Three incumbents on the Cranbury Board of Education will run in the race for three seats in November, with no challengers emerging so far ahead of next week’s filing deadline.
Board President Karen Callahan and board member Dominique Jones filed petitions with the Middlesex County Clerk’s Office to be on the Nov. 6 ballot. Peter Katz, the other incumbent, said on July 24 that he would be filing his petition on July 25.
The filing deadline is July 30.
Callahan is seeking her third term on the school board.
“I want to carry out the ongoing plans and work of the district we have embarked on,” she said by phone on July 24. “I enjoy working with the board we have now. We’re very collaborative and cohesive. Everyone currently on the board has something to bring to the table.”
Callahan pointed to wanting to ensure Cranbury strengthens its relationship with the Princeton Public Schools, with which Cranbury has a send-receive relationship and through which Cranbury students of high school age attend Princeton High School. She also said officials are due to take on their next long-range facility plan.
Katz is no stranger to serving on boards of education. Before moving to Cranbury, he sat on the Upper Freehold Regional School District Board of Education, the Monmouth County district where current Princeton Superintendent of Schools Stephen C. Cochrane worked before accepting his current job.
In 2017, Katz was appointed to fill a vacant seat on the board and then ran unopposed in a special election in November to serve out the remaining year of the term.
“I love being on the school board. I’ve been in public service my whole life,” he said by phone. “I enjoy it. I want to give back to the community and I love doing something that can help the kids and help our town.”
Jones has been on the board for five years. She said on July 24 that she wants to continue her service “because actually I think there are a lot of important things happening right now.”
She pointed to how the district’s grading and homework policies are up for review. She also touched on focusing on “the mental health” of students.
“That is really a big passion of mine,” she said.
If no other candidates file by the deadline, Callahan, Katz and Jones would be unopposed in the November election. School board members serve for three years and are unpaid.