Candidate Profile: 'Important Work' Remains, Mendham Twp. BOE Rep Says

Throwing his hat into the ring once more, James “Jamie” Button of Mendham Township is seeking his third consecutive three-year term as his town’s representative to the West Morris Regional High School District Board of Education.

Button, married and a father of six, has lived in Mendham Township for 29 years and manages the turnarounds of underperforming organizations in his professional career.

Serving as a volunteer on the Board of Education isn’t Button’s first foray into volunteerism; he’s served as a scoutmaster of Mendham’s Boy Scout Troop 1, Chairman of the Pastor Nominating Committee of Hilltop Church; and head coach of the Mendham-Chester Youth Wrestling Team.

Button is opposed by Rob Strobel, currently a committeeman and Deputy Mayor for Mendham Township. Both are vying for residents’ votes on Nov. 4. Button won his first election in 2008 over Sam Fairchild and ran unopposed in 2011.

Patch asked both candidates to answer a variety of questions for this profile piece heading into Election Day. Below are Button’s answers unedited.

Patch: Why are you running for the board of education?
James Button: I am running for re-election because important work remains to be done—to sustain Mendham High School’s academic excellence and achieve fairer taxes.

Patch: What changes, if any, would you hope to implement over the next three years as a member of the board?
JB:
1. Improve students’ college and career readiness.
2. Increase STEM offerings in curriculum.
3. Increase our students’ college admissions competitiveness through an enhanced guidance department by decreasing student/counselor ratio and strengthening relationships with college admissions officers.
4. Equalize average spending per student at each high school.
5. Hold a referendum on changing the tax apportionment between towns from one based on property values to one based on number of students.
6. Provide option for athletes to attend study hall instead of physical education class during their sports seasons.

Patch: In 2016 the board of education will have the ability to change the district’s vote for members and budget back to April after it was switched in 2012. How would you vote, and why?
JB: I will vote in favor of giving taxpayers the right to vote on the district’s budget. School taxes represent two thirds of the total property taxes paid by residents. The right to approve the school budget (or not) should never have been taken away from taxpayers.

Patch: What is the biggest misstep the board has made in the last one to two years? What vote did it make – or not make – that negatively impacted the district?
JB: Failing, by a 4-4 tie, to approve equalizing the spending per pupil at each high school by shifting $847,000 of the 2014-15 budget from Central to Mendham High School was a lost opportunity for greater equity. Because of this failure, the district now spends $1,233/student more at Central than at Mendham High School.

Patch: Over the next half decade, enrollment is projected to decline at a consistent rate. What should the district do, if anything, to accommodate this situation by not leaving classrooms or school buses empty?
JB: Mendham High School is overcrowded now. A decline in enrollment will ease this crowding, making school operations more manageable. The district should use the available space for a STEM lab and lunch room for students. The district should restore “courtesy busing” to all Mendham students.

Patch: Faced with the 2-percent tax cap in the state of New Jersey, what ways will you, as a board member, be sure to keep taxpayers’ funds used properly, especially in the light of declining enrollment?
JB: I will continue to lead the effort to change our high school district’s tax apportionment between towns from one based on property values to one based on number of students sent by each town. This would shift $7 million of Mendham/Chester tax dollars annually back to Mendham/Chester to be spent as Mendham/Chester voters decide between Mendham High School and reduced taxes.