Board of Ed Candidates to Face Off in Public Forum Thursday

Five South Orange and Maplewood Board of Education Candidates will take part in a public forum, Thursday, to answer questions to show residents where they stand on various issues.

Candidates include incumbents Elizabeth T. Daugherty, David K. Giles and newcomers Marian Cutler, Stephanie M. Lawson-Muhammad and Johanna Wright. Incumbent Lynne E. Crawford will not be seeking another term.

Daugherty, Giles and Lawson-Muhammad are running a joint campaign. Although her name remains on the ballot, it is unclear whether or not Cutler will be seeking election.

The first candidate forum, organized by the Hilton Neighborhood Association, will be held Thursday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the DeHart Center, located at 120 Burnett Ave.

The Presidents' Council, made up of district PTA and HSA presidents, as well as the League of Women Voters will hold another forum in October and the Community Coalition on Race will hold a forum on Oct. 30 at Marshall Elementary School.

This will be the first board of education election on the November ballot based on a law signed by Gov. Chris Christie. The law allows school districts that vote in April to change their election date to coincide with the November general election, and bypass voter approval for budgets that do not exceed the statutory 2 percent cap on property tax hikes.

One reason for the change was to increase voter participation because of a larger voter turnout in November. However, there has been a decrease in the amount of school board candidates running in the election, according to a report by the New Jersey School Boards Association.