Cranford Board Of Education General Election 2025: Craig Coughlin Jr.

NEW JERSEY - The general election season is in full swing in the Garden State and Patch has asked local candidates to share their thoughts before Nov. 4.

Editor's Note: Patch sent out emails to all candidates to the email addresses listed for their campaign provided to the office of the clerk. The responses received will be published between now and the general election. Contact edward.callahan@patch.com with any questions regarding coverage.

Name: Craig Coughlin Jr.
Age: 36
Town of Residence: Cranford

Position Sought: Board of Education

Party Affiliation: N/A

Family: Wife and two-year-old daughter

Education: Master’s in Public Administration, Kean University; Bachelor’s of Arts in Sports Management, NYU

Why are you seeking office?

I decided to run for a seat on the Board of Education because of my two-year-old daughter. As a proud public school product, I truly believe the value of public education is unmatched.

That is why I’m committed to the future success of our public schools. Our public institutions, as we have seen over the last few years, require constant care.

We cannot take for granted that our children will have the same experience we had going to school if we don’t put in the work to make that happen. These are uncertain times for education, and I feel that my experience working in the higher education world at Kean has uniquely prepared me to work with both federal and state entities to benefit Cranford schools.

All that being said, I am running so that my daughter and all of our students will have a great education. This means spending wisely, retaining and developing great teachers and school leaders and making sure that each child is valued. All while not overburdening the taxpayer.

It’s not an easy task, but it is a task I am looking forward to getting to work on.

The Board is currently in the middle of its 2023-2028 Strategic and Action Plans Initiatives. What do you feel has been a missed opportunity so far, and what do you feel has went better than anticipated?

There has been a missed opportunity in fostering collaboration throughout the district from school to school. There is still too much discrepancy in the quality of each student's education based on the school that they are placed in.

We need to be sharing information on our schools’ successes so that all of Cranford’s students can benefit. We have great educators throughout the district and it’s important that the best ideas can impact as many students as possible.

This isn’t to say that schools need to be cookie-cutter without any room for innovation or individuality; we should try new things and keep the most successful to keep improving the quality of education for every student throughout the district.

What's one opportunity you would like for students to be able to have within Cranford Public Schools that they don't have now?

We need to find meaningful ways to include our special education students with the general school population. New Jersey as a whole is one of the worst states in terms of keeping special education students segregated from the classroom.

I’m on the Board for a non-profit organization called Community Access Unlimited, whose goal is to serve individuals with intellectual and development disabilities. One of the major ways is to create opportunities for inclusion with the broader community.

If we could start this at the school level, it will benefit our special education students but will also help our general education students build empathy and understanding as they more frequently interact with people with different abilities.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

My experience working in the complex and ever-changing state and federal higher education policy world as the Director of Government Affairs and Community Partnerships at Kean University will be a unique perspective on the board. I have worked with various levels of government entities and non-profits to help build access and equity for Kean students.

This experience will be helpful as we navigate potential funding and guidance changes from the state and federal government. Secondly, I think the stakes for me are higher than some of the other candidates because the decisions made on the board will directly affect the education of my now two-year-old daughter, who will be in the school system for the better part of the next two decades.

So making sure that the school district is successful is extremely personal to me, and I want to bring that forward future looking perspective to the board.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I’m proud of my work on the executive team at Kean, especially our recent accomplishment of raising Kean University to an R2 level research university, which puts it in the top eight percent nationally.

This process involved working with and building strong relationships with various levels of state and federal stakeholders, as well as identifying opportunities to raise the profile of the university by highlighting the important research being done.

We also critically had to identify funding to allow us to increase research activities on campus and to ensure that all of our students had equitable access to higher education. My knowledge of the state and federal funding landscape and ability to advocate for priorities give me confidence in being able to excel at being a board of education member.

What's a motto you live your life by?

I’m not sure if I would call it a motto, but growing up in my family, public service was seen as a truly noble cause and I was taught and firmly believe, that whatever community you are a part of you have a responsibility to use your time and energy to make it the best it can be.

With that in mind, I have tried to find many different ways to serve the local Cranford community and the whole of Union County.

I am on the Cranford Flood Committee. As I mentioned previously, I'm on the board of directors for Community Access Unlimited, which is a non-profit based in Union County that provides services to individuals with intellectual disabilities.

I also serve on the Union County Workforce Development Board, which works to connect local business leaders to dislocated workers. It also helps youth and other workers with skill training to help them develop valuable skills.

I was recently appointed as a member of the AI committee for the Workforce Development Board. This committee looks at how AI can be used as a tool to help workers develop skills and set them up for future successes.

What does it mean to you to represent Cranford?

It would truly be an honor to serve this great community. Like so many other Cranford residents, when my wife and I were looking for a place to settle down and start a family we fell in love with this town and couldn’t think of anywhere else we would want to raise our family.

Now that we are here and our family is growing, we want to do our part to help make this community be the best it can be. Cranford is great because of the people who care so deeply about their community and will go out of their way to help each other in times of need.

I hope to play a small part in that giving back as part of the Board of Education.

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