Election 2023: Melanie Bratton For West Morris Regional School Board

LONG VALLEY, NJ — Election Day is nearing, and Long Valley voters will soon head to the polls to cast their votes for a seat on the regional high school board.

Patch sent questionnaires to all candidates, seeking their responses. Here is the response from candidate Melanie Bratton.

Editor's Note: Patch emailed all candidates at the email addresses listed for their campaigns in the clerk's office. The responses will be revealed between now and the general election on November 7. These comments will be published with just minor stylistic changes. Candidates who wish to participate but did not receive an invitation should email vianella.burns@patch.com.

Name: Melanie Bratton

Age: 40

Town of residence: Calfion

Position sought: West Morris Regional High School District Board of Education as a representative for Washington Township

Family: My husband and I have been together for 21 years. Our two children currently attend the amazing schools in our K-8 district in Washington Township.

Education: N/A

Occupation: Motherhood is my current profession. Dedicating myself to ensuring my children are prepared for the world that waits for them is at the center of everything I do. I spend a great deal of time volunteering in our K–8 school communities. I do this because I believe strongly that the environment in which our children spend their time shapes who they are. The people around them help contribute to the people they will one day be. I want to be sure all of those people feel supported and that a wide variety of experiences are available for all of our young people. Building and strengthening the community is one of my top “job responsibilities” from my perspective. Prior to becoming a mother, the bulk of my work experience was as a professional head coach. I taught students ages 3–19 in dance, gymnastics, and circus arts. Training the staff, maintaining the facility, setting goals for the gym, and working alongside parents were just a portion of my daily responsibilities. I have experience in management and accounting, and I taught myself metalsmithing with no in-person training other than the skills I learned in middle school metal shop. Sometimes those skills we learn in school when we are young become valuable in ways we would never have expected. I transformed those skills into a way to generate some extra family income, and I now run my own jewelry-making business in my spare time.

Previous or current elected appointed office: None

Why are you seeking to run for school board?

The number one reason why I have decided to run in this election is because, as I said, motherhood is my chosen profession.

When my son entered middle school this year, I realized there was no way to support the school community to the level I do now once he reaches high school. There are just a few years before my oldest child enters the 9th grade, and when he and all of the students I have come to know and care for arrive, I want to be able to support the needs of the community in a meaningful way.

I have a wide variety of skills that will add value to the board, and my love for this community is unmistakable. I understand that my name recognition is limited to the families at Old Farmers Road School and now Long Valley Middle School, so it might take more than one attempt to earn a seat on the board.

My dedication to my children and their peers is unwavering. I want to help ensure our young people have access to the best possible education in a learning environment that fosters strength, perseverance, determination, and ingenuity.

The success and functionality of the high school board of education will be of vital importance to me for many years to come. While understanding the past is helpful, being dedicated to the future brings a very different level of commitment and perspective.

What, in your opinion, is the most pressing issue in the school district?

I feel some of the biggest challenges for our district are part of my platform. Trust has been lost for many people in our community, and this creates so many problems. We can’t completely focus on student success and improving our academics if the district does not have the trust of the people.

If parents are always looking to question what is happening within the schools because the schools have not earned their trust, and if parents take their concerns to social media instead of their teachers, the overall environment is not conducive to learning. We can fix this issue by rebuilding the trust that was lost.

Communication, while improving, is still not great. Lack of transparency has been an ongoing concern for many of us. Often, when troubles arise, they are due to miscommunication or misunderstandings. A simple way to improve transparency is to live stream and record all public board meetings. This is the current process our K–8 district utilizes, and it offers the community an understanding of information that can’t be obtained from meeting minutes alone.

It can be difficult for some parents to make it to every meeting, but they want to be informed about our school district. There is so much great information that is shared at our board meetings. It would be very easy to ensure that the community has access to this information by simply recording the meetings.

Accountability is the third part of my platform, and it is arguably the most important. Without it, we can’t rebuild trust and won’t achieve student success. We set goals, and we must ensure that we reach them. Accountability is how we do that. This applies to our district goals as well as the board’s obligation to represent the community. When a member of the community has a concern, the concern should always be addressed. Many of us feel this can be done better.

Everyone in the entire chain of command should be held accountable. In the end, this means the board is always accountable to the community. We will be better equipped as a community to achieve success and navigate difficult issues if we have trust, good communication, and real accountability.

We have great schools, but every school has issues. Pointing those issues out is not an attack; it is simply how you continue to improve. Our numbers are trending downward. With test scores and school rankings dropping, we need to correct course.

What we are doing now requires an adjustment. I believe that once we improve the working relationship between the school and the community, the most important area of concern is supporting learning and teacher effectiveness.

The primary intention of our schools should be to ensure that all students receive the best possible education. Ensuring our staff has the tools and skills needed to inspire students and provide them with their individual educational needs should be the top focus for our community.

What sets you apart from the other candidates?

I do not prefer to engage in comparisons that could potentially paint the other candidate in a negative or “less than” light. Engaging in that behavior can create a divisive environment, and I do not feel this is healthy or good for the community.

I chose to highlight who I am and why I am qualified, and I believe I have sufficiently addressed those points already. The public can make their own comparisons based on the information available. I am thankful for the dedication and service Ms. Bliesath has given our community so far, and I wish her only the best.

What special qualifications do you bring to help meet the challenge?

I find this question a little challenging because I do not know what to expect as I have not yet served on the board. I can only speculate as to what skills might be required. Aside from the experience and skills gained from the previously mentioned work experience, who I am as a person is where I bring the most value.

I have proven to be adaptable in some of the most hopeless situations one can face and capable of creative solutions to even the most difficult problems. I have a unique collection of life experiences that allow me to see even the most challenging topics from every perspective. I have strong leadership skills as well as a willingness to learn. I also have excellent communication skills.

Communication is not just speaking; it is also listening to and understanding others. This is arguably one of the most important things that is required when working as a team. If I do not yet have a skill that is needed to best serve the board, I will acquire it. With that said, I wouldn’t be running if I didn’t fully believe I was capable of making meaningful contributions to the board.

I feel pretty strongly that most adults in our community are “qualified” to serve on a board of education. The primary objective of the board is to bring the community’s vision for their school into reality. I believe that a person’s demonstrated willingness to represent the community should be the top requirement.

As a voter, the thing I look for is the character of the candidate. Honesty, integrity, and honor are what will ensure that a candidate will always carry the voices of the community with them.

What else would you like to share about yourself or your campaign?

Until my children are old enough to go out into the world on their own, my primary focus is guiding and protecting them. Strengthening our community is part of that objective. My own upbringing has taught me how important community can be to those who need support. I have lived all over our great country, and I can say with certainty that Washington Township is a unique place to live.

What makes it so special is not just the beautiful scenery; it is the wonderful people. This campaign has shown me that many of us have forgotten that we are all just ONE community of people. We might hold different beliefs, but there are always places where those beliefs overlap.

We must all try harder to come together and find those places so we can remind ourselves that our neighbors might disagree with us, but they are not our enemies. The overwhelming majority of people who live here care about this community and the children in it. If I achieve nothing else with this campaign, I hope I at least help remind us all of that fact.