Election Profile: Tara Gibb For Red Bank Regional High School BOE

RED BANK, NJ — There's one seat open for the Red Bank Regional High School Board of Education representing Little Silver.

Incumbent Eugene J. Koster Jr. is being challenged by newcomer Tara Gibb.

Three incumbents are running for the three open seats on the Red Bank Borough Board of Education: Frederick J. Stone, Ann Roseman and Dominic Kalorin. Patrick Noble and John Garofalo are both running unopposed for Red Bank Regional High School Board of Education full-term and one-year unexpired term, respectively.

Gibb, 49, is a Senior Director for Informa. She holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Richmond.

Are you running for local office in 2021? Contact Catarina Moura at catarina.moura@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate profile and submitting campaign announcements to Patch.

READ MORE: Red Bank 2021 Election: Who's Running, All The Ways To Vote

Why are you seeking elective office?

My main reason for running is to represent more parent voices on the Board. Of the nine RBR Board representatives, only one of them is an RBR parent. From school communications to school meetings to sports to interactions with teachers and counselors, I and the RBR parent community have direct and frequent interactions with the school that begs more representation on the RBR Board. Neither the candidate I am running against or seven of the eight remaining RBR Board members have access to these relationships and experiences at the rate and quantity that I do.

Why should you be elected over other candidates?

What makes me a better candidate is my perspective. Day to day and week to week, I’m participating in school meetings, rooting from the sideline at games events, communicating with teachers and counselors and listening to their feedback, communicating with school administrators on higher level issues, engaging with my children’s friends, teammates and peers, attending Board of Ed meetings, and talking with other RBR parents in social settings. It’s this perspective that will inform my involvement with the board.

Beyond my qualifications (noted below), I have direct skin in the game. I want my children to succeed. I want Little Silver interests to be met. And most importantly, I want the RBR school community to thrive.

What is the most important issue facing the community and what are you planning to do about
it?
The most important issue facing the community remains the pandemic and keeping the students in school 100 percent of the time. As you may know, COVID related school policies and protocols – like masks and vaccinations – are currently managed at the state and county level, not at the school level. The RBR Board does not have much leeway in this regard. As a Board member I would focus on actions and funding that keep the kids in school – cleaning services, PPE, support systems for students who fall behind academically, and social and emotional health initiatives. Since the school year started, the students being in school has been a total game changer.

The school spirit, the student engagement, and the mental health of the school community broadly is miles ahead of where it was just months ago. Supporting RBR keeping on this course would be my focus.

What are other important issues you are running on?

As Red Bank Regional (RBR) recovers from the pandemic, key challenges include:

- Addressing the social and emotional needs of our students
- Improving relations with teachers
- Enhancing communication: From the school website to counseling communications to school
notifications, the school and Board have an opportunity to upgrade and improve school
community communications and relations.
- Promoting RBR’s strengths so that it can stand out as a more competitive offering for
prospective students in a region with higher-than-usual public and private high school options

My first-hand experience as a parent of two students in the school in addition to the large and active network of parents I interact with will provide essential perspective when considering decisions related to the social and emotional needs of students.

Having formed relationships with teachers as an engaged parent, I would seek to be a bridge between the board, the administration and teachers. The high caliber of the RBR teachers are what attracts students from sending districts – in addition to the tuition paying students from out of district.

In terms of communications, having managed the marketing and communications function throughout my career, I would employ my deep experience with positioning, multi-channel marcom, stakeholder engagement, and marketing operations to inform RBR communications where possible.

There are so many ways that RBR shines that deserve more attention and promotion. I’d love to work with the board and superintendent to identify ways that we can differentiate the school more and promote its strengths and accomplishments to sending districts more actively. I would also work to support RBR’s academies, special services, advanced curriculum opportunities (AP/IB/Honors), and sports programs that make the school stand out most.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

In terms of qualifications, personally, I have been a very active and engaged contributor to the school and town community: serving in leadership positions with the Education Foundation of Little Silver; volunteering across the elementary, middle and high schools as class mom and for various events and activities; coaching rec sports (basketball and soccer) and girls on the run teams; and currently serving on the Buc Backer Foundation (RBR’s PTO) and RBR’s Community Action Board.

Professionally, I am a senior director for a publicly held events and research company. I manage
businesses that support tradeshows, professional training, consulting and media. For over 20 years, I’ve worked in complex, distributed environments, managing diverse stakeholders and a variety of products and services. I understand the gravity of meeting stakeholder expectations, working in high stakes environments, and ensuring budget targets are met.

Is there anything else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

The pandemic has been tough for everyone. RBR had it particularly tough the last school year – with limited in-school instruction and inconsistent and frustrating communications. The lack of parent perspective – of those who know the needs of the students best – was evident in nearly every Board of Education public meeting. We need to balance the decision-making and policy-making of this school system with the perspectives of those who interact most with the school – outside of the students and teachers – and that’s the parents.

And as I’ve shared here, I am not just a parent of two RBR students, I am an active and engaged parent; I have related work experience that will help me to onboard to this new role quickly; and I am committed to putting in the time and work needed to serve the RBR community in a way that is productive and constructive.

I am clear that the role of a school board member is to provide governance and oversight over the school and superintendent. The role is not intended to run the school. If elected, I will provide that governance and oversight through the lens of a parent – a perspective that is currently lacking. I would be honored to represent Little Silver voters. I want their tax dollars to work hard for them and for Red Bank Regional to retain and build on its reputation as a competitive option for sending districts – something that will only help Little Silver property values grow.