The seven candidates vying for three seats on the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education in the Nov. 5, 2024 election have answered numerous questions over the course of the campaign season, a number of which have been recorded in questionnaires and forums. We’ve rounded them up here for any voters who are continuing to weigh their choices. Find all of our election reporting, including letters of support, here.
Read each candidate’s profile here: Jeff Bennett, Deirdre Brown, Bethany Joseph, Bimal Kapadia, Paul Stephan, Qawi Telesford, and Arun Vadlamani.
Visit the candidates’ websites here:
- Qawi, Arun, Bethany: Soma BOE 2024
- Paul Stephan for South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education
- Brown Bennett Kapadia for BOE
From top left to bottom left: Jeff Bennett, Deirdre Brown, Bethany Joseph, Bimal Kapadia, Paul Stephan, Qawi Telesford, Arun Vadlamani
Village Green Questionnaire
Village Green sends a questionnaire to BOE candidates each year, with topics gleaned from our reporting. This year, Village Green sent four questions to the candidates. Read the questions and responses here:
- 2024 BOE Candidates Village Green Questionnaire—Board Governance & Administrative Accountability/Stability
- 2024 BOE Candidates Village Green Questionnaire—Sports Facilities & Equity
- 2024 BOE Candidates Village Green Questionnaire—Fergus/Rutgers Committee
- 2024 BOE Candidates Village Green Questionnaire—School Budget Process
Special Education Parents Advisory Committee Questionnaire
SEPAC SOMA invited Board of Education candidates to respond to several questions about issues related to Special Education in the district. Read their responses here: 2024 BOE Candidate Responses on Special Education. “We thank all the candidates for taking the time to share their perspectives,” wrote SEPAC in a release. “SEPAC is not a political organization, and it does not endorse candidates in any election. This presentation is intended solely to assist voters by presenting candidate views on issues related to special education. The views expressed are the candidates’ own.” For more information about SEPAC SOMA, please visit www.sepacsoma.org.
SOMA Justice Race and Equity Questionnaire
For seven years, SOMA Justice has been publishing BOE candidates’ answers to questions addressing issues of access, equity, and safety in the district with particular attention to vulnerable populations, i.e., POC, queer, special needs, immigration, second-language learners, etc. SOMA Justice provides each candidate’s full written answers and also creates a scorecard evaluating those answers. A clickable version of the scorecard with direct links to each candidate’s response to each question is available here. Full responses are available here: Jeff Bennett, Deirdre Brown, Bimal Kapadia, Bethany Joseph, Paul Stephan, Qawi Telesford, and Arun Vadlamani. “SOMA Justice encourages voters to read the candidates’ thoughtful responses in full and welcomes a larger community discussion about what is best for SOMSD schools,” reads the scorecard information. SOMA Justice incorporated as a 501c3 in 2019. Read more about SOMA Justice at somajustice.org.
Arts Ed NJ School Board Candidate Survey Results
The statewide Arts Ed NJ organization produces an annual school board candidate survey for candidates running for boards of education across New Jersey. Read the results here: artsednj.org.
Candidates Forums
Several organizations held in-person forums that were also streamed and recorded — the League of Women Voters/Presidents Council; Hilton Neighborhood Association; and the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race. Watch the videos here:
- VIDEO: BOE Candidates Focus on Equity, Integration in Final Forum
- VIDEO: BOE Candidates Spar on Accountability Vs. Stability, Playing Fields, More
- VIDEO: League of Women Voters/Presidents’ Council Host BOE Candidates Forum
SOMA Action Voters Guide
For the past two years, the local non-profit political action group, SOMA Action, has been publishing a Voters Guide, written and compiled by Erika Malinoski (with Ben Vitale on the South Orange Water Utility Referendum portion). Read the 2024 SOMA Action Voters Guide here: https://www.somaaction.org/voter-guide.
Have we missed a Q&A or forum or questionnaire? Email villagegreennj@gmail.com.
And, finally, get out there and VOTE!
