Clark Board Of Education Profile: Robert Brede

CLARK, NJ — Clark School Board has three seats up for grab in the upcoming election on Nov. 3.

Robert Brede, Steven Donkersloot, and Megan Harrison are running for the three, three-year seats on the board.

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Robert Brede

1. Why are running for Board of Education?

I’m running for re-election to continue the progress that has been made by our Board over the last 3 years. Three years ago my goals were to help improve our overall budget, improve technology and other key teaching programs and improve our test scores. We have achieved the majority of the budget improvements and educational enhancements. We still have some work to do in order to improve our test scores.

2. What are your qualifications for this position?

I have served in many volunteer roles over the years. My 7-year tenure on the Clark Little League Board recently ended. I spent 5 years on the Clark Education Fund prior to being elected to the Board of Education 3 years ago. These last 3 years I have learned a ton about how a Board of Education operates and am starting to hit my stride.

3. The single most pressing issue facing our school district is ____ and this is what I intend to do about it:

It’s hard to ignore the current COVID environment as our most pressing issue. Until we receive approval to reduce the social distance, we are not able to return all students to school for full day. We need to ensure our kids are not losing valuable educational years as we are limited to half days. I will continue to support our administration and our teachers to maximize the time our students are being taught. If we don’t succeed we will lose ground on our test scores rather than take a step ahead.

4. What are other issues you would like to see addressed in the school district?

We are on the verge of getting the district to 1:1 from a technology perspective. This is important to continue to improve our education and our standing as a desirable school district. We need to find creative ways to attract and retain our valuable teachers. Finally, we must always be mindful of school security to keep our kids safe.

This article originally appeared on the Clark-Garwood Patch