Meet the Candidates: Judy Haas

Letters to the editor of the Hillsborough Beacon

April 6^th, 2011.  Judy Haas called “independent  thinker”

I am writing to encourage Hillsborough residents to vote for Judy Haas in the Board of Education election on April 27.

Mrs. Haas has served this community well as a Board of Education member. She is diligent, compassionate, fair and, most important of all, an independent thinker. She does not hesitate to ask the tough questions, and she expects answers. This is the type of person we need to ensure that we as a community deliver the best possible education to all our children in a fiscally responsible manner.

In this current economic climate and the reduced spending that comes along with it, we need a knowledgeable person who can make sure that the kids’ educational needs are protected.

Most recently, she spoke out against the privatization of employees in our school district. And I am glad that the teachers’ union has offered compromise in order to maintain these positions. Mrs. Haas understands the negative effects that privatization would have, such as a decrease in the quality of our personnel, staff turnover and low morale, which would directly affect students in the classroom.

Mrs. Haas spends innumerable hours researching and reviewing the issues that come to the board for action. She supports teachers and students alike in trying to create a climate of excellence in the educational arena. Being a board member takes time and dedication, Mrs. Haas has shown that she will put forth both.

Judy Haas’ experience, knowledge, and dedication to our schools and community have been very important to the Board of Education. She deserves all of our support in this year’s election.

I hope you will join me in voting for Judy Haas for Hillsborough Board of Education.

Elisa Duch

Hillsborough

 

April 13^th, 2011.  Resident believes Haas will keep interests of kids first

Now more than ever, it is important for Hillsborough residents to vote in the upcoming Board of Education election.

Judy Haas is now the most experienced remaining member of the board. Her knowledge and experience are vital to the upcoming decisions that need to be addressed. She is also the hardest-working person on the board. I hear her talk about attending classroom events to make sure she is connected to the most important part of this process...the children. She continues to monitor outside school districts for ideas and attends every extra training event to bring back the best information to improve our district. She listens to every suggestion from the public, and will not give up if the idea is the best choice for our children.

It is obvious to me when I watch the Board of Education meetings that she does her homework. She has spent her career in public service and has shown Hillsborough that education and our children are her top priority. She does not follow the crowd and digs down to fight for a quality education for our children. I know that if I go to Judy with a suggestion or problem that she will do everything in her power to get the job done.

On all the challenging issues that come to the board, Judy will always keep our children’s interests first.

Eileen Gonzalez

Hillsborough

April 13^th, 2011.   Judy Haas is serious, open, communicative

On April 27, I urge Hillsborough residents to vote for incumbent candidate Judy Haas for Board of Education.

Judy not only cares deeply about our students and our educational community, but she is a consummate public servant. Beginning with a master’s degree in public administration and continuing as a public administrator and policy advisor in New York, before becoming Township Administrator in Hillsborough, Judy totally understands the legal, financial, regulatory, and ethical aspects of maintaining the public’s trust.

She is also passionate about education and appreciates the efforts of students, teachers, support staff and administrators to create a great educational environment here in Hillsborough. Since 2004, Judy has blended her capabilities as a public servant with her desire to serve the educational community, and has become a very valued board member, whom parents, teachers, school administrators, and community members alike, turn to for deeper understanding of and expert advice on district issues.

As budgets become tighter and expectations of public education increase, it’s imperative that we have people on the board who take their responsibility very seriously and are transparent and responsive to the public. Judy works hard and reviews everything in detail that comes before her as a board member. She has never been a rubber stamp for the school administration, and always adds value to the discussion.

Judy is also very approachable and parents who are concerned about their children’s education turn to her because they know they will have their concern heard. Over the years she has strengthened communication channels through her work on the district website, instant alerts, online surveys, e-newsletters and the Community Partnership Network — the latest collaborative effort between the Communications Committee, which she chairs, and the administration. If you want to really have input, go to one of their meetings — a partnership is truly being forged between the schools and the community and only good things will come of it.

If we want Hillsborough to continue to be a desirable community in which to raise a family, we have to have great schools. Excellence only happens with great leadership. Judy is not just experienced and dedicated, she is strong and principled and her values inform everything she does. This is why we need Judy to continue her critical work on the board.

