On Monday, October 27, Dr. Bernard Bragen was appointed as the new superintendent of South Brunswick School District after a lengthy superintendent search process pursued by the SB Board of Education (SBBOE). Now that he has presided over several Board meetings, the Vibe reached out to ask about his experience with the high school and the district as a whole so far.
When asked his opinions on his first board meeting and the community as a whole, Dr. Bragen said, “It seems like we have a community that’s very supportive of our school system. We got a school board that I’ve seen is committed to doing what’s best for the children of the town, and that’s exciting. I’ve been fortunate enough in the seven weeks that I’ve been working full-time here to interact with our staff and our administrators, and everybody seems great. Very positive start.”
Dr. Bragen was also incredibly impressed with the music program we have at the high school, even explaining that he found the music program in South Brunswick to be better than that of Edison Township, where he used to be an administrator at John P. Stevens High School (JPSHS). “We had that presentation at that board meeting [December 18] where we shared some of the awards and some of the things that our band has received and, yeah, it’s exciting to me and I think it just is indicative of the high caliber students we have in South Brunswick.”
Dr. Bragen also praised the facilities of South Brunswick High School, comparing them to JPSHS. “One of the differences is our facilities are much nicer. The South Brunswick High School is a beautiful campus. Every time I go there, I’m impressed at just the quality and the depth of our facility.” Dr. Bragen also praised the professionalism of the students in regards to how they carry themselves, and the hard work being put in by teachers.
Dr. Bragen also spoke on his plans in his first few months of being superintendent, explaining a general idea of meeting with and building connections with the community. This is not simply referring to parents either, but police officers, town council members, and even the mayor.
“I met with the mayor. We met with the police chief and deputy chief and I want to continue that and have an open dialogue with other leaders in the community and hopefully work together and provide the best we can,” Dr. Bragen explained.
Dr. Bragen has also attended meet-and-greets with PTO leaders and parents, but wants to expand them to more people and places. “I want to set them up in the community, set up at a couple of coffee shops in town at different times of the day for people that maybe aren’t connected to the PTOs and maybe don’t even have kids in the school,” Dr. Bragen said.
Dr. Bragen also explained that “having that open dialogue with the leadership and the police is really important to maintain the safety and security of our students and staff, but also to work with them when issues arise that they need our help for.”
While South Brunswick was described as brilliant by Dr. Bragen, there are some glaring issues that are simply impossible to ignore. Namely, the budget strain that the district has been under for the past several years.
Comparing his work in Virginia to that of New Jersey, Dr. Bragen explained that, “The percentage of funding that we have from our state is much less. At the time that I was in Virginia our state aid had increased because the state of Virginia had had a surplus.”
Dr. Bragen also said that next school year’s state aid figures would come out by the end of February. “Our hope is that our state-aid cut is not significant, but I think we have it under control,” Dr. Bragen explained.
While the district faces several issues in the coming months, whether they be from budget shortfalls or redistricting difficulties, Dr. Bragen hopes to move smoothly forward, build relationships with everyone in the community, and continue to enjoy his time as superintendent of SBHS.
