Board of Education members re-elected as district tackles future growth

Dafna Kendal

Dafna Kendal — current president and member of the Princeton Public School’s Board of Education, co-founder of the Princeton Mobile Food Pantry, and little league softball coach — was re-elected for her fourth three-year term in November. In her 9 years on the Board, Kendal has worked on initiatives such as delaying PHS’s start time and searching for PPS’s current superintendent, Dr. Michael LaSusa. Kendal cited this transition in administration as a primary reason for her decision to re-run.

“I would say I want a smooth transition for the district, not just for Dr. LaSusa. First of all, I’m a known quantity ... I think people know that I’m trying to do the right thing and that goes a long way,” said Kendal.

Kendal, a graduate of Lehigh University and Seton Hall Law School, practiced as a regulatory and compliance lawyer before and after joining the Board. Her motivation to join the Board came from witnessing conflicts between the teacher’s union and the Board.

“In 2011, when I dropped my kids off at school, the teachers were outside with signs and they didn’t have a contract. And this went on and off for three years, and it got really bad. I thought ... I could make the relationship between the Board and the union better [and] more collaborative ... and I think I’ve done that,” said Kendal.

For her upcoming term, funding for the school district remains a main concern. But Kendal hopes the payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreements passed in May of this year, and possibly similar agreements in the future, can help alleviate this issue.

“We [collaborated] with the municipality council; they’re going to share a PILOT for one of the apartment buildings. We’re one of only a handful of districts [in New Jersey] that has that kind of arrangement with their town,” said Kendal. “[The Annual Service Charge] goes outside the two percent cap, and it’s money that might have been spent by the municipality … that’s now earmarked for education ... I guess we could look to some more of these agreements.” Throughout these changes, Kendal continues to emphasize the importance of transparency and the representation of all voices in the Board: students, teachers, and administrators alike.

“We try to make [every decision] with the best interest of the students in mind. And like everyone else ... we’re not infallible. When mistakes are made, we try to learn from those mistakes,” said Kendal. “But I think PPS is in a good place. I think we have great leadership, and I think our values are aligned with the Board and administration of what’s important

Erica Snyder

From teaching United States history and health education in Ecuador to directing Cherry Hill Nursery School, Erica Snyder has been in education for her entire life. Snyder received a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from DePaul University and a master’s degree in instructional technology from East Carolina University, and participated in the Japan Fulbright Memorial Teacher Program.

“I was a 9th grade world studies and English teacher. Then after I left the classroom, I was an instructional coach for teachers [in] project based learning schools… and now being the director at Cherry Hill, I’m with a different group of kids, and no one’s over the age of six. It’s a little different than high schoolers, although in some instances it’s very similar,” said Snyder.

Her journey in education took her to Ecuador following her bachelor’s degree, where she volunteered for 18 months teaching students from underserved communities. “I taught ESL in [the] school — it was really awesome. I was there for almost 18 months, and I would encourage anyone to go do something international[ly] because it gives you a different perspective on people in the world and how interconnected we are,” said Snyder.

Following her husband’s retirement from the US Army, Snyder and her family settled in Princeton, where she began involving herself in the Princeton community by serving as co-PTO President of Community Park Elementary School.

“I have three kids, two in elementary [school] and one in middle school. You’ll find me at a hockey rink or a soccer field or a dance class fairly regularly,” said Snyder.

The primary issue driving Snyder’s campaign was ensuring transparency around PPS’s use of technology. “I would really love to see an instructional technology audit done of what technologies are being used in school [and whether] they are being used effectively. It’s been five years post-covid, so at this point, having a real look at the broader picture of instructional technology is really important to me. How it was used during covid, doesn’t have to be how it’s used moving forward.”

Though Snyder was the only non-incumbent elected, she’s looking forward to the opportunity to better understand the district.

“I look forward to seeing [how] everything’s going to work with the Board and learning more about all of the schools in the district and their needs. It’s a giant puzzle trying to make it all work together,” said Snyder

Susan Kanter

Current Vice President of the PPS’s Board of Education, Susan Kanter ran uncontested for her third term on the board earlier this November. Kanter attended Duke University where she majored in Economics and Political Science, and later worked as a Vice President of Operations for a multi-national firm in NYC for 23 years. She attributes her primary focus on the Board to her professional background.

“[I bring] some philosophies of long-range planning, of … operationally making sure that we’re being as costeffective as we can while still supporting the staff and the students … When I got involved, we hadn’t had any referendums yet, so our buildings were a little in disrepair. It’s been another focus of mine to ensure that the district has worked on maintaining our buildings and keeping everything healthy and safe,” said Kanter.

Since her retirement over 15 years ago, Kanter has dedicated her time to volunteering in Princeton. Kanter has served as treasurer for the 101 Fund and the Princeton Children’s Fund, and was a member of the Jewish Center’s board. Within PPS, Kanter served five years on the PTO Council, five years as the Princeton Middle School PTO Treasurer, and then seven years as the PHS PTO president. The PTO’s work at the high school got her interested in maintaining and improving students’ well-being.

“So then, when my children [graduated], I had been attending [Board of Education] meetings and had gotten interested [in joining the Board]. So I felt like, with my background in business and operations ... that I’d be a good person to be involved on the board,” said Kanter.

Now, as a current member, she decided to re-run because she wanted to be involved in the new opportunities for the Board and create progress in some of their long-term goals like the $89 million referendum passed last year. “The exciting opportunities involve welcoming a new superintendent and some new key staff members ... I’ve been very involved in long-range planning and operations,” said Kanter. “We passed a referendum last year, and to see that referendum successfully implemented over the next three years has been a great goal of mine.”

In addition to helping the board with its current projects, Kanter wants to be involved in aiding with new challenges that lie ahead.

“There’s potential cuts from the federal government that we may have to deal with … [There are also] the continuing challenges of making sure that every student reaches their potential and graduates from PPS with the skills they need for whatever future that they desire ... [and also that] they feel welcomed [and supported] as they go through challenges,” said Kanter.