Three newcomers and two incumbents are seeking seats on the board of education for the Princeton Public Schools in the general election this November. School board terms are for three years.

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Adam Bierman

Adam Bierman is a native Princetonian and educator who teaches for a New Jersey Division of Children and Families in Trenton. He is the host and producer of the podcast Breezin‘ with Bierman. His daughter is starting her junior year of college. Bierman earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in international affairs from Rutgers University, and his certification to teach social studies from the College of New Jersey. He was inspired to run for office after watching his parents work for the community.

Jeffrey Liao Portrait
Jeff Liao

Jeffrey Zhi Yang Liao is a Princeton Public Schools parent. Born in New York City to immigrant parents from Taiwan, he grew up in East Brunswick, where he attended public schools and was the valedictorian of his class at East Brunswick High. He majored in chemistry at Johns Hopkins University and earned his law degree from Harvard University. A member of the New Jersey, New York, and California bars, he has worked as an intellectual property attorney for 17 years. He currently serves as the sole U.S. Patent counsel of a multinational pharmaceutical company.

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Mara Franceschi

Mara Franceschi is a parent of three who has more than a decade of experience working in the financial services and asset management field. She served as treasurer of the Johnson Park Elementary School PTO for four years and as president for another three years. Over the last two years, she was a member of the PTO Council. She has also served on the town’s Citizens Finance Advisory Committee, as the assistant treasurer for the Friends of the Princeton Public Library, and as a volunteer with numerous other community non-profits.

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Betsy Baglio

Incumbent school board member Betsy Baglio moved to Princeton with her family a decade ago. Her two sons are now students at Princeton Middle School and Princeton High School. Baglio said equity and student achievement continue to be the focus of her work on the school board. She believes she brings a unique perspective to the board as an educator herself. She has worked as a public school teacher, professional developer, and educational consultant. Baglio is seeking her third term on the school board.

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Brian McDonald

Brian McDonald is a 26-year resident of Princeton. He has served on the school board since 2019. All three of his children attended the Princeton Public Schools. An artist and designer, he previously worked in public finance for two investment banks and was vice president for development at Princeton University. He is the treasurer of the Sustainable Princeton board and is a member of the advisory board for the Stellar Energy Foundation. He previously served on the boards of McCarter Theatre and the Watershed Institute, was a coach and manager for Princeton Little League, and was a member of the town’s Citizen Finance Advisory Committee.

School board incumbent Dan Dart, who fought battles early on in his first term on the school board regarding such issues as transparency, the sending and receiving agreement with Cranbury, and the rights of board members to express their opinions, decided not to seek reelection.

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Daniel Dart

4 Comments

  1. One question to all candidates: Do you support the CRT or Critical Race Theory as a component of educational curriculum ?

  2. Good question, though I wish the Planet had covered the candidates’ position on other issues as well. Voters shouldn’t have to decide whom to vote for based just on a candidate’s background. (Yale enforces this in its trustee elections, with predicable results.)

    1. The candidates just filed to run for the school board this week and the election is in November. Positions on the issues will be detailed in stories and profiles as we get closer to the election.

  3. Sir
    Are you asking about CRT as it specifically applies to the Princeton Public Schools curriculum ?
    If so , the PPS has introduced racial literacy classes , which if I remember correctly are supposed to be mandatory in 2025? Is that want you want my thoughts on?

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