Chiropractor in Jefferson Township, NJ

Patch sent out questions to candidates seeking public office locally. Here was one response:

NEW JERSEY - In a few short weeks what is expected to be one of the most charged elections in modern history is set to take place and Patch has asked local candidates to share their thoughts before the Nov. 3 election.

Editor's Note: Patch sent out emails to all candidates to the email addresses listed for their campaign provided to the county clerk. The responses received will be published between now and the general election. Candidates who would like to participate but did not receive one (for whatever reason) can contact [email protected]. What you see below are their answers with mild style edits.

Why are you seeking a seat on the school board?

Jefferson needs to keep moving forward - to achieve educational excellence while being financially conservative. We need to learn from our past and stay focused on our future. The needs of our students are constantly changing, and we, as a district and community, need to support our students – continuing to implement best practices for college and career readiness and academic success.

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

Find out what's happening in Jeffersonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The single most pressing issue facing our school district is the reduction in state aid (Covid-19 is a pressing issue and that is addressed in question below). The timing of the reduction also put our district in a very difficult position. Our district was given a state aid figure and a preliminary budget was created. Unfortunately, our district then lost more funding. The Administration along with the Building, Needs and Finance Committee worked tirelessly to create a budget to present to the community that maintained as many student programs as possible. As a Board of Education, it is extremely important we uphold our responsibility to the community to stay informed of changes in our district and always be thinking outside the box. Recent examples include restructuring the District Supervisors responsibilities instead of replacing a District Supervisor and closely examining all salaries of new hires. We need to pay attention to surrounding districts for ideas and not be afraid to take risks. Being transparent with the community when we face hardships is important. Last Spring, when we learned of the reduction in state aid, the community came together for a letter writing campaign. We are very fortunate to work closely with the elementary PTAs and the Jefferson Township Education Foundation. Although our town has faced some difficult times, it is imperative that we keep “Jefferson Strong” and do what is right for our students.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking to serve on the school board? If unopposed, describe the issues that define your campaign platform.

I have been serving on the Jefferson Board of Education for nine years. During my time on the JTBOE, I have served on the following committees: Education; Policy and Personnel; Building, Needs and Finance; and Community Relations. I am currently the Vice President of the Board of Education, a co-liason to the JTEF and serve on two committees (Education and Policy & Personnel). I pride myself on being an educated Board Member – meaning that I attend meetings, spend time researching current issues and listen to the community. I am able to think about issues we face as a parent, tax payer, board member and teacher. It is important to note that although I cannot participate in negotiations since I am in the NJEA, I am able to support teachers by relating to real issues teachers in NJ face today, hear concerns of teachers and bring them to the attention of the full board.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you will be effective on the school board?

Since I began serving on the Jefferson Township Board of Education in 2011, Jefferson has maintained the 2% cap for the last nine years. Even while staying within the cap, we have implemented new curricula and improved facilities. Additionally, while serving on the JTBOE improvements have been made to our facilities (Turf Field, Auditorium, Referendum passed), implemented Full Day Kindergarten, new curricula implemented - ELA, Math & NGSS, opened two academies at JTHS and participated in hiring Chief School Administrators.

Recovering from COVID-19 is going to put a significant financial strain on the schools. With so much of our tax dollars going to support them. But cuts will still be needed. Where do you see room for budget improvement? What things will you go to the mat to defend?

Covid-19 has created many strains on districts and communities; it reaches beyond financial strains. We must strive to have our students return to school safely. Districts have had to make decisions – with information constantly changing and stay within the set executive order guidelines. Covid-19 is impacting academics, social – emotional learning, staffing and finances. Financially, districts have spent money that was not allotted in their budgets for this pandemic. Our district has received CARES funding. The funds must be used to address health and safety measures necessary to support reopening for in-person instruction and to support students during periods of remote learning. It is imperative that our students continue to receive a quality education and are allowed opportunities to participate in clubs and athletics. We must not allow, nor accept, our students to be a casualty of the lack of funding. It is our responsibility to provide our students with the best education possible and prepare them for their next phase.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put into focus the issue of mandatory vaccinations. If such a movement gains traction, where do you stand on the issue for your community?

When a policy is recommended for approval, the Policy and Personnel Committee reviews the policy in committee and then it goes to the full Board for approval and adoption. In the case of vaccines, each state decides which vaccines are required for enrollment. In our case, the New Jersey Department of Health mandates the vaccines. Public schools in New Jersey are required to maintain a summary record of student immunizations. Therefore, in this case, the policy will be mandated by the State and not up to the BOE.

Since the change to this year's election was announced by Murphy, there have been many questions about how the process will work. Below is some further reading on the Nov. 3 election process:

A primarily vote-by-mail election means a lot of changes to election day. See what you can expect this November.