Meryl Bisberg

Hillsborough

April 20^th, 2011: Haas impresses him as 'prudent yet protective'

Please join me in supporting Judy Haas for re-election to the Board of Education.

   As a member of the board, Judy has been a tireless advocate for our children, demanding excellence from all teachers, administrators and staff. This has been reflected in the consistently high ratings our schools have received.

   Fiscally, Judy has been prudent yet protective of what is required and necessary to maintain the quality of education that residents of Hillsborough expect and demand.

   A realist, a creative thinker, someone who separates facts from fictions and gets down to business, Judy represents all elements of what comprises an effective, caring member.

   She should continue to represent us on the Board of Education.

Michael Goldberg

Hillsborough

April 20^th, 2011: Le asks vote for fellow board member Haas

We’ve all been guilty of voting for school board members with little knowledge of who they are and what they stand for so I feel compelled to take the liberty of sharing my knowledge of Judy Haas’ depth of experience and her untiring, unfailing efforts to apply that experience for the benefit of our school community.

To be fair, I don’t know enough about the other candidates to provide a thoughtful opinion but I am glad for our town that there is a healthy interest in joining the board.

Judy know the history of decisions made for our schools because of her six years as a member of the board. She also takes a great deal of time and effort to understand the context of our school policies, curriculum, and communications in relation to state and national standards. The same detailed eye she has for regulation and standards is also applied to finance, facilities, negotiations and other aspects of our schools that the board has an influence upon. If she doesn’t clearly understand an issue that comes before the board, she will ask for explanations before rendering an opinion or a vote.

Judy also doesn’t accept status quo and always strives to suggest improvements to support policy changes. This is evidenced by her attendance at many workshops offered by N.J. School Board Association to highlight best practices to ensure that students get the most out of their education. We recently attended Driving Student Achievement, which described the power of the basic premise “all children can learn and be challenged.” We learned how our school board must be a integral partner with the school administration to truly and fully implement this concept. Judy’s in-depth knowledge of our district allows her to provide guidance to our school administration that would make this concept a reality for each student.

Her commitment to our children is manifested in a myriad of ways. She is engaged in the school community and genuinely enjoys attending events that the board is invited to. She is ever vigilant to make sure that the high quality of education she aspires for Hillsborough’s students is reflected in Board of Ed actions.

This is my personal opinion. As a board member, I am disclosing that the opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the board.

Please vote for Judy Haas on Wednesday, April 27th, to keep her leadership, vision, and guidance on the Hillsborough Board of Education.

Thuy Anh Le

Hillsborough

Judy Haas in the News

Recent Articles in the Hillsborough Patch

December 15th, 2011. Judy Haas calls on Board to discuss budget values and parameters: http://hillsborough.patch.com/articles/budget-discussions-begin-early

Board member Judy Haas suggested the change at Monday's meeting…."I was wondering if there would be any opportunity for board members to provide individual input not only on the budget process prior to the distribution of (state aid) numbers, but the negotiations," Haas said. "I think we all need to agree on certain parameters. I would hate for there to be a budget coming or a negotiations packet that is contrary to what most of the board would be interested in recommending."

"I'm asking if there is an opportunity for us to discuss, in general as oppose to very specific, guidelines about what you're willing to do conceptually and in the aggregate," she added.

January 18th, 2011. Judy Haas’ Communications Committee sponsors Community Partnership Network meeting to introduce new Superintendent Jorden Schiff to the community: http://hillsborough.patch.com/articles/community-partnership-network-offers-opportunity-to-meet-superintendent

“We’d like to hold a meeting of the Community Partnership Network, partially as a reception for Dr. Schiff and partially to break out into committees to work on various subjects that we’d like to discuss,” Communications Committee Chairman Judy Haas said at the Board of Education’s Jan. 10 meeting. “We hope the community at large will participate in this because it’s important to get this type of community input, especially with the new superintendent and a lot of challenges ahead.”

“We hope to have maximum participation in this meeting,” she added.

January 26th, 2011. Judy Haas tells Board what is important to fund in the budget: http://hillsborough.patch.com/articles/hard-budget-year-expectations-bring-early-board-discussions

In addition to maintaining a comprehensive academic and extra curricular program, and one that includes many subject areas, board member Judy Haas said the board should focus on generating lasting revenue streams. She also suggested generalized fundraising efforts for the district, in order to maintain programs.

