Hillsborough School Board Election 2022: Danny Lee

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Hillsborough Township Board of Education general election on Nov. 8 has six candidates running for four open seats.

Danny Lee is running for one of the three, three-year full-term seats on the school board. Opposing candidates include Jean Trujillo, Thomas J. Zobele, Joshua Gamse, and Joel E. Davis.

There is also one, two-year unexpired seat up for grabs with Jane M. Staats running as the lone candidate.

Are you running for office in Hillsborough? Contact Alexis Tarrazi at alexis.tarrazi@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Hillsborough Patch.

(All of the candidates were given the same questions)

Danny Lee

Age: 42

Town of residence: Hillsborough

Position sought: Board of Education

Family: My wife Michelle, a pediatric oncology nurse, has been very supportive of my endeavors and is the rock of the family. We are joined by our supporting cast of 2 children, along with 2 dogs, 2 cats, and a pond full of fish. Our older son is a rising fourth grader, and our younger son is in first grade.

Education: Rutgers University, Class of 2002, BA in Computer Science

Occupation: Client Services Manager in IT, in the email space

Previous or current elected appointed office: none

Campaign website: www.facebook.com/dannyleeforboe

Why are you seeking to run for School Board?

As a parent of 2 children attending the public schools of Hillsborough, I want the best experience possible for them. With the budget cuts that have occurred in the previous years, along with the restructuring of programs such as REACH, and the dissolution of the National Honor Society, I am concerned for the reputation of the district. My youngest is also in special education with an IEP in first grade. I cannot commend the Child Studies Team in Hillsborough and the special education teachers enough for the work they put in for my son as well as the many other kids in special education. I do not want to see this quality diminish. Many families move to Hillsborough because of its reputation as having excellent schools. I am concerned that the reputation, and more importantly, the quality of education is slowly deteriorating, dying a death by a thousand cuts. I seek a position in the board to ensure that the bleeding stops, and that we can get back on track with academic excellence.

School finances have been an issue raised recently. Do you feel the Board and administration are handling this properly? And why?

Fiscal responsibility has been a pressing issue for the district. Regarding the school budget, I believe the board and administration are doing what they can given the situation presented to them. With the state decreasing its funding, this just puts us further in the red. There needs to be another review of the budget to see if there are any additional extraneous expenses that can be cut so that existing programs do not need to be cut in the future.

One item worth reviewing is our vendors. Teachers and students are evaluated on a yearly basis to make sure they are on track, why not our vendors? Should we not hold them accountable and make sure that we are getting our money's worth with established relationships with vendors? We need to demand the best effort and attention from them.

With regards to the pending investigation with the Business Administrator, there is still nothing conclusive. I understand in these circumstances only so much information can be provided due to legality issues. However, given the climate of distrust in the district, one cannot over communicate. Any information regarding the investigation and its outcome should be communicated with more frequency to help with public trust.

How do you feel about the current sex-ed curriculum in the district?

I have read through the approved curriculum, approved by the Board of Education during their meeting this summer. It should be noted that the state did not write the curriculum, but rather objectives for the district. The most up to date curriculum PDFs can be retrieved from the August 22, 2022 minutes, which can be all found online, available to the public.

I have reviewed each of the documents for each grade range, (K-4, Grades 5-6, Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12), and each average about 70 pages, with the exception of the 7-8 grade curriculum, which is a little shorter. These documents encompass the full breadth of the health curriculum, which includes physical fitness, nutrition, and substance use.

Within this curriculum, there may be material that some parents may find objectionable and in conflict with religious or personal beliefs. While the duration of this content varies, overall, it is a small portion of the entire scope of the curriculum and what it entails. A large majority of the K-4 curriculum deals with overall health and nutrition. Lessons pertaining to social wellness (Grade 7) covers managing stress and anxiety, which many students may find helpful, especially with increased emphasis on mental health. Teachers will also be available to address any concerns parents may have.

Ultimately, upon reviewing the material that has been approved, the lessons appear to be age appropriate. However, topics relating to sexual education are nuanced and there is no right or wrong answer as to how and when they should be taught. Should any material be deemed inappropriate for a parent, parents can opt out of the lessons that they find objectionable due to religious or personal beliefs. Parents have a choice as to whether they want their children to learn this portion of the course, or to be excused. If they choose to opt out, they should be able to skip only the parts related to these lessons, to ensure that learning is not disrupted. The board should remain committed to engaging with various stakeholders to ensure that parents’ concerns are heard so that all parties with differing opinions have their concerns addressed.

On a final note, in each document in the curriculum, it should be noted that there is the curriculum goal of:

"Instruction shall encourage safe, welcoming, and inclusive environments for all students regardless of race or ethnicity, sexual and gender identities, mental and physical disabilities, and religious beliefs."

Considering that public schools are meant to be inclusive to serve all children, is that not a worthwhile goal to achieve?

Would you be in favor of a later school start time for students?

