Regional School Board Creates Goals List

The West Morris Regional High School board, in conjunction with New Jersey School Boards Association member Joann Borin, created a list of goals the group would like to see achieved this school year.

The group of nine elected officials first created a list of the accomplishments from the past year.

Chief among them was the , voted on by residents of Washington Township, both Chesters and both Mendhams. Other points of achievement were attaining master board status; hiring a ; and the settling of .

The group, as a whole, brought up 10 goals it would like to see met this school year, but Borin explained that the average board seeks to hit four. “If you have a dozen goals you’d like to meet, it may be very hard to accomplish,” Borin said.

Goals agreed upon by the group to pursue include:

• Formulate a long-range plan for the next five years, which addresses goals and the board's mission.
• Budget allowing, focus on reducing class sizes next school year.
• Explore shared services between communities, as well as developing more curriculum with each town’s K-8 school district.
• Continue to update and revise the board’s policy manual.

The board’s goals are not reviewed or graded by any person or body, Borin said, but rather it is an outlay for each district to follow with the intent of making a better learning environment.

There were other goals brought up by individuals of the group that did not make it to the master list, though. Mendham Township representative Jamie Button requested to implement a confidential survey for the parents in the sending towns about the district’s performance.

Chester representative Marcia Asdal requested the body create a sub-committee to work with and implement mandates that are imposed by the state. Asdal also wanted a goal to be met of having a more robust email communication with the district’s communities and parents.

Those goals were not agreed upon by the board as a whole.