Meet Your School Board Candidate: Scott Bober of Morris Plains

Morris Plains has four open seats on the school board and four candidates running:

1. is an incumbent finishing a 3-year term on the board. She is running again, but not for another 3-year term. Instead, she will run for the shorter 2-year term that resulted from the resignation of Mary Beth Stolworthy from the board last year.
2. Scott Bober is the incumbent who was appointed to fill the seat of Mary Beth Stolworthy after her resignation last year. He is now running for a full 3-year term.
3. is a new candidate running for a 3-year term.
4.  is a write-in candidate who joined the race after the official deadline. Since his name will not appear on the ballot, the only way to vote for him is to enter his exact name, "Douglas McCabe." If there is even a one-letter misspelling, or if you write "Doug McCabe or "D. McCabe," the vote will not be counted.

Each of the candidates was sent a questionnaire by Patch. The exact answers from Scott Bober appear in italics below.

1. Name, Age: Scott B. Bober, 44

2. How long have you lived in Morris Plains? Since 1996

3. If you are an incumbent, how long have you served and what have you worked on?  I was appointed in January 2011 to fill a vacancy.  According to NJ policy, I need to run in the April election.  In my short period as a member of the Morris Plains Board, I have been asked to serve on the Policy and Personnel committees.  I expect to assist the Board in negotiations for our contract renewal.  I have also been part of the team working with the Morris School District, with which we have a Send contract for the high school that is expiring this year. 

4. Are your children going through/have gone through district? Natalie is in grade 6 and Adam in Grade 4. 

 5. What is your educational background and current job? I hold a Bachelor's in Chemical Engineering from The University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Columbia Business School. I am a Global Business Leader for Honeywell International in Morristown. 

 6. Any Past Political Experience? (school board, town council, etc.) In 2009 I served as an Ad-hoc committee member with the Board, assisting in a program looking at options for Shared Services.  

7. Any Volunteer Activities? (coach, PTA, etc.)   I have been a Coach for both Recreational Soccer and Little League.

 8. Why do you want to be on the board? My decision to join the Board was based on my desire to ensure my children receive a top-notch education from a NJ public school system, as did I.  I am a graduate of Hightstown High School in Mercer County.  In Morris Plains we are fortunate to have great schools, and a terrific Administration and Staff.  I want to do my part to make sure we continue on this path.

9. What can you bring to the board? My analytical and business skills have already brought value to the Board.  I work with budgets every day, and I also have a great deal of negotiating experience. My fellow Board Members can expect me to passionately strive to deliver quality education to our children, while practicing fiscal responsibility with our taxpayers' money. 

10. What is/are the most important issue(s) facing the district, and what would you do about it/them. This is a very challenging time for public schools in NJ.  The costs of providing a quality education are rising faster than the wealth of our residents. I commend our Administration and Board on their dedication to making some wise but tough decisions over the last couple of years.  But the future will bring even tougher challenges. I therefore believe our Board needs to develop a Long-term Strategic Plan for our school district.  We will need to address issues such as District Structure (independence vs. merging); Special Education (different models for continuing to provide quality services and education); and Technology (different ways for our children to learn and interact).