have a collective student body at various levels of learning styles and abilities, and we need to be able to meet the students’ needs at their level, supporting and challenging them appropriately to help them achieve their highest potential. One area I would like to see strengthened is science education. If science courses are started at earlier grades and more time is allocated to the instruction of science subjects, it would help students learn the subject better. Any course material, if not given enough instruction time, would be more difficult than if it were well-developed and given adequate time. This would affect families without extra support even more. For interested and ready students, a strengthened STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) program will better equip our students for their future careers and contribute to improving overall educational excellence.
It is important to improve counseling and career concentration so that students are not only prepared academically but also understand their career interests and their strengths. This way, when students graduate from the district, they know which career direction they are headed in and are prepared to move on to the next chapter of life and learning.
It is important to improve parents’ representation for all student needs and listen to community voices. We need to strengthen parent organizations. Thanks to the parents in various parent associations, your voices have helped the students and the school district best serve the students and families. These parent organizations liaise with the district. Some could benefit from more support, such as the gifted and talented students’ parents’ organization, APEX, as well as the special education parents’ group, SEA, and a few others. Such infrastructures help facilitate communication and help schools understand students’ and families’ needs and thus serve the students better. It is important to make sure these parent groups are getting the support and communication they need to be healthy and functioning.
It is important to improve overall communication and transparency with parents, fully include parents in decisions and communications, and empower parents in carrying out their role as the primary decision-makers in their child’s education and well-being.
5, What sets you apart from the challenging candidates?
I am a current member of the BRRSD BOE. Professionally, I am an educator and entrepreneur. I earned my PhD in Materials Science and a BS in Physics. I have work experience in higher education, working with college students and graduate students, as well as in industry research and project management. I serve on the board of the local Chinese American Association and enjoy organizing and sharing cultural experiences with the broader Bridgewater-Raritan community.
As an incumbent BOE member, I have learned the board’s working process and will be able to continue the work that was started. In addition, as a first-generation immigrant, I understand the experience, struggles, and sometimes culture shock. I have been able to successfully navigate that and would like to be an inspiration and resource to students and families who might be going through the same. My knowledge and experience in higher education, STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), and research equip me with a perspective and analytical approach that will help ensure a strong curriculum and student learning experience. I have three children currently attending district schools, from high school to elementary school, and I am able to relate and connect to families in our schools and hear from a broad school community, not just one school or one age group.
- Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself or your campaign?
Our community aspires to provide the best opportunities for students and supports our schools. Parents’ role as primary decision-makers is essential to their children’s success, and schools should keep parents fully informed while reflecting community values.
I have been a consistent voice for student achievement, educational excellence for all, responsible spending, and enriching student experiences, using a common-sense, data-driven, evidence-based approach while listening to families.
I am joined by Dr. Ketrin Maxwell, a mental health professional and active community volunteer, and by Deanna Nye, who works closely with families through her education nonprofit to help families support students with complex needs. This November, vote Column D.
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