Thomas Keeling 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.

Thomas Keeling is one of the candidates for the two-year seat, along with Richard Gondek.

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

• Peter Dumovic
• Jubin Pejman
• Adam P. Dubek

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

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.

Keeling’s responses to the questions are below:

1. Name: Thomas Keeling

2. Town of residence: Mendham Township

3. Position sought: Board of Education (2-year unexpired term)

4. Family:
I am a long-term Mendham Township resident. My wife and I have five children who all have been educated in Mendham schools. Our youngest child is a student at Mendham Township Middle School.

5. Education:

• MBA (Stanford University)
• JD (Seton Hall University)
• MA (Tufts University - Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy)
• BA (Colorado College)

6. Occupation:
Strategic Finance/Business Executive/Attorney. Over the course of my career, I have held senior management positions in both Fortune 500 companies and emerging companies and have also served as a strategy consultant (Boston Consulting Group). During my career I have led and been responsible for most key business areas including strategy, corporate development, operations, finance, account management and general management. I have served as an advisor/consultant to many corporate clients on growth and strategic initiatives. For the past ten years I have worked for a specialty law and business advisory firm that specializes in strategic finance and mergers and acquisitions for middle market companies.

7. Previous or current elected appointed office:
I have served on several volunteer boards but have never served on a school board.

8. Why are you seeking to run for school board?
Our schools have done a great job of laying a solid foundation for our children and setting them up for success in high school and beyond and for life-long learning. Mendham Township is the only all Blue-Ribbon school district in the state of New Jersey and our schools rank at the very top of all New Jersey elementary and middle schools. I want to make sure that we keep it this way and that current and future students in our schools will continue to have even greater educational opportunities. As such, I am fully committed to making sure we invest appropriately to deliver all Mendham Township students a Best-in-Class education in an inclusive environment that promotes learning and individual development. My background and experience will help the School Board provide our students a best-in-class education while being fiscally responsible through fostering innovation (such as shared services). In the area of finance, I have specialized expertise in finance and feel that I can offer the Board assistance with financial oversight, creating solutions to financial challenges, helping with the budgeting process and making sure we get the most out of every tax dollar to support every student every day. As an attorney, I have participated in many continuing legal education programs focusing on education and special education law. I also have substantial experience in policy and planning and have been active in programs that support diversity and inclusivity.

As a board member, my key focus areas will be:

• World Class Education
• Fiscal Responsibility
• Shared Services
• Inclusive Community
• Student & Community Safety
• Transparency

Please see my website, www.keeling4boe.com, for more information on each of these focus areas.
In summary, I believe that my background, experience and team building style will permit me to be an effective contributor to the Board and ensure that we continue to offer a best-in-class education to our students in a fiscally responsible way.

9. What is your stance on masks in schools?
I support our school district’s current COVID protocols and policies (including requiring the wearing of masks in school).

10. Should schools offer a virtual option?
I think our district’s current approach is the right approach by providing full-day, full-time, in-person instruction to all students with appropriate contingency plans for pivoting if circumstances change. In-person learning is the best learning environment. We need, however, to make sure the virtual option is available if there is another surge in the pandemic and in-person teaching is no longer an option.

11. What other issues do you feel must be tackled in the school district?
We need to make sure that we continue to offer our students the highest quality education to prepare them for success in high school and beyond. We must do this in a way that protects the health and safety of our students, teachers and staff. We must also do this in a way that is fiscally responsible way and make sure that we get the most out of every tax dollar. I believe that shared services is an area that needs to be pursued more purposefully by the Board by actively engaging with neighboring school districts to explore ways to effectively partner. Through effective use of shared services we can actually increase the programs and courses available to our students while also achieving operational (non-classroom) efficiencies. We also need to explore new (non-taxpayer funded) revenue sources for the district. There may be the opportunity for grant funds for additional STEM education and ways to increase revenues from our fleet of buses as two examples. Finally, we must ensure transparency and community engagement in all of the Board’s activities.

12. What sets you apart from the challenging candidates?
As to what sets me apart from the other candidates, I think my deep finance, business and law background (MBA from Stanford/JD from Seton Hall) and years working in strategic finance and growing and managing companies is a crucial differentiator. I am very adept at establishing and executing against budgets and making sure there is real value being delivered for every budget dollar. Also, as an attorney, I have participated in many continuing legal education programs focusing on education and special education law and feel that these programs have given me a solid understanding of many of the challenges that school boards face. I am also firmly committed to promoting inclusiveness and celebrating diversity as part of the programs and policies of our school district and community. I am a founding member of the Keeling-Puri Peace Plaza. Since 2002, each September we have hosted approximately 1000 elementary school students for a celebration of the International Day of Peace which focuses on messages of mutual understanding, tolerance and respect. In 2020 and again this year, because of the Covid pandemic, we have moved to a virtual program and have provided Mendham Township and other school districts free programs and materials centered on the International Day of Peace and its messages on diversity and inclusiveness. Finally, I am known as a very effective collaborator. Over my career and in various volunteer settings, I have enjoyed working in collaborative group settings and have been very effective at building consensus and getting things done.

13. What else would you like to share about yourself or your campaign?
First, I encourage people to visit my website: keeling4boe.com to learn more about me and my candidacy. Second, I am actively engaged as a volunteer to support our students and schools. I am Co-Chair of HSA Cultural Arts Committee and am also Co-Chair of MTMS/MTES Parents Advisory Council for Special Services. I also encourage people to visit the Keeling-Puri Peace Plaza website (keeling-puri-peaceplaza.com) to learn more about my long-term (20+-year) commitment to diversity and inclusivity.

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