Who’s Running for South Orange-Maplewood BOE? Find Out Here – The Village Green
Seven candidates — two of whom are incumbents — are running for three seats on the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education this year.
There are nine seats on the BOE; each year, three seats come up for election. Terms are for three years. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5.
- Narda Chisholm-Greene
- Thair Joshua
- Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad
- Erin Siders
- Carey P. Smith
- Sharon Tanenbaum Kraus
- Johanna Wright
The three BOE members whose terms are ending this year are Lawson-Muhammad, Wright, and Susie Adamson (who previously said she would not run again.)
Chisolm-Greene ran for election last year.
Village Green has reached out to all candidates for comment; at press time Tanenbaum Kraus responded, noting that the catalyst for her campaign was the district’s decision in June to change vendors for its paraprofessionals.
“My son qualified for special education in the summer of 2018,” said Tanenbaum Kraus. “After going through the evaluation process, placement, and school year, I have seen the best of what our district’s special education has to offer. But I have also seen its worst. My child’s classroom paras have become an integral part of our team, and to have the administration drop their current contract in favor of a cheaper bid was incredibly short-sighted. Moreover, the lack of communication between the administration and the parents was devastating. At that moment, I knew I needed to be that voice of reason on our school board.”
We will update this article with comments from candidates as we receive them.