Page A-2 Thursday, April % 1998 and THE TIMES of Scotch Plains - Fanwood A WATCHUNG COMMUNICATIONS, INC. PUBLICATION

Bob Franks LaunchesFor Fourth Term In U.S. Congress

School Board to Minimize RelocationOf Pre-School Handicapped Classes

SpecBy PAUL J.PEYTON

ally Written for The Wmfteld Leader m;d 77:e

Huddled in a small room in therear of the Kenihvorth Diner last

'Thursday afternoon. Congressman'Bob Franks, of Berkeley Heights.' officially kicked off his reelection bid* in Union County for a fourth term tothe United States House of Represen-tatives. Mr. Franks also held cam-paign kick-offs at the Golden Corner

^Dinerin Bound Brook and the Edison^Family Restaurant.

The three-term Congressman is* likely to face first-term Democratic:Fanwood Mayor Maryanne S.'Connelly in November. Today is the•last day to file petitions for the Tues-day, June 6 Primary.

- The Seventh Congressional Dis-ftrict encompasses communities inthree counties - Middlesex, Somerset

.and Union. The latter includes West-field, Scotch Plains, Fanwood and

' .Mountainside. Both Mr. Franks andMrs. Connelly reside in Union County.

"The past few years have been aJime of remarkable change in Wash-ington. When I came to Congress sixyears ago, I could only dream of theday when the federal budget was in'balance, when welfare reform was a'reality, when our nation's economywas thriving and when families could•finally gain a measure of tax relief.

"We've now begun to reach thosegoals. But make no mistake about it.There's still much more that needs tobe done," Congressman FranksStated.

Among the Congressman's goalsif reelected are the replacement of thecurrent Internal Revenue Service taxcode, improving transportation op-tions for residents of Central NewJersey, working for tough new lawsto keep children safe from predators- including on the Internet - andpreserving the long-term financialstability of Social Security.

Mr. Franks said the current systemof over 475 different tax forms and280 instruction sheets on how to fillout the complex tax forms caters tothe over 67,000 lobbyists who arevowing to fight to keep the systemintact.

He said the system is "riddled withloopholes that are designed to benefitonly the wealthy and the powerful attheexpenseofhardworkingfamilies."

"Most Americans are so afraid ofmaking a mistake that they now gothrough the expense of hiring a taxaccountant," he said.

Congressman Franks emphasizedthat taxpayers "must stand up forchange by demanding a simpler, fairerand more honest tax system."

The Congressman, 46, standing

with his wife, Fran, and daughter.Kelly Amanda, also vowed to con-tinue his efforts as the Co-Chairmanof the Congressional Caucus on Miss-ing and Exploited Children, to ''con-tinue leading the fight for tough newlaws against those sick individualswho prey on our children whether it'son the Internet or at the playground."

"We need to make our schools andneighborhoods safe for our kids tolearn and play. And we cannot toler-ate any violence in our schools," Mr.Franks told his supporters.

- Also on the Congressman's list ofobjectives if elected to a fourth termis the preservation of the Social Se-curity system for future generations.Noting that the Baby Boomers - thelargest generation in the history ofAmerica - will soon begin to retire,he said the system could collapse inthe early part of the 21 st century. .

Although the system is currently"financially sound in the short-term,"Mr. Franks said if nothing is done tokeep Social Security afloat, thesystem's trust fund "will begin tocollapse under the strain of so manyretirees" within 14 years. He saidCongress needs to act quickly to se-cure "long-term soundness" for So-cial Security not just for today's retir-ees but for the nation's' youngestworkers.

"The first step (to preserve SocialSecurity) is to stop spending moneyfrom the Social Security Trust Fundto pay for other programs," he said.

The Congressman is New Jersey'sonly member of the House BudgetCommittee. He said, in this regard,that he has fought hard "to end defi-cit spending in Washington," notingthat when the current federal fiscalyear ends on Thursday, October 1,"the federal budget will be balancedfor the first time in 30 years." Hefurther noted that Congress will endthe year with a budget surplus.

Getting back to taxes, he said theaverage American family spendsmore in taxes — federal, state andlocal property taxes - than they do onclothing, food and shelter combined.

"Ladies and gentlemen, that is sim-ply not acceptable," CongressmanFranks stated.

He explained that in 1997, Con-gress took the first step to ease the taxburden on working families by in-cluding a $500 tax credit for raisinga child in addition to what he de-scribed as "a host of new tax breaks"to help parents pay for their children'scollege education.

He said he made saving the Medi-care system, which was "teetering onbankruptcy," a priority while in Con-gress. During his tenure in Congress

Mr. Franks has also witnessed thereform of the welfare system whichnow "promotes work, personal re-sponsibility and the value of family."He noted that last year the welfarerolls "dropped by an astounding 25percent."

Another area the Congressman hasvowed to continue to push for arefederal transportation funds for NewJersey. Mr. Franks, a member of theHouse Transportation and Infrastruc-ture Committee, chairs the Subcom-mittee on Railroads.

In addition to repairing highwaysand bridges in one of the busiesttraffic congestion states in the na-tion, Congressman Franks said newmass transit alternatives to single-passenger automobiles are alsoneeded to reduce the burden on thestate's infrastructure.