If we would be able to figure out the logistics of scheduling a later start time for schools, and it would come at no cost to the taxpayers, I am open to later start times. I believe Bridgewater had looked into this as well, and there was a startup cost involved.

As the district had lost its courtesy busing, and with the numerous busing issues that had occurred in the past year, I feel if funds were available that they would be better used for such programs. I think we can revisit this after we work to resolve some of the other issues that the district is facing.

What other issues do you feel need to be tackled in the school district?

I believe the first issue that should be addressed is academic achievement. The recent cuts the township has experienced has significantly hampered the student experience. REACH has been restructured, and parents are concerned for their children’s experience with the program. The National Honor Society does not exist at the high school. A priority of mine is to work to bring these programs back, and to bolster these programs so that our children’s academic experience is not diminished. The support of social, emotional, and mental well-being of our students, faculty and staff, and parents need to continue. To achieve this, we will continue to uphold the existing school-based supports in place.

Another issue to address is accessibility. With the pending investigation of the business administrator, trust is at an all-time low between the community and the school district. Faculty and staff turnover is becoming a problem. More communication, not less, is needed to bridge this gap between the administration and the community. In order for us to accomplish great things, we will need buy-in from the community. This starts with trust. That means the community will need to be in tune with dealings and decisions the district makes. The era of having decision making silos cannot continue if we are to make meaningful improvements within the district. We need buy-in from the community, and empower them to be more involved at our meetings so that when a decision is made, it is done together as a community. The community should be educated on what the Board of Education can and cannot do, and this needs to be readily accessible. There will always be disagreements, but if we continue the path of an adversarial relationship between the board and the community no lasting changes can be made. There needs to be a culture of trust, a partnership where responsibility is shared by all stakeholders. But we need buy in in order for this to happen.

Finally, with all the focus on academics, we should also not lose sight of the arts. This includes the visual arts, writing, music, and theater arts. While academics should be the primary focus for the district, the arts should not be overlooked, as they provide balance to an academic-driven curriculum. Not every student is going to be academically inclined, and the arts provide a good counterbalance to this. For some, the arts are one of the few outlets that students have. With mental health being a dominant issue among students, the arts could be a key in helping students build coping skills while expressing oneself. Creativity is one of the biggest resources we have as a country, and yet when budget cuts occur, classes that enhance this resource are typically the first to be cut. We cannot overlook these “extra-curricular” activities at the peril of our students’ well-being.

What sets you apart from the other challenging candidates?

I am a proud father of 2 children currently in the Hillsborough public schools. By that effect, I have a vested interest in ensuring the schools of Hillsborough have the resources they need to continue to thrive.

My children are also active in various sports and extracurricular activities in the township, and am actively plugged in with many parents in the district. Even when I was not running as a candidate, I would hear the concerns of the parents, many of which fall in line with what I believe the district needs.

As for my professional background, I bring forth to the board an IT background in the private sector. Being in the private sector, I understand the principle of proving the value of something, sometimes in monetary terms or in efficiency terms. While there are many initiatives that may sound or feel good, it is important that we can provide clear examples of the benefits and value that it brings as well, so that the community as a whole understand why certain decisions are made.

Also, coming from the private sector, the importance of constant communication is important. I believe my corporate experiences in publicly traded companies can help with the improvement of communication in the district, which is needed from the Board of Education.

Finally, because of my IT background, it would be good to revisit the website and portals relating to the school district. I would like to ensure that uptime is consistent, and that the information on the pages is current. I would also look to enhance the ease of use of technology for the parents. It would be good to look for parts that may not be as user friendly, and work to ensure that all parents have the instruction and resources they need to perform any tasks they need to do with the given technology.

In short, my ability to show value and knowledge around technology would be a beneficial addition to the board.

What else would you like to share about yourself or your campaign?

My goal ultimately would be to restore trust between the school board and parents alike. With all the turnover in the district, distrust has grown, and some of this frustration is justified. I would like to see that the township views the board and administration as an asset versus its current role as almost being adversarial to parents and teachers alike. This could come in the form of increase in communication from the district, or to have more accessibility to the decisions that the board makes, as well as to the why the decisions are made so nobody is in the dark about decisions being made.

I also believe a candidate should have a sense of humility and be aware that they do not always have the answers. Rather, it is important to be a good listener in order to learn and identify the correct problems to resolve. Instead of being weighed down by preconceived opinions, a candidate should be able to work collaboratively to resolve them.

I am not here to boast about being the best candidate for the board, that is not my job. Rather, I believe my job is to present my thinking process and ideas to the public, and to talk about the improvements to education that I believe would benefit our students. It is the voter’s job to determine whether I am the best candidate based on my credentials and ideas for the district. I hope to earn your vote, voter by voter, in the general election in November.

I can be found at www.facebook.com/dannyleeforboe, so feel free to reach out with any questions that you may have, and I hope to have your support in this coming election!