Schools

School Board Candidacy Deadline Approaching

Candidates' nominating petitions are due to county clerk by June 5.

People interested in running for their local board of education must file their nominating petitions by the 4 p.m. June 5 deadline, in order to be eligible to run in the November school elections.

“Serving on a school board is a challenging and rewarding form of public service,” said John Bulina, president of the New Jersey School Boards Association. “It certainly is one way to make a profound impact on your community.”

The NJSBA has developed an online School Board Candidate Kit that informs people about candidacy requirements, as well as the responsibilities of a board of education member. Included in the kit are:

Find out what's happening in Caldwellswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Find out what's happening in Caldwellswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to a press release from the NJSBA, the candidate’s nominating petition—the document that places their name on the ballot—must be submitted to the county clerk, not the local board of education office, for November school elections. In the general election, to be held on November 6, there are 468 school board seats available in New Jersey school districts on the ballot.

More than 85 percent of New Jersey school boards elected to take advantage of January legislation allowing school elections to be moved to November. Districts that adopted the change are no longer required to submit the proposed budget to the voters as long as it remains at or below the state's 2-percent levy cap.

“I encourage any citizen who sincerely cares about the future of children in their community to consider school board candidacy,” said Bulina.

For more information on candidacy, click here or call 888-88NJSBA.


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