There is no particular issue that has motivated me to seek the position. By nature I want to help and give back to my community and this provides a forum where I can do that. I have a 7 year old daughter in the school system and moved to Kinnelon for their academic excellence. I want to ensure that it stays that way and that we provide even more opportunities for our children and community. For me, serving on the Board is not about one isolated issue. It is not about politics or ideology.
It is about our children.
Issues will arise. Difficult decisions will need to be made. Those decisions should come from thoughtful discussion, careful consideration of the facts, and collaboration among the Board, our administration, educators, parents, students, and the broader Kinnelon community.
More than 21 years as a business owner have taught me how to understand budgets, manage competing priorities, make difficult decisions, lead employees, and remain accountable for the results of those decisions.
My years practicing law taught me how to analyze complicated issues, organize large amounts of information, ask difficult questions, weigh competing positions, and make decisions based upon facts rather than emotion.
Perhaps most importantly, legal training taught me to look beyond the immediate issue in front of me. Decisions made today can create consequences years into the future. Good decision-making requires us to consider not only what solves today's problem, but what effect that decision may have tomorrow.
Running two successful mortgage brokerages and managing teams of more than 20 employees has also taught me something equally important: leadership does not mean believing you have all the answers. I believe my professional background, life experiences, leadership skills, and ability to analyze complex issues would allow me to hit the ground running and make a positive contribution to the excellent work already taking place within our district.
To answer that without a comprehensive review of the districts finances and the issues that we are actively facing. As i stated, I did not choose to run dues to an isolated incident. However, perhaps most importantly, legal training taught me to look beyond the immediate issue in front of me. Decisions made today can create consequences years into the future. Good decision-making requires us to consider not only what solves today's problem, but what effect that decision may have tomorrow. It has also taught me to make informed decisions and those not based on emotion.
I would not come onto the Board with a predetermined list of curriculum changes. I think curriculum decisions should be driven by student outcomes, input from our educators and administrators, state standards, and the needs of our community.
I would like to do is continually evaluate whether our curriculum is preparing students not only academically, but for the world they will enter after graduation. That means maintaining strong fundamentals in reading, writing, mathematics, science, and history, while also looking for opportunities to strengthen financial literacy, technology and responsible use of artificial intelligence, communication skills, and career readiness.
I would also want to make sure we are identifying areas where students may be struggling and providing appropriate support without losing sight of opportunities for our highest-performing students to be challenged.
I see the Board’s role as setting expectations, asking good questions, reviewing results, and providing appropriate resources—not micromanaging what happens in the classroom. I would want curriculum changes to be thoughtful, evidence-based, transparent to parents, and collaborative.
I am running for re-election to continue the great work the board and central office has accomplished over the past 6 years. Some upcoming initiatives I am passionate about: reducing technology in the classroom to facilitate the cognitive development of our students with hands on knowledge in reading and writing as well as mathematics; refurbishing our facilities to better serve our students and staff such as bathrooms, playgrounds, lockerrooms, HVAC and lighting; continue to build on our academic academies curriculum in the areas of STEM and robotics; develop a Sophomore Seminar and Junior Experience to further enhance our high school students academic experience.
I have been a BOE member for the past 6 years of which I served as the president for the past 5. I was involved in hiring a new superintendent, interviewing and replacing a board member, and hiring key central office positions. Some of our key accomplishments the past 6 years:
Implemented full day K and pre-K inclusive; upgraded district physical security, IT infrastructure, partial roof replacement for 2 building; implemented student and staff recognition at scheduled BOE meetings; created the citizens advisory committee to engage community; created 5 year strategic plan; updated district website and created a district dash board to capture initiatives and accomplishments; updated and improved parent/student portal by consolidating all forms, permissions and payments in one place; using student feedback created culinary arts, theatre and woodshop programs; created a RTI (response to intervention) tiered program to ensure student success; removed cell phones from district in 2025; created the health science academy; expanded student extracurricular, sports and clubs opportunities (theater K-5, fencing and bowling teams, intramurals 6-8). These are just a few of the initiatives.
Managing a school budget is managing trade-offs. I have negotiated all contracts; KEA, KAA, SLEO, Central Office, Superintendent. I have found the best way to balance cost is by creating job descriptions to be clear on expectations for personnel and then holding them accountable. We pay our staff well and collaborate with them to do the best for our students-clear communication is essential. Where there are redundant jobs or excess for the size of the district, those jobs were removed through retirement. We restructured administrative positions and created new job descriptions. We reviewed the various curriculum from K-5, 6-8 and then 9-12 and removed disconnects between grades and aligned the courses within grades. This improved the student experience without having to add more personnel. Kinnelon has been able to cut costs in areas where we had some excess and redirect it to student programs and instruction. As senior teachers retire, we are able to offer new teachers opportunities but also attract the skilled and experienced teachers we need for more specialized classes. Kinnelon has kept the tax increase under the cap while expanding student opportunities.
I would like to remove some of the technology and return to pen and paper. Studies show that the neurological development of the brain is much greater with the physical act of writing compared to keystrokes on a computer. We currently have a 1:1 Chromebook assignment for our entire district. I do believe that technology is necessary at times. For example, utilizing the Chromebooks for benchmark testing on a weekly basis provides teachers with instant assessment of student comprehension during a given class period. However, we do need more writing and reading. Especially with AI, writing helps students learn without the support of tech so they can develop their own strengths and grow. This year we re-introduced cursive writing. We also created a freshman academy to foster executive skills such as managing schedules, note taking and understanding high school. We plan to expand this for the sophomores and Junior classes next year. One key element for these students is to catch them up on writing skills they missed from the old 'Teacher's College' ELA curriculum that did not emphasize writing, vocabulary or grammar.
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