“What I am opposed to is chipping away at the corners and making across the board cuts that cause us to do everything a little bit more badly that we did before,” she said, “I think what we need to do is look for whole new areas of revenue generation because those are the least painful.”

She also suggested finding an alternate method of financing capital improvements, including repairs to buildings, so the district does not need to decide between projects and personnel.

January 28th, 2011. Judy Haas questions bids on critical Triangle School roofing work: http://hillsborough.patch.com/articles/roof-project-pending-state-letter-and-warmer-weather

For one board member, the disparity in bid amounts was a concern, however.

“While I’m happy that they came in the way they came in and that you received so many bids, I’m concerned a little bit with the range,” Judy Haas said. “The one company being capable of doing it for half what other companies have done with it. Have we looked into the capability of the lowest bidder to perform and whether they have worked in schools before.”

According to Mahmoud, the district ‘s architect of record, Nam Kim Park Architects, of Woodbridge, checked the vendors during the bid process. “The company we are considering awarding the bid to is absolutely competent, has done this type of work before,” Mahmoud said. “We checked their references. . .We are very comfortable that they will fulfill their obligations on replacing the roof.”

Ms. Haas later asked if there was a warranty on the roof replacement. Mahmoud said there was a warranty on roof but could not state an exact amount, though he believed it was a 30-year warranty.

February 17th, 2011. Judy Haas proposes including Superintendent and Business Administrator on BOE emails: http://hillsborough.patch.com/articles/board-emails-will-include-superintendent-and-business-administrator

Introduced by Communications Committee Chairwoman Judy Haas at Monday night's meeting, the discussion also included giving board members individual board e-mail addresses—a proposal that will require further consideration.

“Every e-mail that comes into the district is open public record,” Haas said. “This way, the administration has all of this material on the server for any OPRA requests or any discovery requests in a legal proceeding. We are required by the School Ethics Act to refer any complaints or requests for action to the superintendent. It is not our job to take action on comments from community members.”

“If you think about some of the e-mails that we’ve gotten over the years, if somebody were critical of a staff member, it’s inappropriate for the board to receive that before the superintendent,” Haas said. “If somebody is filing notice of a lawsuit against the school district, sometimes you have a certain number of days in which to respond. You would not want to interfere with that.”

“The school district has procedures for the solving of complaints and problems and we have policies on that,” she added. “They all start at the lowest possible administrative level and work their way up. By allowing people to e-mail directly to the whole board, we could be bypassing a number of steps that could solve those problems before they get to us.”

March 14th, 2011. Judy Haas’ first interview as a 2011 candidate: http://hillsborough.patch.com/articles/budget-main-concern-for-board-candidates

For Judy Haas, who is running for her third term on the board of education, attitudes toward public schools and boards of education prompted her to file for re election, she said.

“I just feel that public education is under a greater threat than it has ever been right now,” Haas said. “I think it’s important to have people who are experienced on the board. We need to keep our business transparent and get as much information to the public as we can.”

She holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration, worked for the New York City government and was Hillsborough Township Administrator from 2001 to 2004, she said. In addition to working in Hillsborough, Haas lived in town for 20 years and has volunteered in the schools as a member of the Home and School Associations and Life Skills Committee, she said. Her son, Lenny, and two stepsons, Marc and David, graduated from Hillsborough Schools, she said. She was event co-chair for the 2008 Project Graduation celebration and is treasurer of the Hillsborough Public Library Board. She is also a certified Board of Education member, meaning she’s taken several New Jersey School Boards Association training courses.

“It’s a tough challenge, running for school board,” Haas said. “It is a lot of work. We are on multiple committees. It’s not just coming to a meeting two days out of a month. You have to take classes and go to seminars.”

Her concerns about the schools include maintaining a quality school system, improving school offerings, keeping class sizes reasonable—and ensuring the school budget is tolerable for taxpayers.

“We have to find a way to get our kids educated,” Haas said. “At the same time, we have to find a way to do it that is affordable to our residents, because everybody is reeling from the tough economy.”

