Haddonfield BOE Candidates Explain Why They Are Running

Five candidates for the Haddonfield Board of Education took to the stage Monday for a debate. Afterward, they explained why they are running.

Carlton Chin, 48, a financial and risk consultant, said he was running because he thinks his background in statistical analysis can help the district. Mary Fagan, 58, who has had a career in healthcare research and marketing, said there was a lot of value she could add to the board as a member. Amy Keys Shaw, 49 a social services policy analysis for the state, said she had a passion for kids and education and wanted to get the Board of Education back on track. David Siedell, 42, a senior director of learning technology at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, said he was uniquely skilled with a background in education and wanted to give back.

Matthew Bass, an attorney, was not immediately available for an interview after the event.

They all answered questions submitted by the audience during a 1 1/2-hour debate. Three, three-year terms are open on the nine-member board.

Questions ranged from quizzing candidates on their support of a failed effort to buy the 18.7-acre Bancroft property next to Haddonfield Memorial High School to playtime versus academic instruction for borough kindergarteners. 

All of the candidates said they wanted Haddonfield schools to continue to excel. Contrasts were drawn with the question on their support for the Bancroft purchase, which voters rejected in a $12.5-million referendum in January and opinions on Haddonfield United, which was described in a question Monday as a "homegrown Tea Party." 

On Bancroft, Siedell was the only candidate who said he supported the purchase. Fagan and Keys Shaw said they opposed it; Chin said Bancroft was a "close call" but he still was not sure he supported it; Bass said the Bancroft fight was over and he was "moving on."

When asked what they thought of Haddonfield United, a borough group organized around a Facebook page that led opposition to the Bancroft purchase, Siedell said he thought it was the pen name for Brian Kelly, the group's founder.

Shaw expressed favorable opinions of Haddonfield United. Fagan said she thought it was a Facebook page. Both were endorsed by the group. Fagan said she is an independent and not a member of any political party. Chin said he didn't know what the group stood for and Bass said he thought it was "part of the problem of why its hard to reach compromise" in the borough.