Those not needing an ADA compliant booth will need a provisional ballot to vote in-person. Here is what that will look like.

There was language on the primary ballots asked voters certify they requested the ballot, even if they didn't.

Voters wondering how their signatures are checked before the upcoming election can see the process for themselves.

Need to register for the upcoming election? Want to track your vote once you do? Read on to learn how.

Here is a recap of important dates to remember with upcoming election, all in one place.

Confusion and concern has reigned as ballots arrive, here Patch got some answers from a county clerk.

Thanks for reading! Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Have a news tip you'd like to share? Or maybe you have a press release you would like to submit or a correction you'd like to request? Send an email to [email protected]Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter. You can also have them delivered to your phone screen by downloading, or by visiting the Google Play store.

JEFFERSON, NJ — Getting a six-figure salary as a teacher isn't impossible anymore – even as many New Jersey school districts are dealing with declining state aid. Indeed, one New Jersey school district has an annual median pay of $113,869 while 19 others earn $90,000 or more.

After delays caused by the COVID crisis, the state released information to Patch this week that shows how much your school district, special services district, vocational district and charter school have been paying teachers this past year.

Teachers in the Jefferson Township district are paid below the state media average for educational professionals, New Jersey public education data shows. Teachers on average made $67,212 during the current academic year, which ranks 319th among teachers statewide. Despite being paid less than many of their colleagues, teachers in the district did receive a 7.4 percent increase in pay from 2019-20, which ranks 72nd among state educators, data shows.

A full list of the state rankings for salaries and how much teacher’s pay either increase or dipped can be found here.

The information is part of the state Department of Education's Taxpayer's Guide to Education Spending that was just released, showing the median salary in every New Jersey school district and charter school.

Find out what's happening in Jeffersonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“For decades, the Department of Education’s annual guide has provided members of the public with insight and information about the expenditures of their public school district,” said Angelica Allen-McMillan, acting commissioner of the state Department of Education. “This kind of transparent, unfiltered information can be the first step toward helping residents better understand the needs and priorities of their local schools.”

Read more: Gov. Murphy Releases New NJ State Aid Figures For Schools

Overall, 231 school districts make more than the state median of $70,815, a 2 percent increase over the previous year. And it's not just the big towns or the regional districts that pay the most: Indeed, Ocean City is a great place to get a teaching job, where the median salary is $91,865. So is West Orange, which has a median salary of $90,172.

Patch also determined the difference in salaries between 2019 and 2020. Northfield in Atlantic County had the biggest increase, shooting to $78,482, a 45.71 percent increase. Stone Harbor in Cape May County had the biggest decrease, sinking to $67,565, a -18.68 percent drop.

The salary increases came to many districts despite suffering losses in state aid and the rising costs of getting kids back to school amid the COVID crisis.

In addition to median salaries, the state Department of Education site also shows each district's total spending, average daily enrollment and students from sending districts, the per-pupil costs and the district's total budget spending for 2019 and 2020.

Patch editor Tom Davis contributed reporting to this report.

JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP — Seemingly everything happened in threes for the Jefferson girls basketball team on Friday.

Emily Poulas, the Falcons’ all-time leader in three-point field goals, drained five in the North 1, Group 2 final. The senior in jersey No. 33 finished with a game-high 20 points as top-seeded Jefferson defeated No. 3 Glen Rock, 52-31, for its third consecutive sectional title.

“You count on your seniors to make some big shots for you in a game like this,” Falcons coach James MacDermid said. “If we can get to the basket, and we have these low-post options, and we’re making threes, it’s pretty hard to defend… 52 points against an elite defensive team like Glen Rock is no easy task.”

Especially given that the Panthers had pushed Jefferson hard in a Jan. 5 nonconference meeting, which the Morris County side escaped with a 45-37 overtime win.

“We’ve come a long way [since then] in learning how to play with each other offensively,” MacDermid said.

What it means

The Falcons (24-4) advanced to Tuesday’s NJSIAA Group 2 semifinals at Bloomfield, where they will face North 2 winner Madison at 4:30 p.m. The Dodgers also got past an NJIC team in their sectional final, knocking off 2023 champ Secaucus, 53-42.

Playing in its first sectional final in 11 years, Glen Rock wound up 20-7 and finished its 23rd consecutive winning season – 12 of which have ended with 20-plus wins.

Key plays

Although Jefferson took a 12-2 lead after the first quarter, the Panthers managed good looks at the basket inside. Yet only one of their shots fell, and the Falcons prevented second-chance tries thanks to strong rebounding from forward Kiley Shatzel and senior Grace Weihmiller.

The end of the first half summed up each team’s day. Poulas sank a trey with less than 25 left to put her team ahead by 15, and Glen Rock’s three-pointer at the buzzer rimmed out.

