HILLSBOROUGH: Battles brew over school board seats

All three incumbents on the Hillsborough Board of Education said they will file for another three-year term in the November election.
One, Judith Haas, had done so by Tuesday. Jennifer Haley and Christopher Pulsifer said they, too, would seek re-election.
Two challengers had filed by Tuesday, and at least a third was expected.
Steven Cohen, a member of the Planning Board and an Oak Terrace resident, and Reena Tarekh, of Lawrence Court, had submitted petitions to the county clerk.
This will be only the second year Hillsborough will elect school board members at the fall general election, opting to bypass the April vote last year for the first time. The contests appear on the fall ballot separate from partisan positions, such as Township Committee, freeholder or Congress.
Nominating petitions must be delivered by 4 p.m. Monday to the Somerset County clerk’s office at 20 Grove St. in Somerville — not the local school board business office.
Following a court ruling March 31, a circulator for school board nomination petitions is not required to be a registered voter or resident of the jurisdiction of the candidate, but must be eligible to vote in New Jersey.
To become a member of a local board of education, a person must be a citizen, be able to read and write, have lived for one year in the school district, be registered to vote in the district before filing the petition, not be a member of the Township Committee and have no interest in any contract with, or claim against, the board or be disqualified from membership because of the conviction of certain crimes.
Within 30 days of election or appointment to the board, a member must undergo a criminal history background investigation.