### Dafna Kendal 

Dafna Kendal — current president and member of the 
Princeton Public School’s Board of Education, co-founder 
of the Princeton Mobile Food Pantry, and little league 
softball coach — was re-elected for her fourth three-year 
term in November. In her 9 years on the Board, Kendal has 
worked on initiatives such as delaying PHS’s start time and 
searching for PPS’s current superintendent, Dr. Michael 
LaSusa. Kendal cited this transition in administration as 
a primary reason for her decision to re-run.


 “I would say I want a smooth transition for the district, 
not just for Dr. LaSusa. First of all, I’m a known quantity ... 
I think people know that I’m trying to do the right thing 
and that goes a long way,” said Kendal. 


Kendal, a graduate of Lehigh University and Seton Hall 
Law School, practiced as a regulatory and compliance 
lawyer before and after joining the Board. Her motivation 
to join the Board came from witnessing conflicts between 
the teacher’s union and the Board. 


“In 2011, when I dropped my kids off at school, the 
teachers were outside with signs and they didn’t have a 
contract. And this went on and off for three years, and it 
got really bad. I thought ... I could make the relationship 
between the Board and the union better [and] more 
collaborative ... and I think I’ve done that,” said Kendal. 


For her upcoming term, funding for the school district 
remains a main concern. But Kendal hopes the payment 
in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreements passed in May of this 
year, and possibly similar agreements in the future, can 
help alleviate this issue. 


“We [collaborated] with the municipality council; they’re 
going to share a PILOT for one of the apartment buildings.
We’re one of only a handful of districts [in New Jersey] 
that has that kind of arrangement with their town,” said 
Kendal. “[The Annual Service Charge] goes outside the two 
percent cap, and it’s money that might have been spent by 
the municipality … that’s now earmarked for education ... 
I guess we could look to some more of these agreements.”
Throughout these changes, Kendal continues to 
emphasize the importance of transparency and the 
representation of all voices in the Board: students, teachers, 
and administrators alike. 


“We try to make [every decision] with the best interest 
of the students in mind. And like everyone else ... we’re 
not infallible. When mistakes are made, we try to learn 
from those mistakes,” said Kendal. “But I think PPS is in 
a good place. I think we have great leadership, and I think 
our values are aligned with the Board and administration 
of what’s important


### Erica Snyder
From teaching United States history and health 
education in Ecuador to directing Cherry Hill Nursery 
School, Erica Snyder has been in education for her entire 
life. Snyder received a bachelor’s degree in secondary 
education from DePaul University and a master’s degree 
in instructional technology from East Carolina University, 
and participated in the Japan Fulbright Memorial Teacher 
Program. 


“I was a 9th grade world studies and English teacher. 
Then after I left the classroom, I was an instructional coach 
for teachers [in] project based learning schools… and 
now being the director at Cherry Hill, I’m with a different 
group of kids, and no one’s over the age of six. It’s a little 
different than high schoolers, although in some instances 
it’s very similar,” said Snyder.


Her journey in education took her to Ecuador following 
her bachelor’s degree, where she volunteered for 18 months 
teaching students from underserved communities.
“I taught ESL in [the] school — it was really awesome. 
I was there for almost 18 months, and I would encourage 
anyone to go do something international[ly] because it 
gives you a different perspective on people in the world 
and how interconnected we are,” said Snyder.


Following her husband’s retirement from the US Army, 
Snyder and her family settled in Princeton, where she began 
involving herself in the Princeton community by serving as 
co-PTO President of Community Park Elementary School. 


“I have three kids, two in elementary [school] and one 
in middle school. You’ll find me at a hockey rink or a 
soccer field or a dance class fairly regularly,” said Snyder.


The primary issue driving Snyder’s campaign was 
ensuring transparency around PPS’s use of technology. 
“I would really love to see an instructional technology 
audit done of what technologies are being used in school 
[and whether] they are being used effectively. It’s been 
five years post-covid, so at this point, having a real look 
at the broader picture of instructional technology is really 
important to me. How it was used during covid, doesn’t 
have to be how it’s used moving forward.”


Though Snyder was the only non-incumbent elected, 
she’s looking forward to the opportunity to better 
understand the district.


“I look forward to seeing [how] everything’s going to 
work with the Board and learning more about all of the 
schools in the district and their needs. It’s a giant puzzle 
trying to make it all work together,” said Snyder


### Susan Kanter
Current Vice President of the PPS’s Board of Education, 
Susan Kanter ran uncontested for her third term on 
the board earlier this November. Kanter attended 
Duke University where she majored in Economics and 
Political Science, and later worked as a Vice President 
of Operations for a multi-national firm in NYC for 23 
years. She attributes her primary focus on the Board to 
her professional background.


“[I bring] some philosophies of long-range planning, 
of … operationally making sure that we’re being as costeffective as we can while still supporting the staff and 
the students … When I got involved, we hadn’t had any 
referendums yet, so our buildings were a little in disrepair. 
It’s been another focus of mine to ensure that the district 
has worked on maintaining our buildings and keeping 
everything healthy and safe,” said Kanter. 


Since her retirement over 15 years ago, Kanter has 
dedicated her time to volunteering in Princeton. Kanter 
has served as treasurer for the 101 Fund and the Princeton 
Children’s Fund, and was a member of the Jewish Center’s 
board. Within PPS, Kanter served five years on the PTO 
Council, five years as the Princeton Middle School PTO 
Treasurer, and then seven years as the PHS PTO president. 
The PTO’s work at the high school got her interested in 
maintaining and improving students’ well-being.


“So then, when my children [graduated], I had been 
attending [Board of Education] meetings and had gotten 
interested [in joining the Board]. So I felt like, with my 
background in business and operations ... that I’d be a 
good person to be involved on the board,” said Kanter.


Now, as a current member, she decided to re-run because 
she wanted to be involved in the new opportunities for 
the Board and create progress in some of their long-term 
goals like the $89 million referendum passed last year. 
“The exciting opportunities involve welcoming a new 
superintendent and some new key staff members ... I’ve 
been very involved in long-range planning and operations,” 
said Kanter. “We passed a referendum last year, and to see 
that referendum successfully implemented over the next 
three years has been a great goal of mine.” 


In addition to helping the board with its current projects, 
Kanter wants to be involved in aiding with new challenges 
that lie ahead. 


“There’s potential cuts from the federal government 
that we may have to deal with … [There are also] the 
continuing challenges of making sure that every student 
reaches their potential and graduates from PPS with the 
skills they need for whatever future that they desire ... [and 
also that] they feel welcomed [and supported] as they go 
through challenges,” said Kanter.


Kendall brings her experiences as a regulatory and 
compliance lawyer to the Board

Avantika Paleyakar's Work