Meet Chester's Board Of Education Candidates During Virtual Forum: Watch

CHESTER, NJ — The League of Women Voters live-streamed a forum on Monday with five candidates for three Chester Board of Education seats participating.

Sara Kalashian, Dana Levens, Sarah Schultz, Simone Campbell and Thomas G. Murphy participated in the livestreamed forum.

Megan Davis, the chair of the League of Women Voters of Warren and West Morris said candidate Matthew Downs had not responded to the League’s invitation to participate as of Monday, but John Barounis, a candidate who was unable to attend because of a conflict in his schedule, submitted an opening statement.

Carolina Rodriguez, who remains on the Morris County Clerk’s list of candidates, reportedly told the County Clerk’s Office that she was no longer participating in the race, though she was on the ballot, As of Monday, Rodriguez had not responded to a request from Patch on the status of her candidacy.

Nancy Hedinger was the League-trained moderator who oversaw the event, who is from outside of the Chester voting district.

As part of the virtual forum and agreed in advance by the candidates, each read an opening statement, followed by a question and answer session, with the event wrapping up with closing statements.

Starting in reverse-alphabetical order with Schultz, she described herself as a mother of two boys, a “former business owner and entrepreneur," who built her company from the ground up, handling all aspects of her business operations. Negotiations, contracts and budgets comprised the majority of her days while she owned her business, Schultz said. Having sold her business, she has become an active volunteer in the district, deciding to run after attending virtual board meetings over the winter and more recently, in-person meetings.

Murphy said he has three children in the district, his family, "absolutely thrilled by the quality of the education and the teachers in our schools.” He is a pediatrician with specializations in general pediatrics and neonatology, along with expertise in child development, who is the associate director of a medical practice and director at a children's hospital. In those roles, he said along with poring over facts and data he “makes incredibly tough decisions that ensure the well-being of children.” Murphy called himself a "pretty unique candidate," who is a "parent, pediatrician and proven leader," as a local youth sports coach, someone who was deployed twice to the Middle East as an active duty Naval officer and having been a chief resident and fellow at Brown University.

Levens said she is a former early childhood education teacher and administrator, as well as a mother of two children in the district, having worked in "nearly every job I have held in my life," with children, including as a counselor, coach, teacher and director. Levens said she also founded the group "Chester Angels" and called herself a “constant and enthusiastic volunteer in our schools," including class mother. Complimenting the district’s staff and faculty especially for their dedication throughout the pandemic, she called her board run a "natural progression" from her former roles in education, combined with her community outreach and volunteerism.

Kalashian, the only incumbent on the ticket, said the board has accomplished much over the past three years, “mostly during an unprecedented time," including coming up with "The Road Back" plan, which enabled the Chester Schools to reopen safely in January 2021, full-time and with lunch. She said the district was one of 77 of New Jersey's 599 schools able to do so. The board was able to get air conditioning installed at the Dickerson Elementary School, without going over budget or “incurring any additional costs to Chester’s taxpayers." She described the board as having “forged ahead with solutions that we believe meet the needs of our children," calling herself a proud member who's “standing at the ready with energy, passion and humility to serve another three years.”

Campbell said she and her family moved to Chester over the summer of 2018, seeking a place with “great-rated schools,” with her children presently at Black River Middle School. She is running for a seat to “continue volunteering in the community I’m raising my children in.” She volunteered to connect members of the community to COVID vaccines during the pandemic, when appointments were hard to obtain. Campbell, who said she was born in The Netherlands, moved first to Canada during her childhood, before coming to the United States her senior year of high school. In college she played basketball and studied physical therapy in The Netherlands. Working as a physical therapist in non-profit groups, she said she's versed in working with budgets, state-funded resources, grant-writing and other tasks geared to help children up to 17-years-old.

Hedinger read Barounis’ statement, who said he grew up in Queens, but moved to Chester five years ago, especially for its reputation as a top school district. He described himself as a product of the NYC schools, from first grade to “CUNY’s top business school, Baruch College.” He said he’s spent most of his adult career in the private sector, having operated “18 different brick and mortar businesses in the hospitality and health club industries;" and says he holds more business experience than “any present candidate or any current sitting board member.”He feels budgets should fund schools properly and districts should “attract and retain the most caring teachers." If he's elected, he is a "full believer in parental rights" and will stand up for parents who would like to opt their children out of curriculum countering their beliefs.

Click here to watch the full Chester Board of Education forum on YouTube.

Davis said information about New Jersey candidates can additionally be found on the Vote411 Voter Guide, additionally available here on the League of Women Voters of New Jersey’s website.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.