Watchung Hills School Board Election 2022: Robert B. Morrison

WARREN, NJ — Watchung Hills Regional Board of Education general election on Nov. 8 has seven candidates running for three open seats.

Robert B. Morrison is running under the slogan "Experienced Educational Leadership" for one of the three, three-year full-term seats on the school board. Opposing candidates include Lisa A. DiMaggio, Frank Dwyer, James Angelo Giacchi, Dominic DiBarri, William Mayerchak, and Peter Z. Holczinger.

All of the candidates are vying for seats representing Warren Township on the Board.

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

(All of the candidates were given the same questions)

Robert B. Morrison

Age: 61

Town of residence: Warren Township

Position sought: Watchung Hills Regional Board of Education

Family: Wife, Nora. Daughter, Natalie, Son, Andrew

Education: Music Education, University of Memphis, University of Massachusetts

Occupation: CEO, Quadrant Research - an educational research company.

Previous or current elected appointed office:

• Watchung Hills Regional Board of Education - Currently the President of the Board of Education and serving the final year of my third three year term
• Business Liaison to the Warren Township Office of Emergency Management (Current)

Campaign website: http://votebobmorrison.com

Why are you seeking to run for School Board?

I have been a member of the Watchung Hills Board of Education since elected to my first term, which started in 2013. During that time, the board has implemented many of the ideas and suggestions I have brought forward, including the first strategic plan, which has since been revised for a third five-year period, broadcasting of meetings for public benefit, and the passage of two referendums that provided significant improvements to the school while leveraging state funding to ensure there was NO TAX IMPACT on the community residents. However, there remains more work to be done. We need to continue to work on community engagement and communications.

The biggest unfinished “to do” item is an issue I have been championing for years - completion of a District Regionalization Feasibility Study for the benefit of the taxpayers to determine if there are any educational and/or financial benefits to regionalizing the Watchung Hill K-12 educational system.

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

I have no issues with the current 9-12 curriculum for health which includes sex ed. There is an update to the curriculum coming this year, and the proposed revisions are pedagogically sound and age-appropriate for our students. I also recognize that for some parents, there may be objections to some content. We have options for these parents, including the ability to opt-out.

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

Absolutely! As president of the Somerset County School Boards Association and a member of the New Jersey School Boards Association’s Board of Directors, I have hosted several meetings on this topic. The research is overwhelmingly in support of later start times. To implement later start times will require the cooperation of all of the sending districts since bus routing and school start times need to be coordinated regionwide.

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

Improved Communications: One of the areas of greatest frustration for me has been in the area of communication. The Watchung Hills Regional School District has not been as effective in communicating with our community, parents or other stakeholders. There have been too many instances where varying groups have felt blindsided or ignored. This must change. I have fought for our meeting to be broadcast (they now are!). For the past five years, I have been pushing for the implementation of an annual “climate survey” of all stakeholders, including students, faculty, staff, parents, and community members so we have the input we need to ensure we are providing the best educational experience for our community and we are truly serving the needs of the community. This survey was finally implemented last year! Just as I have for the past nine years, I will continue to host community coffees for residents to share their thoughts and concern. I pride myself on being completely accessible to all residents hosting informal coffees, and welcoming all calls, emails, or meetings with any individual or group.

Fiscal Responsibility: I have been an outspoken advocate for exploring ways to save money, including pushing for a community-wide review with our sending districts to explore areas where we may share services. Recently, the Governor just announced a $12 million funding pool for use by school districts to pay for feasibility studies for school district regionalization. While I personally do not know if district regionalization would be appropriate for our community at this time… I do believe we should take advantage of the state funding to determine what, if any, fiscal and educational benefits may occur through a formal shared services agreement or outright consolidation. Many residents have commented to me about the number of school districts in such a small area. The state is now providing us with an opportunity to find out if there are any real fiscal and educational benefits to consolidation… or not. Getting the answer to this question costs us nothing and ensures we are doing our “due diligence” on behalf of the residents.

Implementation of the revised Strategic Plan: During my first term in office, one of my major areas of emphasis was the development and approval of the district’s first-ever strategic plan. The Board approved the strategic plan and underlying objectives in June of 2016. In addition, I championed the development and adoption of a set of “Expected Schoolwide Learning Results” (ESLRs) to identify the characteristics needed for our students to be successful in life. In my second term, the focus was all on the plan’s implementation. During my third term, the focus was on revising the first plan, which was completed in 2020. My focus for a fourth term will be to oversee the implementation of the new plan and hold the administration accountable for progress in meeting the revised goals and objectives.

