Hillsborough Board Of Education General Election 2025: Danny Lee

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Hillsborough's general election on Nov. 4 has six candidates running for three open seats on the Township Board of Education.

Board members Jean Trujillo, Joel Davis, and Danny Lee are all running for re-election to the board.

The candidate field includes three challengers: John Fluet, N. Jannah Hameed, and Marc Ehrenkrantz.

Are you running for office in Hillsborough? Contact Alexis Tarrazi at alexis.tarrazi@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Bridgewater Patch.

Danny Lee

Age: 45

Town of residence: Hillsborough

Position sought: Hillsborough Board of Education

Family: My wife Michelle, a NICU nurse, has been very supportive of my endeavors and is the rock of the family. We are joined by our supporting cast of 2 children, along with 2 dogs, 2 cats, and a pond full of fish. Our older son is a rising 7th grader, and our younger son is in 4th grade.

Education: Rutgers University, Class of 2002, BA in Computer Science

Occupation: Client Services Manager in IT, in the email space

Previous or current elected appointed office: Hillsborough Board of Education (incumbent)

Campaign website: facebook.com/dannyleeforboe

Why are you seeking election for the Hillsborough Township Board of Education?

When I initially ran for this position in 2022, I wanted to make sure that my two children had the best experience possible while attending the public schools within the district. That goal has not changed, and I also want to make sure that every child in district is getting the best education and experience possible. As we see young families continue to move into town for the schools, I want to make sure the district maintains its reputation as a top-notch school district.

School finances have been continuously discussed in the district. The district recently took advantage of the state's tax Incentive Aid program which increases the tax levy. What did you think of this decision?

As one of the incumbents that voted in favor of this program, I am for this decision. It was a decision that wasn’t made lightly, but there were reasons that led me to make this choice. The district has been subject to constant cuts year after year, and taking advantage of the tax incentive aid provides many benefits.

1. The additional funding hedges the district against further cuts. As the status of the S2 funding (the methodology that the state uses to determine how much state aid each school district gets) remains in a state of uncertainty due to the upcoming gubernatorial election, more cuts will occur in the coming years. Taking advantage of the tax incentive aid this year will help insulate the district from the incoming state aid cuts that almost surely will take place through at least the next year.
2. It funds the continued progress that the district has accomplished so far, which includes services that have been restored since the failed referendum of 2019. Courtesy busing has been restored. Sports and activity fees have been waived. Finally, middle school sports were slated to be on the chopping block for the second year in a row, and this is no longer the case with the help of additional funding.
3. It should also be noted that the additional funding from the Incentive Aid program, the proposed budget is to only make use of 1/3 of the additional budget for recurring costs. The reason for this is to ensure that we are insulated from further cuts that could potentially take place in the upcoming years.

Do you have any comments or suggestions on how the district could handle its budget?

With the additional funding from increase of the tax levy, the plan is to keep 1/3 of the additional increase in budget for recurring costs, including teaching positions, while using the remaining 2/3 for non-recurring projects, such as construction and building. Many projects are overdue, such as getting some of the rooms within our school buildings up to code. As full day kindergarten is in the pipeline for Fall of 2026, some of the bathrooms will need to be renovated to be up to code to meet current building standards. There is also the need to find additional space to accommodate for our growing special needs student body, which I have also addressed in the next question below.

In short, the plan is to keep recurring costs low, and to hedge against future projected losses. Seeing that an improved state S2 formula is not likely to be implemented any time soon, the need to hedge against losses is important. The upcoming budget ensures that the district will be covered, and that no staff or services will be cut.

The district is preparing to move forward with redistricting of students due to rising student enrollment. What do you think about this?

With all the new construction that has taken place, and with more building in the pipeline, redistricting is inevitable. Some elementary schools are bursting at the seams while other elementary schools have more capacity to take on more students. Therefore, it only makes sense to make sure that students are placed as evenly as possible to ensure that the teacher-to-student ratio stays intact, and to avoid overcrowding in the elementary schools. That said, prior to any decisions being made, my preference would be to keep the current K-4, 5-6, 7-8, and high school structure in place. I believe the current set up is ideal, as it allows for community building for parents of elementary school aged children in their developing years.

What other issues do you feel need to be tackled in the school district?

Redistricting to address the additional growth and building that is taking place in town is important, which I have addressed in the previous question.

Furthermore, the district is seeing a higher enrollment of students with special needs. That means we need to ensure that the schools have the space and means to accommodate for this. Redistricting is meant to address some of this, but some additional work will need to be done. Some of the funding from the additional tax levy is meant to address this, with additional staff, as well as looking into options on how we can increase space and capacity for these students. The better we can develop in district programming for special need students, the more we can save in the long run by not having to foot the cost of out of district placement.

The direction of the gifted and talented program (previously REACH) has been unclear to many parents. There has been mention of this, and having opt-in programming that allows for kids in the program to independently pursue their interest at a deeper level with supervision would help keep this student population engaged.

Mental health continues to be an issue that needs addressing. Figuring out the process to address supports for social and emotional learning for children is a challenge that needs to tackled. That said, on this topic, I am happy to share that the district has been approved for a groundbreaking $1 million state allocation to cover mental health services. This funding, allocated from the state budget, will provide coverage to up to 60,000 students in New Jersey. As for our district specifically, we have secured a commitment to cover our entire student body of 7,200 students at no cost to our district or families. More information will be provided once this has been finalized, the district will be able to move forward with implementing Hazel Health, a service that provides students with unlimited online therapy sessions for those in need. This is a substantial step forward for our community and demonstrates our shared commitment to student well-being.

While there is more work to be done in the district, I feel that working on these issues would be a step in the right direction to ensure that our students are in an environment where they can learn and thrive.

What sets you apart from the challenging candidates?

Since being elected 3 years ago, the district has been slowly building back from the yearly cuts to state aid since 2019. We have been able to suspend activity fees for clubs and sports to make them more accessible to all students. Courtesy busing has been restored. Furthermore, we have fended off cutting middle school sports twice. In addition, full day kindergarten is in the pipeline to start for the fall of 2026. I am proud of my involvement in this restoration of services as well as implementing new programs for incoming families moving into the district. Furthermore, having 2 children in the district attending the public schools, I have a vested interest in advocating for our kids and to ensure that they have a well-rounded education and experience. I would like to continue to shape the district in a way that retains the quality of education that Hillsborough School District is recognized for.

Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself or your campaign?

For additional information on my platform, or for any updates, please visit my page at facebook.com/dannyleeforboe.