By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Township residents who are interested in running for one of the four available seats on the Lawrence Township Board of Education have five days to file a nominating petition by the June 4 deadline.
Up for grabs are the seats held by Murali Aiyar, Leon Kaplan and Laura Waters, whose three-year terms expire in January 2014. The fourth seat is being held by Michael Horan, who is filling out an unexpired term that also ends in January 2014.
The school board election will be held in conjunction with the Nov. 5 general election. The school board decided to move the annual election from its traditional April date to November. State law allows school districts to hold elections in November.
School board candidates will continue to run on a non-partisan basis not as Democrats or Republicans even though they will be listed on the same ballot as political party candidates for municipal, county, state and federal elected offices.
School board candidates will be placed in a separate section on the ballot, away from the Democrat and Republican partisan political contests.
Although the date of the school board election has changed, the qualifications to run for office have not changed. Candidates for school board must be able to read and write English, and be at least 18 years old. A candidate must be an American citizen and have been a township resident for at least one year. A candidate must be registered to vote.
A candidate must not have an interest in any contract with, or claim against, the school board. A candidate may not be serving on Township Council, and may not hold two elective offices simultaneously. A candidate may not be disqualified from membership on the basis of conviction of certain crimes.
Prospective candidates must file a nominating petition signed by at least 10 registered voters who live in Lawrence Township. The petitions must be filed at the Mercer County Clerk’s Office not the school district office by 4 p.m. on June 4.
School board candidate kits are available online at www.njsba.org/candidacy.
