Take Five: Westfield School Board Candidate Brian Morrissey

WESTFIELD, NJ — There are seats opening up on the Westfield Board of Education and Patch caught up with the candidates ahead of the general election this November.

Questionnaires were sent out out to all candidates registered with the County Clerk's Office in the 2019 general election using the email addresses they went on file with. The responses will be posted on the site by those who submitted in the order in which they were received. They will also be included in an election preview wrap.

This Take Five features Brian Morrissey. His responses to the questions are below and unedited.

1. Why are you running for BOE?

My primary interest in serving as a Board Member is to maintain the standard of excellence of the Westfield Public Schools, and to work with the Superintendent and the other board members in a supportive and collaborative way. I believe that public education and strong student achievement is the key to our future, and I would like to play a role in shaping the future.

In February of this year I was appointed to the Westfield Board of Education after a current member resigned unexpectedly from the board. Since moving to Westfield, I have spent many weekends volunteering as a coach in various Westfield recreational sports leagues that my son participates in. Therefore, serving on the Board of Education just seemed like a natural progression. My son is a first grader at the Washington School this year and the unexpected board opening seemed like a great opportunity to serve.

2. What is the biggest challenge facing schools in your town, and how will you address it?

The wellbeing and safety of the district’s students is of utmost importance to the district administrators, teachers, myself and my fellow board members. My fellow members of the Board and I have assisted the Superintendent and administrators in formulating strategies to restrict physical access to all school buildings and ensuring all visitors to the schools are positively identified before being admitted into the school. In addition, the district has also installed duress and fire alarms, safety film, communication systems and security cameras at all schools. Arrangements have been made for on duty police officers to perform security sweeps twice daily. Training has been provided to all staff, including training to identify individuals in crisis. Security gates are also scheduled to be installed in all schools to restrict physical access. The district will also be installing new classroom doors in every school in the district, and security measures have also been instituted during aftercare programs and nighttime events. I will continue to monitor for new developments regarding school security best practices and continue to explore other security measures that can be funded within the current budget.

3. What three words would you use to describe yourself to someone who has never met you?

1. Attentive
2. Decisive
3. Dedicated

4. What experience in your background has prepared you to be an effective leader?

During my career I have served as a senior manager in the financial services industry and provided leadership over the internal audit activities of large publicly traded companies. I recently built an Internal Audit Department for a multi-billion-dollar bank. Building a department for a dynamic financial institution was no easy task. The endeavor to create a new department necessitated total commitment, the ability to communicate with employees at all levels of the organization, effective decision-making and to properly delegate to my employees and empower and inspire them to achieve our goal of standing up the new internal audit function in one year.

As a Corporate Auditor in the commercial banking industry, I am well versed in policy, goal setting, finance and budgeting. These skills have translated to my current role as a board member. My strengths are being an attentive listener, being open to change and innovation, and in analyzing and interpreting data. Due to my skills and experience, I was vetted and rapidly oriented to my role as a member of the Westfield Board of Education.

5. Tell me something about you, like hobbies or interests, that have nothing to do with the campaign.

Since moving to Westfield, I have coached my son’s youth soccer, baseball and basketball teams. I enjoy sharing my love of sports with young athletes and spending quality time with my son, while experiencing the rewards of serving the families of Westfield.

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