A Well-Rounded Education: Many of the students entering Watchung Hills over the next four years will end up in jobs that do not exist today, in industries that have yet to be invented. Scoring well on tests is one thing. Developing the skills to be successful in college and career is another. Success in language arts literacy and math is important. However, this should not be at the expense of providing a well-rounded education for all students. This is why I was such a firm believer in the development of our Expected Schoolwide Learning Results. We need to help our students develop skills needed so they may be applied to a wide variety of career paths… to be successful in these industries that have yet to be invented. Providing a robust curriculum with opportunities in the core content areas combined with rich extracurricular offerings is the pathway to educational success. I am proud of the work we have accomplished to increase course offerings driven by student interest. I have also been a watchdog to protect against the encroachment of a “testing mentality” into our schools. I will remain committed to both expanding offerings for our students and keeping the testing industrial complex from distorting our priorities, so we may protect the integrity of our educational environment for students. I remain committed to continuing to work hard on behalf of the residents and our students to make this success possible.

What sets you apart from the other challenging candidates?

Experience, Experience, Experience.

For the past nine years, I have had the privilege of representing Warren Township on the WHRHS Board of Education, where I have served on the Education (several years as chair), Strategic Planning, Operations, and Personnel Committees, chaired the Policy Committee, and most recently served as Vice President (2 terms) and currently President of the Board (2 terms). I also chair the Regionalization Feasibility Study Committee and have worked to secure $140,000 in state funds to pay for the development and completion of the study.

During my tenure, we have brought forward several important improvements to the district. These include the development of the district’s first-ever strategic plan, creation of Expected Schoolwide Learning Results, completion of the referendum-funded projects for replacing the aging heating system and roofing (on schedule and on budget), installation of a new media center, upgrades in technology, including 1 to 1 Chromebooks, expansion and diversification of elective offerings to allow students to find their passion, replacement of the turf field through the acquisition of significant state funding, and supported returning funds to taxpayers from increased state education aid. During my tenure, Watchung Hills has had the highest credit rating possible, which speaks to the strong financial and fiscally responsible way the district has been operating. I have been chosen by my peers as the President of the Somerset County Schools Boards Association and have been appointed to the board of directors for the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA). In 2019, I was recognized by the NJSBA with their highest honor… Certified Board Leader - one of only a handful of the more than 5,000 New Jersey school board members to achieve this distinction.

During COVID-19, Watchung Hills was one of the few districts in New Jersey to open our school to students in September 2020. Since that date, the school has remained open for students except for one 2-week period because of a COVID outbreak. We were committed to keeping the school open because we knew the importance of in-person learning and social engagement for our students. I am very proud of the work of our faculty and staff, administration, and fellow board members for their incredible work during the last two and half years to keep our school open and our learning opportunities flourishing for our students. It is the accomplishment for which I am the proudest.

Additionally, I served on COVID-19 Response Task Forces for the New Jersey Department of Education, New Jersey School Boards Association, and the coalition of state education associations. I led state and national efforts to protect the visual and performing arts for our students, including funding the International Coalition of Performing Arts Organizations Aerosol Study that identified the proper mitigation strategies to allow the performing arts to continue in our schools.

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

In addition to my service on the WHRHS Board of Education, I have been active in our community for nearly twenty years, including many years as a volunteer coach with Warren Baseball Softball, Inc. for both the recreational and travel baseball teams. During Hurricane Sandy, I helped organize and serve as an administrator of the Warren Township Community Forum on Facebook. As a result of our work with the forum after Superstorm Sandy, I volunteered to serve as co-chair of the Warren Township Utility Advisory Committee, where I led a community-wide review of the town’s electrical infrastructure. This project earned the Sustainable New Jersey Creativity and Innovation Award. I currently serve as a business liaison to the Warren Township Office of Emergency Management, which is responsible for the community response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In my professional career, I have served on many non-profit, for-profit, corporate, and higher education boards. I have personally started several successful nonprofits dedicated to education, music, and the arts. These experiences have provided me with direct experience with the proper role and function of board governance overseeing complex organizations.

For more than 35 years, my professional career has required my direct involvement with educational policy issues. This has included working with education officials in the administrations of George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. Much of my work has centered on issues related to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (also known as America 2000, Goals 2000, No Child Left Behind and now the Every Student Succeeds Act known as ESSA). I have also worked with the Departments of Education in more than thirty states, including New Jersey, and have provided policy guidance to several Governors and a presidential campaign. I served on the New Jersey Department of Education’s ESSA stakeholder taskforce to develop implementation plans for the new federal education legislation and have worked with every New Jersey education commissioner since 2005. In 2022, I was recognized by Governor Murphy with the Governor’s Award in Arts Education for Lifetime Contribution in Arts Education, the highest state honor, for my service to the state of New Jersey.

Issues involving accountability, evaluations, student achievement, funding, and the tension between a culture of testing versus the need for a well-rounded education are not just buzzwords to me. These are areas where I have spent a great deal of time and energy learning the issues to make informed decisions. I have called on this experience for my service to the community.

All of these experiences, combined with my dedication to our community, allowed me to become an effective advocate on the Watchung Hills Regional High School Board of Education for the citizens of our township. This demonstrates my keeping my promise to represent the interests of our community and our students.

I believe my record of service and accomplishment on behalf of the citizens of Warren speaks for itself.