The Moorestown Home and School Association hosted a candidate forum for the board of education’s election candidates on Oct. 8.
Five candidates, including two incumbents, are vying for three seats on the board in the Tuesday, Nov. 4, election. The winners will serve three-year terms. The candidates are incumbent Claudine Leone Morano, Saima Bhutta, incumbent Danielle Miller, Aysha Hasan and Caitlin Berman.
Candidates shared the top policy or issue that they would like to see addressed. First up, Caty Berman. Berman has been a Moorestown resident for 17 years. If elected, she plans to prioritize collaboration and transparency so families, educators and the community can work together toward what’s best for students, as reported in The Sun on Oct. 8.
“I really want to work towards the vision of creating a fully equitable school district,” Berman said. “In addition to that, my priorities are collaboration and transparency. For collaboration, we need school board members who want to work with others in a positive way to do what is best for our students.
“For transparency, we need a board that is willing to show the public what it is that we’re doing and why,” she added. “As for equity, we need to ensure that all of our students have the opportunity for success and that all of our students feel safe and seen.”
Saima Bhutta has been a Moorestown resident for 19 years and is the mother of three Moorestown High School graduates. This is the first time that Bhutta is running for a seat on the board, and she’s running to expand mentorship opportunities, strengthen guidance access and help students achieve. For more than 25 years, Bhutta has founded and led nonprofits, organized events for health care, addressed food insecurity and supported drives for clothing and school supplies.
“My mission and my vision is simple but powerful,” she noted. “First, to make sure our educators have the resources they need to reach every student. Secondly, to expand guidance and social, emotional learning so our kids have the support to thrive academically and emotionally. Lastly, to advance achievements by using data and evidence to help every student reach their full potential.”
Aysha Hasan, a Moorestown resident for four-and-a-half years, is running for a seat on the board for the first time. The board of education must be a model of respectful, transparent and fiscally responsible governance, she believes. If elected, Hasan plans to advocate for prudent budgeting, meaningful investment in the schools and a fair allocation of PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) funds to support both educational excellence and tax stability.
“I am committed to servant leadership that listens, unites and always places the needs of students and families first,” Hasan said. “Moorestown deserves leadership that unites, not divides. I’m running for the board of education to restore that purpose. Every voice deserves an environment to be heard, and every student deserves to thrive in an environment shaped by respect, collaboration and excellence.”
Danielle Miller, a Moorestown resident of 14 years, is currently in the third year of her first board term. She’s chaired the curriculum committee for the past two years and served on the finance and operations committee. She also chaired the negotiations committee that settled the current teachers’ contract and participated in negotiations for the current administrator’s contract. If reelected, one area Miller would like to focus on is ensuring the district continues to uphold high educational standards and provide strong programming for all students. Her fellow board members elected her as the board’s vice president earlier this year.
“When I first ran for the board, I knew my technical training and analytical mindset would bring a valuable perspective,” she said. “As an engineer, I’m data driven, process oriented and skilled in assessing risk, compliance and long-term planning. These strengths have proven to be assets on the board …
“My record reflects my strong commitment and the ability to put in the time, energy and focus this role requires,” Miller added. “If reelected, I will be ready on day one to continue the work we’ve started to keep moving the district forward.”
Claudine Leone Morano, a Moorestown resident of more than 20 years, has served on the board since April 2022. As chair of its policy committee, she led the development of the new cell phone policy to reduce distractions, support staff and help students focus. Her focus is ensuring every student leaves Moorestown with a strong foundation to succeed, no matter what their path after high school.
“Our new cell phone policy, which is effective this year, was shaped with input and collaboration from parents, teachers, administration and our new superintendent (Dr. Courtney McNeely) as well,” Morano said. “The policy keeps students focused on learning and teachers focused on teaching. As policy chair, I intend on making sure that we don’t blindly adopt policies from Trenton, and that our policies are true to our Moorestown community.”
All questions were received in advance from voters and were prioritized based on which topics emerged the most. No questions were provided to the candidates in advance.
Question: “With a permanent superintendent now in place, what actions, policies and changes to the curriculum would you encourage the superintendent to implement to make the schools more student focused?”
Berman: “I think that that question gets at the heart of the fact that we haven’t had a new strategic plan since 2019,” she said. “ … With the increase in technology and AI and all those areas, I really think that we need to focus on adding those to the curriculum but finding out what people want. What the administration wants, what the teachers want, what the parents want, where we want to move forward. As a district, we’re moving forward as far as infrastructure, but we need to focus on where we need to go curriculum-wise and with a strategic plan as a guiding principle.”
Question: “What is your position on policies that determine student access to gender-segregated spaces such as restrooms and locker rooms based on gender identity?”
Hasan: “I believe every student deserves an educational environment where they feel safe, respected and supported. At the same time, when addressing matters related to sensitive spaces, it is essential to balance the rights and privacy of all students. I support policies that maintain appropriate boundaries to ensure the comfort and safety of every individual, which may include providing reasonable accommodations for transgender students that respect both their dignity but also the privacy concerns of their peers. This is a complex issue and sensitive matter that requires thoughtful deliberation and collaboration with families, educators and experts. If elected, I will approach these issues with careful consideration, striving to uphold fairness, respect and the wellbeing of all our students in the district.”
Question: “What does a truly equitable school system look like to you, and what is the single most important step you would take as a board member to move the district closer to that vision?”
Miller: “I think it’s important for all students to feel safe, included and feel a sense of belonging. Students learn best when they feel comfortable in the space that they’re in. I think it’s important to listen and communicate to the student community and to the parents to understand what the needs are. I think it’s important for the teachers… They’re the boots on the ground, they’re seeing things in the classroom to report back maybe what they think is going well, what isn’t going well, what supports they might need, what students need to be challenged, and it needs to be taken at an individual level so each student is supported at the level necessary to continue growth in their educational journey at school.”
Question: “As a board member, how will you support an education that is accurate, inclusive and prepares students to think critically, especially when approving curricula and books that reflect the diversity of New Jersey and our nation?”
Bhutta: “”I believe that our curriculum and our books that we have should reflect the sentiments of our community that we live in. Whereas history books are concerned, we need to teach our children the correct history. There should not be any books just based on… Because we don’t like something about history and we do not want to share that… I believe that history should be presented the way it is. What I would like to see is, in consultation with the administration and educational professionals, we should employ and see data that indicates how well different populations are served in our community.”
Question: “There has been a great deal of debate both online and among legislators about the merit of a ban on cellphones at school. Our district recently took steps to limit cellphone and smartwatch usage, requiring K-8 students to keep devices away for the day and highschoolers to keep phones away during instructional time. Do you think the district went far enough with this plan? Why or why not?”
Morano: ‘I think that we did a measured approach. We collaborated intensely with staff, with students, with parents and the administration to understand really what was happening in the classroom, and how we could influence and give them the right policy to go forward … Throughout the entire process of passing the policy, this is a work in progress. If we get feedback from our administrators and our teachers and our principals that we need to go further, we certainly have that opportunity to do it.”
To view all candidate questions and responses, search MoorestownNJ BOE on YouTube.
