JERESEY CITY – Jersey City Moms will tonight host a meet and greet with the eight candidates running in this year’s school board race. The event will take place at 6:30 p.m. at St. Matthews Church at 85 Wayne St. At the event, candidates will be given three minutes to introduce themselves, followed by an opportunity for residents to mingle and talk with them further.
The meet and greet is open to the public. Residents are asked to bring a non-perishable food item to be donated to the St. Matthews Food Pantry.
The Board of Education election will be held Tuesday, April 17. Polls in Jersey City will open from 7 a.m.to 9 p.m.
Voters will have the opportunity to replace three incumbents who are not running for reelection this year: Pat Sebron, William DeRosa, and Sean Connors. Connors was elected to the New Jersey State Assembly last year and took his seat in January. Sebron and DeRosa decided not to run for reelection.
The eight candidates running this year are Vidya Gangadin, Jayson Burg, Amanda Khan, Marilyn Roman, Frank Lorenzo, Gerald Lyons, Sangeeta Ranade, and DeJon Morris.
The three candidates who receive the most votes will each serve three-year terms on the school board, which has a total of nine members.
Among the most important tasks facing the board in the coming months is the selection of a new school superintendent.
Voters will also have the opportunity to approve the portion of the proposed
2012-2013 school year budget that is supported by property taxes. The proposed budget for the next school year is $661 million. – E. Assata Wright