March 29th, 2011. Judy Haas votes on the 2011-12 budget: http://hillsborough.patch.com/articles/110-million-dollar-budget-goes-to-ballot

“This year’s budget basically maintains what we had after last year’s devastating cuts and gives us a little bit of funding to use for lowering a few class sizes that are just too large,” said Judy Haas, who is running for re election this year. “The state came through with an additional million dollars, which is a nice contribution, but simply doesn’t keep pace with all of the other cost drivers that we face every year.”

April 1st and 7th, 2011. Judy Haas’ Communications Committee sponsors Community Partnership Network meeting on the budget: http://hillsborough.patch.com/articles/schools-superintendent-explains-fiscally-responsible-budget and http://hillsborough.patch.com/articles/budget-topic-at-next-community-partnership-network-meeting

“The major subject will be the budget,” Judy Haas said. “You will have the opportunity to discuss the budget with Dr. Schiff in an informal setting, less intimidating than the high school auditorium and friendly discussion on other things that are on people’s minds. It’s open to everyone in the community.”

The presentation is just one of several occurring since the budget’s approval for the election ballot. Board of Education members and administrators intend to speak to Home and School Associations, senior groups and other groups around town too.

The partnership network meeting follows a February network meeting, where community members met Schiff and listed their priorities for the district. Those priorities included class sizes, improving communication between schools and improving communication outside of the schools

April 4th, 2011. Judy Haas participates in Teacher for a Day program at the HHS Library: http://hillsborough.patch.com/articles/teacher-for-a-day-brings-community-to-classroom

“I was surprised I lasted through the day,” Judy Haas, whose duties ranged from issuing passes, checking books out and in, reading to preschool classes and shelving books, said. “These women are amazing. That library is busy every hour of the day. I was amazed at the technology and resources. Every single computer was used all day long.”

ABOUT ME

I am honored to be a candidate for a fifth term on the Hillsborough Board of Education.  I hope the residents of our town will support my re-election on November 7th.   

The Board has many challenges that require experienced, dedicated, knowledgeable, caring, and independent Board members.  I have spent most of my life in public service and I know how to get things done efficiently and effectively.  As a Board member, I have a record of accomplishment, accessibility, and decision-making based on values and equity.  I work hard and never rubber-stamp anything.  I am deeply concerned about all of the children of our district, and want each one to have the best possible future.

During my twelve years on the Board, I served three years as Vice President and earned the designations of Master Board Member and Certificated Board Member from the NJ School Boards Association. I currently chair the Education Committee and previously chaired the Communication Committee.  I served on the Governance, Curriculum, Finance, Personnel, Policy, Operations, and Facilities Committees as well.  I am also the President of the Board of Directors of the Somerset County Educational Services Commission which provides special education and alternative education programs, shared services to all school districts, and a brand new Career Center for vocational training.

My priorities as a Board member are to:

• Provide a high-quality, well-rounded education that allows all students to reach their maximum potential;
• Improve our curriculum, class offerings, and student achievement levels;
• Maintain reasonable class sizes;
• Provide additional resources for those who need them;
• Recruit and retain the best teachers and support staff;
• Encourage the infusion of technology, 21^st century skills, and global understanding;
• Balance needs with the realities of the economy;
• Create credible, responsible budgets that maximize instruction and minimize administrative costs;
• Assure that our facilities are clean, "green," safe, and secure;
• Strengthen communication with the public through our web site, e-newsletters, electronic alerts, social media, online surveys, and special programs.

My experience also includes serving as former President and Treasurer of the independent Hillsborough Public Library Advisory Board.  I have co-chaired Project Graduation and participated in a full range of school, club, and sports activities as a volunteer.  Professionally, I served as Hillsborough’s Township Administrator, preceded by a career in New York City Government as a high level administrator and public policy advisor.  I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Communication and a Master's Degree in Public Administration.  Personally, I have been blessed with a wonderful husband, Lloyd (a teacher for 40 years), an awesome son, Lenny (currently attending Mayo Clinic School of Medicine), great stepsons Marc and David (successful Hillsborough graduates), great daughters-in-law Betsey and Nachama, and six beloved grandchildren. 

A community is defined, in great part, by its schools.  Hillsborough is recognized throughout the state and country for having high-performing, low-cost schools, and this benefits all of our residents.  I am proud to be a Board member working to keep our schools strong and I would be proud to continue to serve our community and our children.  I welcome your support on Tuesday, November 7^th.   Thank you so much!