Hillsborough School Board Election 2022: Josh Gamse

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

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

Josh Gamse

Age: 48

Town of residence: Hillsborough

Position sought: Member of the Board of Education

Family: Married, with two children (4th and 7th grade).

Education: Undergrad degree in Biochemistry/Cell Biology, Rice University; Ph.D. in Biology, M.I.T.

Occupation: I have worked as a scientist in pharma/biotech for the past eight years. Prior to that, I was a professor of biology at Vanderbilt University.

Previous or current elected appointed office: None

Campaign website: facebook.com/joshgamseforboe

Why are you seeking to run for School Board?

As a parent of two school-age children, having a well-run and successful school system is an immediate concern to me. When we moved to New Jersey from Tennessee just before our older child started kindergarten, we were very happy that our children would be in a state with top-rated schools. In Nashville, we had seen what could happen in a school system that was poorly supported, and we don’t want that to happen here. By running for the school board, I can have a role in keeping Hillsborough schools excellent.

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

The Board and administration presented the budget in April and explained the reasoning behind the difficult decisions made. The district fortunately received an additional $1 million from the state recently, which will make up for some of the cuts to state aid and help in the short term. However, the Board and administration will need to look for sustainable sources of funding as well. Budget development should begin with a set of agreed-upon goals of the district, listening to all stakeholders including parents and teachers, then working backwards from those goals to rank the priorities for spending, as well as identifying deficiencies or (hopefully one day) surpluses of spending from the previous budgets. Finally, money should be assigned to each discretionary line item based on priorities.

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

First, I would encourage everyone to read the district’s health curriculum. The Hillsborough school district has interpreted the state guidelines on sexual education and incorporated them into the curriculum appropriately.

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

Yes. Kids learn best when they have enough sleep. This is especially true for the rapidly growing and changing adolescent mind. By adjusting school schedules to better fit the biological needs of students, we could improve learning without spending a dime.

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

We should retain the Transitional Primary (TP) option. From speaking to former Hillsborough students, this program was crucial to their academic success. From personal experience, both of our children (who are summer birthdays) benefited from the extra year to mature emotionally.

Full day kindergarten should be added. Kindergarten should be a relaxed, easy introduction to the pace and requirements of being in school, and a full-day kindergarten lets this happen.

The school district and the township council need to work together to make sure that growth of Hillsborough remains academically sustainable. By coordinating additional housing with additional school facilities, the fantastic schools of Hillsborough will continue their excellence.

The schools are beginning to be overcrowded and infrastructure is showing its age, showing the consequences of population growth that is not matched with school facility growth.

The REACH program is a great strength of the Hillsborough school district, and should be sustained and expanded. Similarly, the accelerated-track program in the intermediate, middle, and high schools should be maintained.

What sets you apart from the other challenging candidates?

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