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.”