School Board Candidates Talk Budget at Forum

Four School District of the Chathams Board of Education candidates presented different reasons for why the public should vote for them in the upcoming school board election but mostly agreed on school budget issues during a candidates forum at Township Hall Wednesday night.

The forum was sponsored by the League of Women Voters, and was intended to give the four candidates—Kenneth Aul, Gregory Borsinger, Matthew Gillfillian and John Nonnenmacher—an opportunity to present their cases. The four are running for two township-represented seats on the board. (There are nine total seats on the board—five have township representation and four have borough representation.) Moderator Edith Frank asked the candidates questions that had been submitted beforehand, and several audience members also stood up and asked questions.

Each candidate took some time to describe themselves in opening and closing statements. Aul discussed how there needs to be "a sensitive tax burden put on the taxpayers," and said he would work to ensure that taxpayers' money is correctly invested.

"I have a big, big passion for this community," he said.

All of the candidates either have children in the school system or, in Borsinger's case, have seen all their children graduate from Chatham schools. Because he and his wife now have an empty nest, Borsinger said, he has more time to devote to school board activities, and his time as a town alderman in Boonton, he said, has prepared him for the rigors of such a job. He also said his engineering background could help the board.

"I'm coming to the board with no preconceived notions," he said. "I'm here to represent the people of Chatham Township."

Nonnenmacher discussed his success as the head of the Chatham youth wrestling program as an example of the proven results he has achieved in town and of the way he is able to get things done in Chatham. He also discussed his successful background as a trial lawyer, and said his work ethic will drive him to do all he can for the board.

"I have a vested interest in preseving the high standards and good quality of Chatham education," he said, referring to his young children, who are now in Chatham schools.

Gillfillian said he wants to ensure that Chatham remains on the cutting edge of education. His experience managing a new company has given him budget experience, he said, and he also said he has an interest in ensuring the schools perform up to the highest possible standards, since his children are a part of them.

"I'm committed to the town," he said. "I'm committed to the education process."

All four candidates said they approved of the way the board handled the budget process this year, and Gillfillian said if he is elected, he hopes he can "deliver the same thing the board has," since, he said, "they've done such a good job." Other candidates agreed, and Borsinger said he might even look a bit harder at the way the budget process is conducted to see if there are even more areas where money can be saved.

The candidates were asked what they feel is the biggest challenge facing the board. Borsinger said staying under what will likely be a state-mandated 2.5 percent cap on property tax increases next year will be one challenge, and he also said he wants to see "more forward looking metrics to make sure we're heading in the right direction." He said those metrics could help determine what personnel changes, for example, need to be made in the future.

"I'm not sure we have right metrics in place to determine whether a change made today is going to be a positive or negative change in the future," he said.

Aul said the district will need to make sure it keeps up its high educational standards.

"The challenge is going to be to maintain that," he said. "The dollars are going to get tighter. They're not going to get better."

He also said the board needs to keep in mind the Chatham citizens that don't necessarily have children in the schools, since they need to pay taxes as well but don't have a vested interest in the district the way parents do.

Gillfillan said the board will have to reckon with ever-increasing class sizes throughout the district. More and more students have entered the Chatham school system in recent years, and keeping the class sizes at a reasonable number could be difficult. He also said he wants to work to get parents more involved in their childrens' education.

"I think, going forward, [there should be] maybe more of a partnership with the teacher and the parent so the parents at home can log into some form of technology [and] see what the curriculum was for that day," he said.

Nonnenmacher stood up as he gave his answer, saying the board will need to work to preserve its best teachers. Eventually, he said, they will leave if they are not paid enough, and he said that is a "crisis" that needs to be dealt with. He also said maintaining extracurricular activities is important, saying that "you can't let them fall by the wayside."

"I think athletics and extracurricular activities do a lot [and] encourage kids to go to school, and [they're] a plus," he said.

All four candidates said they supported putting lights on Cougar Field, and said any cuts they propose will be "the furthest away from the child," as Nonnenmacher put it. Borsinger said he would "put a lockbox" around the classroom, and Gillfillan said the board will have to look for cuts "outside the children." Aul said that when cuts are being made "at the expense of the kids, that's a problem."

Elections will take place April 20.