Schools

Millburn Teen Hopes to Bring 'Unique' Perspective to School Board

'I'm going to have to prove that I am just as mature, responsible, knowledgeable on the issues and articulate as any member that's an adult,' 17-year-old school board candidate Chase Harrison says.

As one of the youngest candidates for the Board of Education, the high school junior said he will bring a 'unique' perspective the Millburn school board.

Seventeen-year-old Chase Harrison was deemed an eligible candidate in the board of education elections Wednesday because despite his current age he will be 18-year-old come November.

"Ultimately I'm going to have to prove that I am just as mature, responsible, knowledgeable on the issues and articulate as any member that's an adult," Harrison told Patch.

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Despite running against incumbents and candidates with dozens of years in professional experience and volunteering in the district with children enrolled in Millburn schools, he said he feels he is a worthy candidate.

"While some of the other candidates have years of experience in finance or administration, I have years of experience actually in the Millburn school district," Harrison said.  "I think I can serve just as well as people who are much older than I am."

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The Millburn teen will run for the open one-year seat in November against current vice president of the school board Rona Wenik, who has more than a dozen years in the school district including being on the executive board of Glenwood and the Middle School Parent Teacher Organizations.

Wenik is a former Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Eastern District of New York. She also has three children in the district.

"The problem is without any direct student representation on the board, the concerns of the students who are often the ones that have to live with these policies go unheard," Harrison said. "The board primary serves as an oversight committee for proposals made by the superintendent and other school administrators."

He said, the communication skills he's learned as a six-year member of the peer leadership could also help mediate conflicts and create teamwork on the board. 

"I think that with the board sometimes being a little hostile it's really important to have the skill to induce collaboration so that everyone feels like they are being heard on the board whether or not they are a member or just a concerned citizen," Harrison said. 

Additionally, the Millburn junior said he wants to be a more effective representative of the students than the current student liaison committee and to bring his experience in the Millburn district to the school board. He added, a student's perspective would give insight into the decisions the board has to make and if they could work in school.

The issues he would like to tackle if elected is the lack of mental health services and inconsistency with grading and curricula in the high school.

His experience in the district include: Peer leadership group for six years, quiz bowl team for three years, a captain on the high school forensics team, band, wind ensemble and worked on school newspaper and academic journal.

"I think just seeing another student run is going inspire a lot of student in the high to get involved with the educational system that have to deal with everyday," he added.


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