Poulas then hit three more triples in the third quarter, helping to grow the lead to 27 and whip the student section into a frenzy.

“It helps so much just knowing that they’re behind us,” Poulas said. “Our coach is great at looking at the power points, figuring out what games we need to get the power points to get the 1-seed. Being at home just means everything in a game like this.”

By the numbers

231: Career three-pointers by Poulas, who plans to play at Rowan.

1,039: Poulas’ four-year varsity point total.

9: Number of sectional championships all-time for the Falcons’ program.

Game balls

? Poulas led the scoring but was complemented well by senior point guard Cassidy Ball (10 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists).

? Shatzel tallied 15 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks and was the recipient of timely low-post passes by Mandy Manco (4 assists).

? Sophomore Mia Vergel De Dios paced Glen Rock with 10 points, while classmate Ashley Grove led the team with 9 rebounds.

They said it

“It was really just an incredible feeling. In warmups, I try to take the shots that we’re going to get in the game, and then just to see all the hard work pay off in a game, it was really great.” —Poulas, on the third-quarter threes that helped her team pull away.

“We’ve got some really talented young ladies who are not necessarily even basketball players. They’re all multi-sport athletes, we don’t have one single kid who just plays basketball all year round. They’re athletes, they want to compete, and that’s why we’ve been able to repeat this success.” —MacDermid

AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" gives Calen Reid goosebumps. That's the song blaring over the loudspeakers every time the Jefferson boys lacrosse team runs onto the field to start warmups.

Even though Reid has heard it almost daily for years, the song means something a little different this spring.

Calen and his identical twin brother Jamison Reid are freshmen on the Falcons varsity. Jamison, known as J-Mo, is the starting goalie. Calen, aka Chubb, starts at attack.

Chubb – the nickname originated because he was born seven pounds and eight ounces, a minute after six pound, three ounce Jamison – has been around the Jefferson High School team for most of his life, so involved that one year the Falcons' plays were all named in his honor: Chubb, Chubby, Chubster, etc.

"It was eight years of built up energy and adrenaline," said Chubb Reid, noting he doesn't really answer to his given name.

"I'm so excited to be able to play. I love it more than anything. I just show the spirit of the team."

Their father, Scott Reid, brought lacrosse to Jefferson 26 years ago. He hadn't played the game when he was in high school there. Reid tried it for the first time when he went back to Montclair State University for a physical education degree, and loved it almost immediately.

He launched a youth team in the township with sixth, seventh and eighth graders. He also started pushing to get lacrosse added to the high school roster, which happened two years later — boys and girls teams.

Reid is Jefferson High School's first boys lacrosse coach, and has led the team since 2009. All five of his kids are involved in the sport.

Payton Reid, the eldest, was a defender starting in fifth or sixth grade. He was first-team NJAC-United as a senior last spring. Junior Finley Reid is a swing goalie, starting on the Jefferson girls junior varsity team and backing up the varsity. Jamison is also a goalie, though Scott Reid said, "He comes out of the cage a lot, and he's the fastest kid on our team." Chubb "plays everything but goalie" according to his coach-dad. Elsie, the youngest at age 8, "runs around like a maniac and loves it."

'I knew what I did':Seniors return from ACL tears to lead West Morris lacrosse team

Initially, Finley and Jamison both had to be coaxed into trying the family sport.

When Jamison was in second grade, coach-dad Scott "definitely made me do it, but it's the best decision I ever made." Finley wasn't happy with her sixth-grade teammates, switched to dance for a year, and returned.

"There was a game where our goalie didn't show up. The coach asked, 'Anybody want to play goalie?'" Finley recalled. "I was the first person to raise my hand. One hundred percent yes, I'll do it. I'd watched my brother play, and I love it. I love trying new stuff."

Finley runs cross country in the fall and is a sprinter for the Falcons' indoor track team. But the rest of the year, it's all about lacrosse. She even helps with the town youth teams, which includes her little sister.

Finley has already decided she wants to play lacrosse in college, and continue to coach.

"It's definitely going to run in the family," she said. "There's no way my kids are going to be softball people, or baseball. That's definitely not happening. It's going to be lacrosse, for sure."

But Scott Reid insisted he doesn't favor his own sons.

Payton came up through the usual system: JV as a freshman, a bench player on varsity as a sophomore, then lost his junior season to COVID before starting as a senior. But Scott Reid, who had coached Jamison and Chubb in Falcons Youth Lacrosse, knew they were going to "play big roles on varsity" as freshmen.

Chubb leads Jefferson's offense with 21 goals and 52 assists – breaking the school record for a freshman against Kinnelon on May 11.

