Remembrance of Dedicated Past School Board Members
Recently a former school board member passed away who was a legend in her community. It got me to thinking about contributions of school board members through the years not just currently. In many ways our current successes have been built on the efforts of those in the past. January is also School Board Recognition month and I thought it might be nice to share positive stories about past board members.
I have worked closely and gotten to know thousands school board members throughout the 21 counties of New Jersey for close to 27 years. These relationships have been overwhelmingly positive ones. I have known board members committed to their communities and students in small one building districts as well as large expansive districts. They have represented New Jersey’s racial and ethnic diversity. Some excellent board members have been Republican, and some have been Democratic. Many have no real political affiliation. Most I have no idea because it was not germane to the relationship.
Yet I am not writing this article from a professional perspective but from a personal one. I would like to tell the story of three board members who I knew in the early days of my career but who, because of their strong sense of morality really touched and influenced me. I can say with complete confidence that they not only touched me positively but others who knew them. Unfortunately, all three have since passed but their contributions have outlived them. They all also taught me a few lessons and made me a better person for having known them. I am not stating that these are the “best” board members I have ever known but that their stories do reflect some of the best qualities of a school board member.
As a final thought I do not want to give an impression that these dedicated board members of the past are of an era that no longer exists. Not at all. If anything, the opposite. That there are and will always be committed school board members. If you are reading this my guess is that you may already know some.
Peggy Saslow
There are not many people who can live a very long life that touched the lives of so many in a community. Peggy Saslow was one of them. In the community of New Milford in Bergen County she was an icon. She taught in the district for 27 years and then served another 19 on the local board of education after retiring. Those are just years of service and while impressive it does not really measure her impact on people both in and out of her community.
I met her while she was on the board of education because she was an active attendee of the Bergen County School Boards Association. I believe she was one of those people who never did anything halfhearted. She was completely committed to being a school board member even after all her years in the classroom. Her energy stood out. Maybe her energy stood out because she was in her 80’s and served on her board into her 90’s. Whatever it was, her passion for the students was evident. All policies in her mind came back to the students.
Some people it is almost impossible to get angry at even if they are telling you that your point of view is obviously wrong. Peggy was one of those people. I don’t know if it was because of her charming Boston accent that she never lost from her youth, or that she was a petite elderly woman. I tend to think it was more of her warm personality. She might be saying that your ideas were off base but in the same breath say that she liked you. It is a characteristic that we need much more of in these times.
We tend to think of people who are kind and nice without strong beliefs but believe me Peggy had strong convictions and was not afraid to share them. One of Peggy’s strongest beliefs was in public education. After retiring from teaching, she joined the New Milford school board. Sometimes there is an adjustment for someone coming from the teaching position to that of a school board but not Peggy. She immediately got the idea of the board working as a team and focusing on student achievement. She also was focused on board member training and advocacy. One former board member who was very active with NJSBA said that when he came on the board, she told him “You have to this meeting, and travel here. She didn’t say I “should” but that I had too.” He said I was a better board member because of her.
Her board colleagues nominated for board member recognition awards. She won the Bergen County Janet S. Lobsenz Award for dedicated service by the Bergen County School Boards Association and in 2014 she was named the New Jersey State School Board Member of the Year by the New Jersey School Boards Association at the age of 91.
It should not be surprising that she served on the board for 19 years. She was considered a legend in her hometown. In 2018 she was named the New Milford Education Foundations Person of the Year in 2018 and in 2022 the tennis courts at New Milford High School were named in her honor. (She was an avid tennis player and played into her 90’s.) The mayor, a former student of hers, also spoke at her 100th birthday. On the news of her passing the mayor and council for only the second time in town history flew the flag at half-mast for the passing of a local resident.
Upon her death she once again showed her support for the students by asking people that in lieu of flowers make a donation to the New Milford Education Foundation to support the New Milford Holocaust Study Tour. She was a devoted supporter of this school program.
Finally, she had a way of getting people to do things that she thought needed to get done. I probably shouldn’t admit this but years ago she called me and asked me to do something that was a bit out of my job description. I said “I’m not sure Peggy.” She then replied sweetly with her Boston accent “Ray please for me.” Obviously, I relented. Something that I would do again. I wish she was still around to sweetly coerce me to do something again.
Peggy showed me that passion and drive do not end when you retire or at a certain age. That making your community a better place should be your focus. That asking people nicely can be more effective than strong arming them.