Gregory Gillette, Hillsborough
It has been my honor and privilege to serve the residents of Hillsborough and Millstone on the Hillsborough Township Board of Education, and I humbly ask for your support again on Nov. 8.
When I first ran for the school board, I promised to improve Hillsborough schools in the areas of education, administration, and finance. I have been successful in all three areas. The reputation for academic excellence of our high school, and the district as a whole, has grown steadily over the past 10 years, our administrative costs continue to be far below the state per-student average, and, despite massive cuts in state aid, our financial position is strong.
Managing the funding imbalance created by the decrease in state funding while at the same time beginning new initiatives such as the “one to one” student laptop program has been challenging. What I have done is to constantly look to implement efficiencies that have allowed the district to maintain staffing levels and classroom sizes even while costs — especially of employee healthcare — continue to rise.
One such efficiency was the re-configuring of our bus routes which allowed us to save approximately $1 million in the first year. Another is the recently completed Energy Savings Improvement Program (ESIP), which allowed the district to make $16 million worth of improvements to our energy infrastructure including air conditioning at no cost to the taxpayer.
Because we have been able to do these things while stabilizing taxes within the 2 percent tax levy cap — the tax rate for the current budget year had an increase of 0.87 percent — and have continually paid down our long-term bonds, while not taking on any additional taxpayer-funded long-term debt, I am optimistic that we can continue to bring educational enhancements to our district.
The school district serves parents in the education of their children, but the school district belongs to all of the residents of our great community. I understand what the people of Hillsborough and Millstone desire in their schools — which is excellence on all levels. I am prepared to work hard to ensure that we have a school district we can be proud of.
You are in my thoughts with every question I raise and every vote I cast. I ask you now to remember me when you cast your vote on Nov. 8.
Gregory Gillette
Hillsborough
