Citing challenges facing the state’s public schools, the president of the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) urged eligible citizens to consider service on their local boards of education.
The deadline to file nominating petitions to run for office in this year’s school election is 4 p.m. Feb. 28. The election will take place on April 19. More than 1,500 local school board positions will be on the ballot statewide, according to a press release from the NJSBA.
“For citizens who find satisfaction in serving their community and who have a sincere interest in the quality of education our children receive, school board membership is a rewarding endeavor,” James. J. Dougherty Jr., NJSBA president, said.
Dougherty has served on the Lindenwold Board of Education in Camden County for more than 16 years.
“It is an exciting time to be involved in public education,” he continued. “Our schools today must meet federal, state and local goals and standards; they must accommodate a growing and increasingly diverse student population; and they are called upon to deliver a wider, and impressive, range of programs and services.
“Local boards of education provide direction and make critical decisions that enable schools to meet these challenges. I urge eligible citizens with a genuine interest in public education to consider school board membership.”
In New Jersey, local school board membership is an unpaid, nonpartisan office.
To provide citizens with information about school board candidacy and responsibilities, the NJSBA has developed a School Board Candidate Kit. The packet includes a sample nominating petition, a calendar of important dates in the school election process, and information on the role of the local board of education. The kit also features a summary of the New Jersey School Ethics Act, and it provides a list of “candidate briefings” sponsored by the state’s county school boards associations in March.
School Board Candidate Kits are available at local board of education offices or by calling the New Jersey School Boards Association at (609) 278-5202.
The kit can also be obtained online by visiting the following page of NJSBA’s Web site: www.njsba.org/PI/
candidacy.
The New Jersey School Boards Association is a federation of more than 600 local boards of education. Established 90 years ago, NJSBA represents the education and related health and safety interests of New Jersey’s 1.4 million public school students and advocates the positions of the state’s local school districts.
The association also provides in-service training and technical assistance to the state’s 4,800 local board of education members. School board members, who serve without compensation, are the largest group of elected and appointed public officials in the state.