education
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Je�rey F�schermar�s 50 yearsonPassa�c Co�nty school �oards WRITTEN BY P�I�IP����N��N�IS
Jeffrey Fischer has been a school board member for so long that he uses aMicrosoft Excel spreadsheet to keep track of his many years of service . And he �ust tapped the enter key to start another row �his 50th .
His record-setting tenure , which began with his first election at 1� years old to Haledon ’ s �-� Board of Education in February 1��3 , has been marked by disappointing defeats and tremendous triumphs .
At the most recent meeting of the Manchester Regional school board , for which he now serves , hewas feted for reaching the impressive milestone . There were performances by the high school ’ schorus and drum line , aswell as photo ops and plenty of gifts , including alapel pin and aletterman �acket .
Fischer says heappreciated the attention , but that he does not do it for the accolades .
“ It ’ snever been about that for me ,” says Fischer , �� , whose family owns Morningside �reenhouse .“ It ’ salways been about wanting to be the best board member Icould be to contribute to the success ofmydistrict .”
Janet Bamford , aspokeswoman for the New Jersey School Boards Association , says Fischer is among the longest-serving board members in the state . She says atrustee named Elizabeth Ames is in her 5�th year on the �-� board in rural Warren County ’ s Franklin Township .
The longest-serving school board member in state history , Calvin Back , retired last year following six decades of service tothe �-12 board inMiddle Township .
Fischer says hehas always tried to do right by the boys and girls of the borough . That kind of dedication was
IN R���GNI�I�N Je�rey F�scher wears aletterman jac�et �resented to h�m �or h�s 50 years o� ser��ce as amem�er o� the Haledon and Manchester Re��onal school �oards .
evident on June 22 , 1��� , when , hours after his daughter was born , Fischer left what was then Wayne �eneral Hospital on HamburgTurnpike togo home and to �uickly get changed into fresh clothes before attending the high school graduation .
Laura Fischer-Leskowits , now 3� , thanked her father at the meeting . She is an eighth-grade science teacher at Washington Park School inTotowa , and she says she entered the profession because of him .
“ He ’ s shown me , literally since birth , acommitment to education ,” she says .
It was Fischer ’ slate father , Ben�amin , and two of his brothers , whose service rubbed off onhim . They were school board members , too .“ Many of my friends and family became board members ,” Fisher says , noting his wife , Ellen , who retired from service atthe end of 2020 . “ More importantly , many of my fellow board members have become friends .”
Fischer was , atthe time , the youngest person in the state to ever be elected to aschool board when he won in the winter of 1��3 . Ayear later , he became the state ’ s youngest school board president . His first election to the Manchester Regional board , which also serves students from North Haledon and Prospect Park , came in March 1��� . At the time , hewas still on the �-� board .
Simultaneous service to the school boards was not an issue until November 2015 , when Fischer was again elected to the �-� board while sitting on the Manchester Regional board . He had not attempted to stay on both school boards since astate law took effect toban dual office-holding eight years earlier .
�espite suing the state �ffice of the Attorney �eneral , and initially prevailing , Fischer was eventually forced to choose between the two seats . “ You win some , and you lose some ,” Fischer says coolly .“ How many times did Lincoln run and lose� Have you ever seen that chart� ” ■
PHILIP DEVENCENTIS
32 SPRING 2023 WAYNE MAGAZINE