Jamison reached 100 career saves on the same day, allowing an average of 3.8 goals. He set a team record for victories by a freshman goalie with 13 in just 16 games.

The Falcons are undefeated NJAC-Colonial and NJILL Pooley champs, winning both titles for only the second time in school history.

"My dad doesn't even have to show favoritism because of how Chubb and me play on the field," Jamison Reid said. "Growing up with him, he's always pushed us. I think we can take on bigger roles, like playing varsity lacrosse as freshmen."

Kim Reid, mom to the five rambunctious kids, is a steady presence at home – where the three boys share a room, as do the two girls in the family's raised Cape – and at everyone's games.

Both Falcons boys and girls teams share the field at practice. The siblings also try to turn up at each other's games. They even occasionally toss a ball around in the backyard, where there's a net set up for Jamison and Finley.

Though boys and girls lacrosse are very different games, Finley has picked up pointers from Jamison – and withstood more than a few hard shots from Payton and Chubb.

"As a sister, I watch them play and I get tears in my eyes," she said. "They're freshmen. They're varsity. It drives me crazy when people talk about them on the sideline. Yeah, they're only freshmen. Wait until they're seniors. They're going to be insane. They make me so proud and happy."

Jane Havsy is a storyteller for the Daily Record and DailyRecord.com, part of the USA TODAY Network. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis, subscribe today.

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JEFFERSON — The Rockaway River Wildlife Management Area, 3,600-plus acres of open space set aside for natural wildlife and habitat protection in Morris County, may soon expand.

The open space may expand to include a land tract of just under 118 acres in Jefferson Township, municipal Business Administrator Jim Leach said.

Leach said the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit dedicated to land conservation projects across the country, bought the property from its original owner, and is looking to pass ownership to Jefferson Township.

The trust, Leach said, does not hold on to land it acquires, rather passes it on to another entity for conservation.

“It’s a joint project between us and TPL,” Leach said of the WMA expansion project.

Leach said the bulk of the funding for the Wildlife Management Area expansion comes from a $100,000 grant from the New Jersey Green Acres program through its Jefferson Acquisition plan, a $565,500 grant from Morris County’s Open Space, Recreation, Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund, and some grant funding from another nonprofit.

The 118 acres in question are adjacent to Jefferson Township and the state's natural conservation land. The deal will create a continuous open space area running up to Sparta Mountain and the Newark watershed areas, which will be off-limits to developers.

The area is a heavily sloped and rocky uphill landscape that hosts a stream that feeds into the Rockaway River, which is home to a variety of endangered species including the bobcat and the timber rattlesnake, according to the trust's application for funds.

Greg Socha, the trust's senior project manager for the Wildlife Management Area expansion, said he would reserve comment until the deal is final.

The overall Wildlife Management Area borders Jefferson Township to the north, Route 15 to the south, Picatinny to the east, and Lake Hopatcong, along with Route 15, to the west, according to map on the NJ DEP’s Fishing, Gaming, and Wildlife Division’s website.

“Eighty percent of the land area here in Jefferson Township is undeveloped,” Leach said. “People move here because of the open space. They like to see the country and the open space and to see them preserved.”

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Leach said the area in general serves an important purpose for Morris County’s natural environment and residential quality of life.

“It is designed to have passive recreation,” he said. “It allows people to look at nature, hunt, fish and hike there, and it’s also designed to preserve watersheds. It keeps the land green and without being developed.

Larry Ragonese, Morris County Board of Freeholders’ communications director, said Morris County residents are very passionate about having plenty of open land set aside for natural conservation. He said this passion began taking off in the 1980s when the county began changing from rural to a more suburban one.

Ragonese said during this time, local residents began to be concerned about the loss of open space, and the County Board of Freeholders decided to create a special tax and dedicate it for the purpose of preserving open space, which voters overwhelmingly approved several times.

Barbara Murray, Morris County’s Open Space program coordinator, said the land acquisitions for the River Wildlife Management Area expansion will greatly contribute to the more effective protection of Morris County’s natural landscape.

“The area provides varied habitats, water resource protection, and a critical mass for wildlife habitat,” she said.

Freeholder Director Doug Cabana said Morris County Freeholder Boards have appreciated the importance of preserving open space, farmland, and historic properties for many years now

“We continue to hear the voices of our county residents who have repeatedly voted to approve this special tax for preservation purposes, and have directed us to continue to make preservation a priority issue,’’ Cabana said.

Freeholder Deputy Director Christine Myers, who is also the county governing board’s liaison on preservation issues, said preserving natural areas is crucial in maintaining Morris County’s quality of life.

“Our parks, trails, and nature areas offer a great variety of recreational opportunities for our residents, sometimes just giving us a place to breathe and think,” Myers said. “So it is vital to ensure that we have green spaces in each of our towns.’’