Deadline nears for candidates for school board

EDITORIAL

By Ruth Luse
   It’s time again to think about running for the board of education. Interested Hopewell Township and Hopewell Borough residents have until 4 p.m. on Feb. 28 — the deadline for filing nomination petitions — to make that decision.
   On April 19, voters in Hopewell Township and Hopewell Borough will pick five of the nine members of the Hopewell Valley Regional Board of Education.
   Hopewell Township voters will elect four and Hopewell Borough voters, one. The one Pennington seat, held by Kevin Doran, is not up for grabs this year.
   To pick this many members of the school board in one election is unusual. Had it not been for two resignations during the last year, two of the seats to be filled in April would not have been open and only Hopewell Township voters would be picking three board members.
   But this year, Hopewell Borough voters will pick an individual to fill the seat now held by Melvin Myers, who was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Steven Wood (elected to a three-year term in April 2004), who resigned in July 2004. The person who wins that seat in April will keep it until the board reorganization meeting following the April 2007 school board election.
   And, in Hopewell Township, the person who wins the seat now held by appointee Judy Karp will keep it until the board reorganization meeting following the April 2006 school election. Ms. Karp was appointed Jan. 18 to replace Lisa Marin Main (one year of a three-year term remains). Ms. Main resigned Dec. 31, 2004.
   If Mr. Myers and Ms. Karp want to run to keep the seats to which they were appointed, they will have to file their petitions by Feb. 28.
   Edward Gainsborg, William Hills and Carl Swanson hold the three seats that normally would have been open this year. These are three-year terms. If these gentlemen decide to run again, they, too, must file petitions by Feb. 28.
   Any Hopewell Township or Hopewell Borough resident who’d like to run must:
   • Obtain a nominating petition from the school board office at 425 S. Main St., Pennington;
   • Get the signatures of at least 10 qualified voters living within Hopewell Township or Hopewell Borough (whichever applies). One of the signatures may be the would-be candidate’s own.
   • Be able to read and write.
   • Hold citizenship and one year’s residency in the school district.
   • Have no interest in any contract with, or claim against, the board.
   • Not hold office as mayor or member of the municipal governing body.
   • Be registered to vote in the Hopewell Township or Hopewell Borough (whichever applies).
   Those who would like to be school board members should know what the job entails. According to the New Jersey School Boards Association, a member’s job is:
   • Not to administer the schools, but to work with the board to see that the schools are well run.
   • To listen to opposing views and be able to defend the board’s philosophy and goals.
   • To be willing to invest the many hours necessary to meet the responsibilities.
   • To serve out of a sincere desire to benefit the community rather than for personal glory or to carry out personal objectives.
   • To bear in mind that, as a state official, a board member has a responsibility to all the children in the state, not only to those in the local district.
   Unlike those elected to political office, school board members do not represent the townspeople who elect them. Board members have just one constituency — the children of New Jersey.
   This is an important election year. The school board that sits after the April reorganization meeting will have many things to do, including the all-important choice of the next superintendent of schools. For this reason alone, we hope those who sincerely believe they can make a serious commitment to the work of the school board will come forward as candidates.