Q&A - What policies have you led that have helped children?

This question was posed on my campaign Facebook page, and here my response.

As the lead on Policy for the last three years, I will say that the majority of policies come from state mandates and we are required to adopt them consistent with statutes and other laws. As board members, our jobs are to make sure the schools are well run, and policy helps that happen. But more important than policy in helping children, in my opinion, is having the right people administering the schools. I am very proud of having been part of the Superintendent search that hired Mr. Portas and I know that this decision has had a positive impact on the students of Pequannock.

With regards to specific policies, I, along my fellow board members, decided to amend Bylaw 0153 to establish a liaison to the Special Education Parents' Advisory Committee (SEPAC). Prior to my 2018 election, I was aware that SEPAC felt that their concerns were not being heard or addressed and wanted a better working relationship and clearer lines of communication with board. By amending Bylaw 0153, we gave the board greater flexibility to appoint liaisons to district and community organizations so that there would be a direct line of communication with the board. I served as the first SEPAC liaison and provided regular updates to the board. Through a trickle down effect, I hope this impacted our students with special needs, whose parents advocate on their behalf through SEPAC.

Finally, and again in cooperation with my fellow board members, we increased the transparency of our decision making processes by amending Bylaws 0164 - Conduct of Board Meetings and 0155 - Board Committees to adopt a "Committee of the Whole" structure. These changes were adopted in Oct. 2019, and by Nov. 2019, we started using a Workshop meeting to hold all discussion of agenda items (except those discussions which are held in Executive Session). Previously, we had small committees of three board members plus the President that would discuss issues around Policy, Curriculum, Facilities, etc. I and others felt this model lacked transparency because most discussion took place during committee meetings without the public present and only a few board members were involved in the full discussion. Now, we discuss these issues during our public workshop meeting so that all board members are fully informed and the public is able to hear our questions, concerns, and rationale for decisions. Transparency benefits everyone, and I feel strongly that this change has benefitted our district as a whole.