Eight candidates remain in the contest for three seats in this year’s Jersey City school board election, which will take place on this coming Tuesday, April 15, from 2 to 9 p.m.
Longtime board member Franklin Williams dropped out of the race two weeks ago due to health reasons, although his name will remain on the ballot. He is not to be confused with candidate Arnold Williams, who is not actively campaigning for a seat but his name will also be on the ballot.
The other candidates include two incumbents – Dr. Peter J. Donnelly and Suzanne Mack – as well as candidates William P. Frasca, Rev. John H. McReynolds, Anthony Morelli, Carolyn Nelson, Sandra Samaniego, and Frances O. Thompson.
Previous editions of The Jersey City Reporter profiled eight of the candidates currently running, appearing in alphabetical order. Those profiles can be found at www.hudsonreporter.com.
The board consists of nine members with three-year terms who meet on the third Thursday of each month. The board oversees one of the largest and most heavily funded school systems in New Jersey, with an approved budget of $627 million for the 2007-2008 school year.
Members take on an advisory role to state-appointed Superintendent of Schools Charles Epps, because the Jersey City school system is currently under state control and has been since 1989. However, legislation was approved in 2005 that will start the process of moving control of some sectors of the schools system back under city supervision early next year.
This coming Thursday, April 17, the Board of Education will hold their monthly meeting where they will announce the official return of the school district to local control.Two men say they’re not campaigning
Franklin Williams recently said that he will continue to attend board meetings as a member of the public, but said that serving three more years is too exhaustive an endeavor.
“When I campaign and when I work on the board, I go all out but at 76 years old, my health isn’t what used to be,” Williams said.
When asked if people close to him tried to talk him out of not running, Williams said he wouldn’t “entertain the conversation.”
In this year’s board election, however, Williams is endorsing the incumbents – Donnelly and Mack – and challenger Carolyn Nelson, whom he has worked with for many years at the Board of Education.
In addition, candidate Arnold Williams said recently he is not actively campaigning for a seat on the board due to his work on Illinois Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and a run of his own for Hudson County Freeholder. His name will also remain on the ballot. At the voting booth
When voters go to their neighborhood polling places on Tuesday, they will be greeted in the voting booth by the Board of Ed candidates on the ballot in the following order: A-1/ Anthony S. Morelli, A-2/Frances O. Thompson, A-3/Carolyn S. Nelson, A-4/Suzanne Mack, A-5/Arnold Williams, A-6/Sandra Samaniego, A-7/John H. McReynolds, A-8/William P. Frasca, A-9/Franklin L.Williams, and A-10/Peter J. Donnelly. Who will get their vote?
Jersey City resident Mahaley Stewart Bowles has a 12-year-old daughter enrolled at the Academy I School on Bergen Avenue in Jersey City. She is also a regular presence at the Board of Education meetings.
Bowles already knows which candidates will get her vote.
“I will vote for Sue Mack, because she will do everything in her power to advocate for the children; Carolyn Nelson because of her experience working for the Board of Education and work with ethics over the years; and Frances Thompson because of her past work as a councilwoman and you will need that authoritative presence on the board,” Bowles said.
Bowles added that whoever is elected to the board, she would like those board members to tackle issues such as what she perceives as the increasing absenteeism of teachers and more recess time for students in schools. Comments on this story can be sent to rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.