3 Takeaways From Mendham Township's Board Of Education Forum

MENDHAM, NJ — Candidates for Mendham Township Board of Education seats face off in a debate hosted by The League of Women Voters last week in the media center of the township's Elementary School.

At the end of this year, three three-year terms on the seven-member board will be available. Incumbents Rochelle Abraham, Andrew Christmann and Joan Mody are among the candidates, as is former township Mayor and Committeewoman Diana Orban Brown.

Abraham, Mody and Christmann are running as a group, with Brown challenging them and running under the slogan "Transparency for Taxpayers."

The hour-long debate drew all four candidates, who answered questions submitted both in advance and on index cards written by members of the public.

During the forum, there was no audience participation allowed, but all questions posed to the candidates were generated by members of the public and screened by the League to eliminate duplicates and personal attacks.

Each candidate had 90 seconds for opening statements, 60 seconds for answering questions, 30 seconds for rebuttals and 90 seconds for closing statements.

Three Main Takeaways From The Debate:

Curriculum:

When asked about the highly debated state's sex education curriculum, all candidates agreed that parents were still able to maintain control and have the right to opt their children out of classes. Mody stated she thought that the lessons were age-appropriate and chosen by professionals.

Christmann agreed and highlighted that the curriculum has gone through a "rigorous process" to be approved before being presented to the public.

Brown agreed, noting that the current curriculum was similar to one from 2014, which was still available on the district's website. Brown also stated that, regardless of their stance, it is critical to hear and consider the concerns of parents, which was a sentiment agreed upon by all candidates.

Abraham praised the curriculum for emphasizing social and emotional learning standards, which she believes are intended to ensure student safety, such as how to identify bullying and how to care for oneself.

District Merger:

When asked if there was a possibility of a K-12 merger with the Chesters, Christmann said it was discussed a few years ago, but that while there could be significant benefits from being a larger district, there were concerns about the value of educational costs.

Abraham said the idea of a merger could be something worth exploring but they would need to consider how it would benefit the students.

Mody also agreed that it is something to consider and the board has considered a merger in the past, but that they would need to see what sort of benefits a merger would bring to the community.

Brown stated that she is in full support of a merger and believes that it would provide many benefits to the community.

Taxes:

Candidates were asked to consider ways to make school taxes more efficient, as they account for roughly 66 percent of the total property tax bill.

Mody defended the board, highlighting the district's various shared services which bring in revenue, particularly the district's busing contracts with other districts.

Brown agreed, calling school taxes "an investment," since the bulk of it goes toward tuition. Brown also claimed that while the busing was good, residents needed to see the profits, not just the revenues. "We have never seen an analysis of how much actually goes toward profits," Brown said.

Christmann stated that the board spends a significant amount of time attempting to reduce costs and reduce the burden on the taxpayer. According to Christmann, the best way to achieve that is through shared services.

Abraham agreed, saying that fiscal responsibility is crucial to the board. "Managing a budget to balance the needs of the students while being considerate of the taxpayer is essential," Abraham said.

When asked about taxpayers who do not have children in the K-8 district, all candidates agreed that, while a sizable proportion of township households do not have children in the district and are seniors living in town, the majority of those households approve of how the district is run.

The debate was live-streamed on YouTube and has been posted to the Morristown Area League of Women Voters YouTube page. To view the entire debate, click here.