In this' regard, he said this is beingaccomplishedby several projects suchas the restoration of passenger railservice on the West Trenton line andsuch as adding a new stop at TownleyStation in Union Township on the NJTransit's Raritan Valley Line.

Congressman Franks, a BerkeleyHeights resident, was first elected toCongress in 1992. He replaced long-time Congressman Matthew P.Rinaldo who retired.

Mr. Franks previously served from1979 through 1992 as Assemblymanin the 22nd State Legislative Dis-trict, a four-county area which in-cludes communities in Essex Countyalong with the three counties in hiscurrent Congressional District.

He was Republican State Chair-man in 1988 and 1989. and from1990 to 1992.

By SUSAN M. DYCKMANSpecialh Written for The Westfleid Leader and The Times

Board of Education members andparents seemed satisfied with theboard's decision Tuesday to keep re-location of Scotch Plains-FanwoodPre-School Handicapped (PSH)classes to a minimum for the comingschool year.

Following weeks of discussion withparents, staff and administration, andrevised recommendations from Su-perintendent of Schools, Dr. Carol B.Choye, the board ultimately voted tomove just one class for the 1998-1999 school year.

The existing Pervasive Develop-mental Disorder (PDD) class willmove out of Coles Elementary Schoolinto McGinn Elementary.

The PDD class at McGinn willconsist of older pre-schoolers whoare likely to be mainstreamed intoKindersarten and first srade in theirhome schools for 1999-2000.

The remaining pre-school classeswill remain at Brunner Elementary(one Title One class, mornings andafternoons; three PSH classes, sixsections, mornings and afternoons),and at School One (one Title Oneclass, mornings and afternoons, andone PDD class).

No pre-school classes will behoused in Park Middle School asoriginally proposed by Dr. Choye.

Emphasizing that the move pro-vides a "one-year solution" only, Dr.Choye said the district would step upformation of an Enrollment and Fa-cilities Task Force to May, ratherthan waiting until the fall.

In other business, seniors Allison

i

David B. Corbin for The Westfield Leader and The TimesRUNNING FOR A FOURTH TERM...Congressman Bob Franks, of BerkeleyHeights, holds his four-month old daughter, Kelly Amanda, prior to launchinghis reelection campaign last Thursday. Congressman Franks announced hisdrive for a fourth term in the United States Hpuse of Representatives during astop at the Kenilworth Diner. His w-ffeVFran̂ is at right.

Zatorski and Brian Spitser fromScotch Plains-Fanwood High School(SPFHS) shared their senior portfo-lios.

Guidance Supervisor KarenMcDermort explained the portfolioscontain a personal statement of goals,a resume and representation ofachievements. These are used by stu-dents during college and job inter-views.

Though the program was launchedin senior English classes this year,the junior class at SPFHS will begindrafting their portfolios later thisspring.

"My portfolio offered a coherentway to present everything about my-self," said Alison, who will attendthe University of Michigan in Sep-tember. "I think it will be especiallyhelpful for juniors going into senioryear."

"Interviewers were very impressedwith the portfolio," added Brian, whoplans to attend Boston College.

Parents questioned the board's re-cent decision to eliminate second-grade standardized testing in favorof administering a district-generated

t e s t . .. ••}.LisaMcNally of Scotch Plains said,

"The first-grade district test {imple-mented last year) didn't tell me any-,thing I didn't already know. Coaldthe second grade test tell us whereour child ranks in comparison toother students in the district?"

"I want a standardized test," said.Miriam Silverman of Fanwood. "I'dlike to know how kids are ranking on _a nationwide basis." j

Ms. S Overman also questioned the,',class time missed by a second-gradeteacher at Brunner School who.,helpedprepare the district test. Board '.President Dr. Donald E. Sheldonpromised a public response to theinquiry.

Fanwood resident Gerry Vadas re-peated Ms demand for answers re-.garding an October 1997 incidentduring which his four-year-old sonr

was "missing for almost two hours"after being picked up by a Vbgel •School Bus from the Brunner PSHprogram.

"Five months later we are stilltrying to get some answers," he statedin a letter.

RECREATING THE OLD \VEST...Fourth graders in Karen Kashlak'sclass at Washington Elementary School dressed in costumes of famouspeople in history from the Old West Pictured, left to- right, are: top row,Jenna Vandervort, Jennie Scollon, Emma Laird; front row, Diana Goodman,Kristina Fietkiewicz, Katherine Itz and Emily Cleaves.

Laura Van Wyk MakesUniversity Dean's List

Laura Van Wyk of Westfield was re-cently named to the Dean's List for theFall 1997 semester at American Univer-sity in Washington, D.C.

Individuals named to the Dean's Listmust... tain a grade point average of 3.55out of 4.0. A sophomore, Laura ismajor-ing in International Studies.

Colleen Spotts InductedInto Phi Zeta Kappa ^Colleen Spotts of Scotch Plains has ,',

been inducted into Phi Zeta Kappa, the.,'junior honor society at FairleighDickinson University's Florham-Madi- *son Campus.. Eligibility for Phi Zeta Kappa is es-tablished by completing at least60 cred-its toward an undergraduate degree with -a cumulative grade point average of3.20 orbetter out of a possible 4.0

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