Meet The Gloucester Township School Board Candidate: Kia Lipscomb

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ —Kia Lipscomb is one of nine candidates pursuing three open seats on the Gloucester Township K-8 Public School District's school board.

Patch sent questions to all candidates in the race, and is running profiles for each candidate that returned a response. Responses run exactly as they were submitted, with minor edits for grammatical errors.

Read below to learn more about Kia Lipscomb and her platform for the upcoming election, which takes place Nov. 2:

Name: Kia Lipscomb

Position sought: GT School Board

Party Affiliation: Democrat

Does anyone in your family work or attend school in the district?: No

Education: M.Ed. (Educational Administration)

Occupation: Educator

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office: GT Planning Board

Why are you seeking elective office?

As a veteran educator, I am dedicated to achieving success for all children. In order to reach this goal, it is imperative that schools are run both effectively and efficiently. They need to be properly staffed, as well as funded. As a board member, I will help ensure that our students are receiving a high-quality education in a safe and nurturing environment.

School funding: The NJ School Funding Reform Act 2008 (SFRA) directed more funding towards students that needed it most. Additionally, it directed funding towards districts that cannot raise revenue locally. The SFRA has its challenges due to cuts and freezing of school aid and local property tax increase caps.

Over the last few years, the governor and the legislature have tried to update the formula that the state used to determine aide and make the school funding playing field more level. This past June the NJ State Senate passed Senate Bill No. 3617. This bill creates a School Funding Formula Evaluation Task Force.

The purpose of the task force is to study, evaluate and assess state school aid pursuant to the SFRA. We look forward to working with our local state representatives to ensure the Gloucester Township students receive their fair share.