Get To Know Hillsborough School Candidate: Chris Pulsifer

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Chris Pulsifer is one of the six candidates running for election in the contested 2018 Hillsborough School Board election being held on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

In Hillsborough/Millstone School District, there are six candidates vying for the two three-year seats on the board. Candidates include: Jane M. Staats, Brett Cooper, Dana Boguszewski, Lisa Maroun, Christopher Pulsifer and Bonnie R. Kole.

Additionally, there are two candidates Thomas J. Zobele and Joyce Eldridge-Howard vying for the one one-year unexpired term seat.

Chris Pulsifer

Description:

My name is Chris Pulsifer. I am 53 years old and my wife and I have lived in Hillsborough since 1991. Our two sons were born and raised in Hillsborough and spent their entire K-12 educational experience in the Hillsborough public school system. I have been a Little League and CYO basketball coach for many seasons. I currently work as a Software Development Manager for Bloomberg LP. I also volunteer as a mentor for new employees in Bloomberg’s Engineering Department.

Why are you running for the school board?

My parents were both teachers and both have long been involved in public service to my hometown and the surrounding area. My sister was a teacher and an elementary principal. I was raised in an environment where the ideals of quality education and community service were front and center. I want to continue in pursuit of those ideals and continue to improve the quality of the Hillsborough educational system.

What experience do you have that would help you serving on the school board?

I am currently completing a year appointed to the Board to fill a vacancy. Previously, I have served eight years on the Board. I have been on committees covering all facets of the board's responsibilities, including policy, education, personnel and negotiations. In addition, I have served two years as Board President, including representing the Board in legal proceedings. In an earlier term, I had the honor of representing Hillsborough Township BOE at the annual NJSBA convention, where I had the opportunity to join with Dr. Schiff and board member Judy Haas to present a seminar on Board operations and committee structures.

My background as an engineer has taught me to gather all available information with an open mind when analyzing a decision. This is what is needed on the board as members must consider the advice of the experts and balance that with the needs and wishes of the townspeople.

What issues would you like to see addressed if elected?

Over the next four to five years, we will face significantly diminishing state aid. Funding of a quality educational program is tough in the best of times. The board will need to work even harder to find a way to provide a highly functioning educational program for our students while minimizing the impact on our taxpayers.

We need to look for alternative funding sources and find ways to be more efficient with the money we have.

With the larger issues of crowded schools and needed additions to the educational program like full day kindergarten, the board will need to work with the public to find the best solution. In the end, it is up to the public to decide how much they will support. The board must exercise diligence in providing information on the best alternatives so that the public can make an informed decision. The board will then need to work within the amounts made available by the public to create the best educational system we can.

I am also concerned about safety in our schools, in two areas.

First, I believe we need to work on aspects of physical security. We need to make it harder for unwanted persons to get inside the building by making our entry ways more secure and identify alternate entries that may put our buildings at risk. We should also investigate ways to make individual classrooms and educational spaces safer during an attack. In these efforts, we should seek guidance from our police and security experts. All of this must be done while minimizing impact on the day to day functioning of our schools and classrooms.

The second aspect is the psychological side. Most incidents are not random but of some personal nature for the attacker. As a school system and a society, we need to work to identify why some people are driven so far as to believe that violence at a school is their best option. This could involve more counseling within the school system, along with programs in the community for those who are struggling mentally and emotionally.

— (If you are a candidate and would like to participate in the profile, please email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com)

(Image provided: Chris Pulsifer)

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