Underway with a whimper

A small and easy to overlook letter printed in this week's Suburbanite kicks off this year's Board of Education campaign. While last week's paid advertisement by incumbent Dr. Henry Pruitt provided the first sign that the elections are approaching, this week's glowing approbation for candidate Dr. Kate Zatz by a close admirer means Teaneck's attentions are once again turning toward the composition of the school board.

The letter praising Zatz seems intended to introduce the candidate to readers more than to advance any particular platform she may have. While Zatz comes off as an accomplished figure, one wonders whether her campaign has missed an early opportunity to define a policy agenda that will grab the attention of Teaneck residents. True, the field is not all that crowded and therefore the pressure to distinguish oneself not that great, but there is no shortage of issues or absence of strong opinions about how to improve the district out there. Why not begin to address them now?

Let's hope we're not headed for another bland campaign that will leave the voters cold and the victors without any clear policy mandate. Residents ought to stand up and demand that the candidates articulate clear and specific stands on the key issues now facing the Teaneck schools. Failure to press candidates for details during the Council election and a willingness to accept platitudes instead of real answers has done us no good. There is little reason to think that having a small part of the electorate usher Board of Ed candidates into office without a real reckoning will serve us any better.