Don't you think this poll should wait until after the candidates are publicly interviewed so anyone voting would have knowledge of each applicant's education views and could make an informed choice? Or Patch could have each applicant submit a statement and write an article on each applicant's views....then have a poll. I happen to know a few of the applicants but not the majority so no way to say who would be best choice.

Our community is very fortunate to have such a wonderful group of candidates who are passionate about the Millburn School District. I have had the pleasure to meet and work on varied projects with five of the six candidates which assures me that each of us brings something distinct and valuable to the Board of Education. With a daughter in first grade at Deerfield and the other finishing up her final year at Christ Church Nursery School and ready to attend kindergarten in the Fall, my family has a strong interest in maintaining the exceptional educational standards of the Millburn School District. For this reason, I would be honored to serve on this Board.

The unique set of skills that I will add to the table is a long time success in leveraging private funds to support the organizations where I am or have been employed. My background has given me the opportunity to not only grow the revenue base for the organizations that I work for but also guide, lead and motivate staff and volunteers to raise and expand revenue. Raising private funds for our schools will provide an additional revenue stream for our district rather than relying solely on property taxes and ever shrinking government funding. An additional revenue stream would provide the Board of Education with the opportunity to ensure we have the needed curriculum, facilities and teaching staff available for our children without having to rely on capped tax increases annually when creating the budget.

My background and expertise has provided me with substantial experience in making tough and intelligent budgetary decisions through detailed analysis of expense categories in order to streamline and trim expense budgets. The needs of our community's children will always be the key to guiding my decision making when grappling with complex issues and the knowledge that our resources are finite.
In these challenging economic times, I bring a unique set of skills to the District. Having held senior fund development positions for over sixteen years, my career has successfully centered on expanding revenue in order to maximize programmatic impact for the organizations that I work. In my current position, the department that I oversee is responsible for raising over 99% of the organization’s cash revenue. During my tenure, we have expanded cash revenue from $7 million to over $15 million in our most recent fiscal year. I also facilitate significant corporate sponsorships that include substantial gifts of products or services that help advance the mission. If selected to serve on the Board of Education, I would like to explore further private funding opportunities working in tandem with the administration, Board colleagues and other community members.

It is my belief that many of our top private school competitors in the area are able to provide broader curriculum and update their facilities, because they have raised more overall funding per student through non-tuition fundraising and are then able to invest more substantial funds.
One of the core roles in my current work position is to manage and coach volunteers in order to leverage fundraising impact. I have utilized those skill sets to participate as a co-leader during our school district’s strategic planning process both in the early stages -- implementing Drop Box file sharing capacity and co-leading the Research Committee’s Status of the Schools subcommittee -- as well as currently co-leading the Resources Action Team. Volunteering to work on the Strategic Plan has provided me with a much more in depth knowledge of the intricacies of the School District. In particular, analysis suggests that we not only need to spend further time on revenue and expense budgeting dynamics but also explore the strong likelihood that there will be continued growth in the number of students enrolled in the school district and how to proactively address the corresponding impact that will make.

Our Research Team spent substantial time garnering data on other comparable schools – both public and private – and if I was serving on the Board of Education, I would examine appropriate methods to implement further useful best practices to incorporate into the District’s work plan. Student-to-teacher ratios and classroom size dynamics are also core areas of interest that also correlate to some broader statewide ranking criteria.

Working closely with a Board of Directors in a staff position provides me with a practical perspective regarding the various dynamics involved so that volunteers and personnel are able to team together in order to achieve shared goals and strategic plans. I am extremely grateful that the District’s administration and staff is top notch and completely capable of implementing their work without micromanagement and believe that it’s the Board of Education’s role to work as a team to problem solve and address community concerns.

My exposure to education systems has been a constant throughout my life. My parents were both teachers and then administrators. My father was the superintendent of a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade private school with just over 1000 students enrolled for over 15 years before returning to teaching high school. My mother ran and taught at a preschool program with 50 children.

Since moving to Short Hills in 2008, we’ve made strong connections with our neighbors and parents of our daughters’ classmates. We have also established friendships with families throughout the district via involvement with Christ Church Nursery School and the Millburn Integrated Preschool as well as through membership in the Racquets Club of Short Hills. In particular, we know quite a few families who are just entering the district’s school system or will be shortly enrolled in kindergarten.

Volunteerism is a cornerstone in my family, as my spouse has been an extremely active community volunteer serving as the Millburn Integrated Preschool PTO President for two years and currently a member of the Millburn-Short Hills Education Foundation, Caring Kids and Cora Hartshorn Arboretum boards as well as being a class parent and co-chair of Deerfield’s Strawberry Festival. I understand the sizeable obligation that comes with serving on this Board of Education and promise you that I will diligently serve all members of this great community to uphold its standards and, more importantly, I will investigate all avenues which allow us to improve the educational system we have established.

Thank you for your consideration.

You're hired John! The district should set up a development office and hire you to run it! Board membership is a fiduciary role. You express an already established view of the district and that does not bode well for a board member who takes an oath to represent the whole community, not only those who share your view. Have you attended any board meetings and what is your impression of what you have seen? Which board members are on the strategic planning committees you are working on?

John...you have my vote. Combining reasonable fiscal restraint with a string compassion for our kids is exactly what I want in a board member.

Error...I meant "strong compassion."