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The following bio is courtesy of Jersey City Families for Better Schools.
Tom Wilen
Tom Wilen has lived in Jersey City for five years with his wife and his three children who all go to JC Public Schools. Tom has managed several companies with more than 2000 employees, and turned around failing enterprises. He has also been teaching pro-bono at Pace, NYU, Sacred Heart, and Fordham Universities. He graduated from the Business School of the University of Helsinki in Finland, complemented with executive education at Harvard, Stanford, Northwestern and the Center for Creative Leadership in Colorado Springs.
- Identify two strengths and two weaknesses of the Jersey City Public Schools. How should these weaknesses be remedied and these strengths reinforced? It is clear that BOE lacks a clear plan and proper control systems for steering resources towards where they are most needed. An audit is warranted followed by a strategic process with total transparency.
- The new school funding formula presents the Jersey City Public Schools with serious financial challenges. How do you propose to overcome the projected cut in state funding? The budget has ballooned from $200 million to $600 over the past few years and the last audit showed that a third of the funds were not properly accounted for with 9 dead people on the payroll. A better plan and spending towards the children instead of patronage and high living for administrators at the cost of the children, teachers and a school environment appropriate for learning will identify resources within existing funds.
- Do you support any form of school choice? What is your position on charter schools, magnet schools, vouchers, or district-run independent schools? Parent involvement and pushing power closer to the local level is the recipe for success. A thorough analysis of socioeconomic conditions will determine what solutions will best serve the children and no options should be taken off the table.