HILLSBOROUGH: Seven file for 3 seats on school board

By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
Seven people filed for three seats on the Hillsborough/Millstone School District Board of Education by Monday’s deadline.
Three are in the job now and seek re-election: Judith Haas of Titus Court, Jennifer Haley of Mulford Lane and Christopher Pulsifer of Ditmars Circle.
Two are residents with volunteer backgrounds, particularly on township planning bodies. They are Steve Cohen of Oak Terrace and Shawn Lipani of Lindstrom Drive.
Two others — both with information technology or computer work backgrounds —pledge they want to "give back to the community." They are Vinay Agarwal of Campbell Road and Reena Parekh of Lawrence Court.
This will be only the second year Hillsborough will elect school board members at the fall general election. The board opted in 2013 to bypass the April vote for the first time. The contests will appear on the fall ballot separate from partisan positions, such as Township Committee, freeholder or Congress.
Mr. Cohen, who has lived in Hillsborough for 16 years, said he wanted to be the "watchdog" on the board, primarily on financial matters. He said he wanted to speak up for the taxpayer and make sure every voice is heard, not just "kowtow to the administration’s wish list" and be "a rubber stamp."
He’s been on the Planning Board for at least 10 years, he said, and volunteers as a Rotary Club member. He’s works as a leasing administrator for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Mr. Lipani, owner of Central Jersey Nurseries, was recently moved from the zoning Board of Adjustment to the Planning Board, and he has been a county Planning Board member.
He said he has lived in the township since he was 8, and at one time attended four different township schools in four years, he said.
He said he didn’t think anyone should go in with preconceived notions a of what they want to accomplish, but said he would try to be fair and responsible to both the students and the municipality.
Ms. Parekh, a five-year resident of the township, said she has gotten interested by volunteering for extracurricular events at Woods Road School, where her children attend. She’s works at IBM developing security access management tools.
She said she has seen Hillsborough grow and wanted "to be part of an educational system to make a better future for our kids."
Mr. Pulsifer said he thought it great that were so many candidates. "It is important that the public have choices when they are choosing representation," he said. He said his previous years on the board "give me a view of the past as a basis to help make the right changes going forward.
"I am still motivated to provide the best public school education we can to the children of our community," he said.
Mr. Agarwal, a resident of Hillsborough Township for last eight years, works at Citibank in information technology management.
From seeing the experiences of his two children, he said, he said he knew "both the good and the bad quirks in each school. For example, I know of the terrible heat many high schoolers have to face for their finals. I also know that most of the teachers don’t even use the microphone sets except for videos they want to show their students because the mikes often run out of charge quickly or give too much feedback and can generally be a hassle.
"But I also know that the kids have excellent opportunities and amazing teachers throughout their high school career to provide a solid foundation for their futures," he said.
The parent of a RoboRaiders team member, he said he would especially stress STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) from an early age.
Ms. Haley said she felt she had tried to represent all during my tenure.
"I tried to keep spending under control while debating important issues we have faced," she said. "Hillsborough is a wonderful community and our schools are a big contributor to the whole picture. Keeping the taxpayer in mind while ensuring our children receive a high-quality education is a difficult balance to achieve, but I have been very vocal about what my philosophy is about doing this."
Ms. Haas said she felt she had accomplished much in her nine years on the board.
"I hope that the public will recognize the value of my experience, knowledge, and dedication during these increasingly challenging times," she said. "Public education remains threatened by cuts in state aid, unfunded mandates, privatization, high stakes testing, and increased pressures on teachers, support staff, and administrators."
She said she had fought to maintain reasonable class sizes, support professional development, improve curriculum and class offerings, encourage the infusion of technology and 21st-century skills, expand communication channels, update the physical plant, and assure that budgets are affordable and support the community’s educational goals and values.