3-minute read
Hot-button topics that have dominated New Jersey school board elections in recent years, such as book bans, gender identity and parental rights, did not come up in a recent debate among Parsippany Board of Education candidates for three seats in next month's general election.
Finances and budgeting, of course, remain priority subjects in Morris County's largest school district, operating 10 elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools for 7,152 students on a $187 million annual budget.
Unlike recent years, when those controversial and politically-charged issues often generated deep divides among the candidates, the five board hopefuls appearing in the online debate last week were in agreement on many topics.
Newer topics of discussion included student fees for extracurricular activities and a series of questions focusing on the influx of new technology into the classroom.
The candidates
Incumbent board member Michelle Shappell did not participate in the debate, sponsored by the League of Women Voters Morris Area and copresented by the Daily Record. Current Board President Alison Cogan and another incumbent, Jack Raia, joined former board member Susy Golderer and two newcomers, Lamia Elharairi and Dhaval Shah.
Elharairi is paired on the ballot with Cogan and Shappell, representing the "Educate, Empower, Elevate" ticket. Golderer and Raia are also paired on the ballot with no slogan.
Elharairi is a healthcare professional with management experience, a master's degree in business administration and three daughters in the district. Her opening statment offered voters a "new voice with new ideas."
Shah is a 23-year resident with children who were educated in the district and brings a career background in education and technology. He will prioritize teacher retention and says his work experience will help the board "negotiate better contracts."
Cogan, a CPA, said her priorities included security and safety for students and staff, both "physically and emotionally." Raia said the board benefits from his experience as a CPA and corporate CFO. Golderer, who has spent 13 years on the board but lost her seat in the 2024 election, is back for another try.
The issues
Asked to identify the district's greatest challenge, all of the candidates agreed that finances and budgeting were difficult to manage under 2% tax increase cap and rising inflation. Shah, Raia and Golderer added concerns about the student population rising under the state mandate for towns to produce more affordable housing. The mandate - combined with Parsippany's need to redevelop vacant office properties - has resulted in thousands of new residential units under construction or newly completed in town.
Raia, for one, wants to see revenue flowing to the district from those projects in the form of discounted "PILOT" - or payment in lieu of taxes − deals the town used to lure developers to build in Parsippany. Previous boards were publicly critical of those deals when they were being awarded a few years ago. But most of those projects are still under construction and won't produce revenue until they do.
Elharairi said she would approach budget and funding issues by implementing "zero-based budgeting that would require every expense to be defined each period."
Golderer warned of public "misconceptions" about the budget that most changes that can be made must be made on the state level.
"Our job is to ask all the questions, leave no stone unturned," she said.
Several questions dealt with the influx of technology both into society and the classroom, from cell phones to district-issued Chromebooks to artificial intelligence.
All five candidates were lockstep in support of a school-wide ban on student cell phones. Golderer said some teachers already require students to surrender their phones for a given class. Shah emphasized a full ban "would take the pressure off teachers" to implement an unpopular rule.
District-issued Chromebooks for student use include programming intended to limit their use to school activities, but as Cogan notes, the students are "very intelligent" and find ways around the firewalls to play games and other noneducational activities.
"It's a constant case of Whack-A-Mole to stay one step ahead of the students," Cogan said.
More agreement among the debaters was heard on other topics, ranging from the needs of students with disabilities to extra fees for extracurricular student activities such as music or sports. Each said the district was doing a good job addressing special needs.
The incumbents cited the programs and policies in place to help those students. Elharairi added she would like to see more special-needs training for paraprofessionals. Shah extended the conversation about special needs to the needs of a diverse student body in a "melting pot" town he likened to New York City.
District demographics identify 37% of the student population as being of Asian descent.
"That's why some people moved here in the first place," he said.
All five candidates also agreed they would like to find a way to end the added fees implemented in recent years for certain extracurricular student activities due to budget constraints.
Raia joked that in support of so many student car-wash fundraisers, "I have the cleanest car in town," but "I would like to get back to a place where they don't have to do that."
Golderer said she would like to see the town kick in some funds to help that cause.
Elharairi suggested forming "community partnerships" to supplement the fees.
2025 election timeline
Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 4. A complete list of candidates for office in Morris County can be found on the county clerk's website. Mail-in voting began on Sept. 20. Voter registration ended on Oct. 14. The early voting period runs from Oct. 25 to Nov. 2.