Hillsborough School District Election Results For 2020
Updated as of 12:05 a.m.
HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — The polls are closed and votes are being tallied in a heated Hillsborough Township School Board Election.
There are six candidates vying for the three, three-year seats.
Here are the unofficial results as of 11:54 p.m., according to Somerset County:
Judith C. Haas: 5,336
Ann Harris: 5,752
Benjamin Wilson Kidd: 6,068
Paul Marini: 8,525
Cynthia "Cindy" DeCavalcante Nurse: 10,534
Lorraine Soisson: 4,030
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Controversy arose surrounding the school board race after the Hillsborough Education Association endorsed Kidd, Marini and Nurse. Incumbents Haas, Harris and Soisson claimed the endorsement was inappropriate and a conflict of interest since the HEA does business with the school district. Read More: Haas, Harris, And Soisson Respond To HEA Endorsement Process
Haas:
Haas has served for 15.5 years on the board and is running for her sixth term. She has achieved the designations of Certified Board Member, Master Board Member, and Certified Board Leader, the highest level of certification from the NJ School Boards Association. She has served two years as President and three years as vice president and currently chair the Education Committee, having previously chaired the Governance, Communications, and Policy Committees. She served on the Curriculum, Finance, Personnel, Operations, Facilities, and Negotiations Committees as well. She has served for several years as Liaison to the Garden State Coalition of Schools and Legislative Representative.
Haas feels the single most pressing issue facing the school district is the coronavirus pandemic.
"It is unprecedented and larger in scope and impact than anything we have experienced. Our district was able to effectively transform into a virtual district last March due to the hard work and initiative of our staff at all levels and our strong commitment to 1:1 technology that was implemented starting in 2011 with my support. We were a leader in this initiative, and our current students and staff benefit from all these years of computer access and competence. At this time, our schools are open to some students for in-person learning and some students are continuing their learning virtually," Haas said.
Other issues Haas would like to see addressed in the school district is the budget and state funding.
"We have been blessed with a strong educational program (#15 in the #1 state), excellent staff, and, of course, the best students ever, but we face a constant challenge of budget cuts and inadequate funding from the state. Unfunded mandates and uncontrolled cost increases beyond the 2 percent cap threaten our progress and must be addressed by the state. I have met with legislators from all over the state about this, and I advocate through organizations such as the Garden State Coalition of Schools and the New Jersey School Boards Association," Haas said.
Haas also would like to address "the township's approvals of many new residential developments with no remediation of impacts on already-overcrowded schools. I have testified about this problem at planning board and township committee meetings."
Harris:
Harris has lived in Hillsborough for 33 years and served on the board for the past three years now. Harris has taught in the Hillsborough Township Public Schools for 23 years, she has a Doctorate in Educational Leadership, Administration and Supervision. She has served on the Hillsborough Sustainable Steering Committee Member for 12 years and is a Rutgers Environmental Steward.
"The single most pressing issue facing our school district is ensuring the health and safety of our students and staff as they come back to school gradually through a hybrid model during COVID, combined with budgeting when the state continues to cut aid to the district," Harris said.
Other issues include carrying out work laid out in the 2019 referendum, increasing options for student learning opportunities, to try and improve the communications to the community, and more collaborative effort to work together in this community.
"The district website is a start, but it is not as frequently updated as board members would like (sometimes during COVID information has been revised or changed too rapidly to keep informed without more staffing to provide updates on the website). Residents without children in the district schools need additional ways to receive district information that is of interest or concern to the community," Harris said.
Kidd:
Kidd is currently a senior at Hillsborough High School. He attended district schools growing up and has "paid attention to the issues from the perspective of a student."
Kidd feels the single most pressing issue facing the school district is the lack of cooperation between the school board and the township committee.
"If we were working as a team we could conserve resources and ease tax costs while improving the lives of students, teachers, and townspeople," Kidd said.
Other issues Kidd would like to see addressed include overcrowding, communications, and the buildings.
Marini:
Marini has two daughters (9 and 11) in the district who are attending HES and ARIS and he has served a two-year term as Treasurer of the HES Home and School Association. In addition, he has been a member of the Hillsborough Parks and Rec Commission for over two years and a resident of Hillsborough since 2010.
Marini feels the single most pressing issue facing the school district is for the Board of Education to repair its relationship with both the HEA and its residents.
"This does not mean saying yes to every request, but to ensure that all sides are heard and that the best interests of all interested parties are met in a fiscally responsible manner. Seeking what is best for students and also being fiscally responsible does not mean disrespecting the staff in our schools. I firmly believe that when staff are valued and our budget reflects what is best, that our students benefit," Marini said.
Another issue Marini would like to address is better communication, specifically for parents and the community to get information on referendums.
Nurse:
Nurse has lived in Hillsborough with her husband and two daughters, ages 11 and 13, since 2012. She previously taught for five years in Montgomery Township before accepting a job as a staff developer in the Bridgewater-Raritan School District.
Nurse feels the "most important matter at hand is repairing relationships between the BOE, administration, and the Hillsborough Education Association. Health and safety for students, staff, and the community will also be at the top of my priority list. This includes re-establishing safe and cost-effective transportation to ensure students arrive to and return home from school safely with no extra cost to our families."
Additionally, Nurse would like to address the board budget.
"Managing and balancing the budget with minimal disruption or negative consequences to students, staff, the district, or the community is an important objective," Nurse said.
Soisson:
Soisson currently serves as board president. She was HSA president at Triangle and Auten Road Schools for 6 years and president of the Joint Council of HSA Presidents for six years as well. She first ran for BOE in 2012. During her seven years as a BOE member, she has chaired the Education Committee for two years. She also has been Vice President for two years.
Soisson feels the single most pressing issue facing the school district is implementing a "quality educational program while keeping everyone safe with ever-shrinking resources, rising costs, and decreasing aid."
Soisson talk about the need to update the district's buildings beyond the work laid out in the referendum.
"Our facilities need much more attention than that referendum will provide. Since being elected to the Board, I have been advocating for budgeting to cap to fund the capital reserve so that we can schedule longer-term projects and implement these projects with state matching funds when possible at little to no cost to taxpayers," Soisson said. "We need to maintain our excellent programs, staff, and extracurricular activities, which is increasingly difficult with current funding by the state and resource limitations. We must encourage the state to devise a fair funding formula, increase reimbursements for special education, and work with our legislators and local government to ensure that schools are not left out of deals that provide payment in lieu of tax dollars to our township government but not to schools."
Other issues she would like to address are full-day kindergarten, expansion of gifted and talented offerings, and establish a center of excellence for special education.
Links to the candidate's profiles:
For full coverage of the 2020 election in New Jersey, go here: New Jersey Elections 2020
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This article originally appeared on the Hillsborough Patch
