Take Five With Westfield BOE Candidate Robert S. Garrison

WESTFIELD, NJ - Patch asked Westfield Board of Education Candidate Robert S. Garrison to take five with us and share some thoughts on the city, the campaign and beyond. His answers are below, with minor courtesy edits for style.

1. Why are you running for office?

I am grateful for the opportunity I have been given to serve on the school board for the past three years. Taxpayers deserve a strong public school system. During my time on the board, I have championed three main issues: encouraging sound fiscal stewardship, improving communications and community engagement, and making our schools a safer place for everyone. I believe that great things are happening in our schools, but that there is room to make them even better!

I look forward to the opportunity to continue to collaborate with stakeholders — from faculty, administrators, and fellow board members to parents, students, and residents — to create opportunities, fix problems, and promote academic excellence and achievement for ALL Westfield students.

2. What is the biggest challenge you see facing your community and how will you address it?

Safety & security. We live in a world that has drastically changed over the last few years. Our students, teachers, faculty, and staff face unimaginable perils never before seen. From physical harm to the social / emotional stresses of being a student.

We are fortunate that the Westfield School District has always been vigilant in staying on top of safety and security issues. In the past three years we have more than doubled our efforts both in terms of policies and spending capital dollars on enhancing school safety and security. The District has installed safety windows, new high-tech cameras, state-of-the-art communications systems in each classroom, and new security doors. But we have not stopped there.

We take the social / emotional well-being of our students very seriously. We work hard to provide students, parents, and staff with the appropriate resources to not only cope with, but excel despite the many new challenges students face in today’s society.

3. What makes you the right person to vote for as opposed to the other candidate(s)?

Experience matters. No training in the world can prepare you to serve as a school board member. I should know because I thought that my 20 years experience in public administration, public finance, and working with school districts would allow me to walk in knowing everything. I admit that I was wrong. I quickly realized that I needed to hit the books and I did. I regularly attend classes and seminars offered by the New Jersey School Boards Association. To that end, I recently became a Certified New Board Member which fewer that 10% of school members achieve.

I take my role on the school board very seriously and I will always put the well-being of students and taxpayers first.

4. What will you do to facilitate communication with the community?

I am proud of the District’s new website. It took years of input from teachers, staff, parents, and professionals to come up with a website that enables better communication between parents, residents, and the administration unlike ever before. Notifications can be sent out in seconds to all of those who provide us with their email addresses and mobile numbers. I’ve also worked with my fellow board members and the administration in enhancing our social media footprint. It is so exciting to promote all of the amazing activities our students, teachers, and staff participate in on a regular basis.

The flow of information is key to a successful and meaningful relationship between the District and the community.

5. What inspires you?

Family. My wife, Erika, and I moved to Westfield in 2005, due in large part to the great reputation of its schools. My unwavering support for a strong public school system and the desire to have my daughter attend public school stems from my time growing up as a foster child. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I attended five different elementary schools in Newark, Belleville, West Caldwell, Hackensack, and Bloomfield. Even as a child, I recognized the differences in each of those schools and how those differences impacted my learning experience. My success in life is seeded in the tremendous support I received from all of the wonderful teachers that always had my best interests at heart. I will always consider teachers part of my family.

(Photo courtesy of Robert S. Garrison)

Editor's Note: Patch has reached out to every candidate that has filed to run for office and is publishing all responses received. If a candidate does not have a story on the site it is because they did not respond. But they are encouraged to contact russ.crespolini@patch.com if they have any questions.