Peter Dumovic Mendham Township School Board Candidate

MENDHAM, NJ — The Mendham Township Board of Education has a contested election this fall, with three candidates who filed to run for two available, three-year seats; and two for one, two-year unexpired term.

Peter Dumovic is the only incumbent to put his hat back into the ring, for a three-year seat.

The other candidates on the ballot for the three-year seat include:

• Adam P. Dubeck
• Jubin Pejman

The candidates for the two-year unexpired term are:

• Richard Gondek
• Thomas Keeling

Editor's Note: Are you a candidate on the ballot? Patch sent out emails to all candidates to the email addresses listed for their campaign provided to the office of the clerk. The responses received will be published between now and the General Election. Candidates who would like to participate but did not receive one (for whatever reason) may contact jennifer.miller@patch.com.

Peter Dumovic

Name:
Peter Dumovic

Town of residence:
Mendham

Position sought:
Member of the Mendham Township Board of Education (3-year term)

Family:
I am happily married to Deborah Wolff. We have two wonderful adult sons, Kyle and Mitchell, who were both educated in the Mendham Township School District.

Education:
BSc, BSc(Honors), MSc, PhD (Science; Business; Clinical Pharmacology)

Occupation:
Pharmaceutical Consultant with business and scientific expertise.

Previous or current elected appointed office:
Current Member of the Mendham Township Board of Education (Elected in November 2018)

Why are you seeking to run for school board?
I want to continue to help ensure every one of the 776 students in the Mendham Township School District has an opportunity to thrive and achieve their full potential, in an environment that promotes a passion for life-long learning and builds the foundation for their future. I am also committed to continue to work collaboratively with my fellow board members to ensure we provide the best educational experience for the students, in a fiscally responsible manner at a price our community can afford.

What is your stance on masks in schools?
As a Clinical Pharmacologist, I can say with certainty that masks work to prevent the contraction and spread of the COVID-19 virus. Children are now one of our most vulnerable populations and they can get very ill with both short-term and long-lasting after effects. As such, for now masks are clearly necessary and required for the protection of students in our K-8 school district. I look forward to the time when they are no longer necessary.

Should schools offer a virtual option?
Last year, we were able to successfully reopen our schools to in-person classroom instruction, while safeguarding the health, safety and well-being of the students and staff. I support providing full-day, full-time, in-person instruction in our K-8 school district with all enrolled students and staff present. In my opinion, while virtual or remote instruction has its place, the classroom is the ideal environment for successful learning and development of collaborative and inter-personal skills.

What other issues do you feel must be tackled in the school district?
First, we should always have a continuous improvement mindset. We need to continue to have high expectations for quality education that supports strong student outcomes. There is no doubt we have a superlative school district. Indeed, both the elementary school and the middle school are National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence. However, the schools can be even better. We need to focus not just on academic achievement, but on student growth as a whole. This includes character development, development of social-emotional skills, collaboration, resilience and citizenship.

Second, given the ever-increasing expenses associated with providing our students with a superlative educational experience (e.g., rising employee healthcare benefit costs, and costs associated with providing required special education services), I believe we need to engage with neighboring school districts to pursue shared services and partnering opportunities, and also evaluate additional sources of funding to support our world-class educational programming and offset future local tax levy increases.

What sets you apart from the challenging candidates?
What sets me apart is my engagement, experience, and commitment to training and the development of the essential skills needed for effective school board governance. My commitment to professional development resulted in being awarded New Board Member Boardsmanship Certification by the New Jersey School Boards Association in April 2021. I take the privilege of serving as a member of the board of education very seriously and am dedicated to help ensure the Mendham Township School District is well run and well governed.

Furthermore, I do not limit my interactions to my fellow Mendham Township Board of Ed members. I have regular exchanges with members of other school boards throughout Morris County. I have found that meetings with my peers from other municipalities are an invaluable opportunity for the exchange of information, ideas, and best practices on how a Board of Education can support student achievement and strong student outcomes. In addition, earlier this year I became a member of the Morris County Recognition Award Committee of the Morris County School Boards Association. This committee serves to highlight the outstanding contributions of Morris County K-12 students and school board members to their schools and communities.

What else would you like to share about yourself or your campaign?
I am passionate about lifelong learning, and my keen interest in the education of our children extends to the tertiary education sector. I currently mentor business students at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, and science, technology and engineering students at University of Melbourne in Australia.

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