Want to Run for School Board? Time to Apply is Now

When Lawrence Township voters go to the polls in April to decide the fate of the Lawrence Township public school district’s , they will also elect five representatives to the township board of education.

Now is the time for any Lawrence Township resident wishing to run as a candidate in that school board election to file a “nominating petition” with the . The current deadline to submit such nominating petitions is 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27. The election is scheduled to be held Tuesday, April 17.

District officials acknowledge that this year’s school election is a “somewhat unusual situation.”

Normally, during the annual school election voters elect only three members to the nine-person board, each for a three-year term. But this year voters must also fill vacancies created by board members who left office early.

The three school board positions that would normally be up for grabs in this year’s election are currently held by Michael Brindle, Thomas Patrick and Kevin Van Hise.

Brindle and Patrick were elected to their current terms during the April 2009 school election, while by the school board to serve the remaining year of the term previously held by last March due to work commitments that prevented him from attending meetings. (Brindle has been on the board for 21 years and Patrick for six years.)

The other two school board positions that voters will fill this year are a one-year unexpired term previously held by David Donahue and a two-year unexpired term previously held by Ginny Bigley.

Donahue, who was elected in the April 2010 school election, , while last summer just a couple months after the April 2011 school election.

by the school board to temporarily replace Donahue and Bigley until the upcoming election this April at which voters will get the opportunity to decide for themselves who will serve the remaining years of those two terms.  

Anyone applying to run in this year’s school election must indicate for which seat they are applying: one of the full three-year positions; the unexpired position with two years remaining; or the unexpired position with one year left.

Prospective school board candidates can obtain a “School Board Candidate Kit” online at www.njsba.org.

Published by the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA), the School Board Candidate Kit includes a nominating petition, information about legal qualifications for school board candidacy and the role of the school board member. Information about the New Jersey School Ethics Act and important dates in the school election process are also included in the kit.

“One of the most meaningful contributions that a citizen can make to their community is serving on their local board of education,” Raymond R. Wiss, NJSBA president, said in a news release. “I encourage all interested citizens to consider school board membership. It doesn’t require a degree in education, or a background in politics. However, it does require a sincere interest in the community, its children, and their education.”

Questions not answered on the NJSBA website should be directed to the Lawrence Township Board of Education Business Office at (609) 671-5420.

See Also:

Mar. 16, 2011:

April 13, 2011:

April 27, 2011:

May 19, 2011:

July 7, 2011: