The Special Education Parents Advisory Committee of South Orange and Maplewood (SEPAC SOMA) has released its annual questionnaire with answers from the candidates for South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education.
“Every year, the SEPAC Board invites the SOMSD BOE candidates to respond to several questions about issues related to Special Education in our district. We are pleased to share the 2026 BOE Candidate Responses to our questionnaire,” wrote Amanda Durett Cercone, SEPAC SOMA Communications Director, in an email to Village Green. “We thank all the candidates for taking the time to share their perspective.”
“SEPAC is not a political organization and does not endorse candidates in any election, Durett Cercone wrote. “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.”
The four candidates vying for three seats on the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education are first-time candidates Trish Azeez and Kevin Diaz, and incumbents Liz Callahan and Will Meyer. Azeez and Diaz are both running as independent candidates. Callahan and Meyer are running as a slate. Voters, however, select candidates on the ballot individually. Election day is November 3. Vote by Mail has already begun.
Clockwise from top left: Trish Azeez, Liz Callahan, Will Meyer and Kevin Diaz.
The four SEPAC SOMA questions are:
QUESTION 1. The BOE sets goals for the district each year. In regard to special education in SOMSD in the upcoming year, what would be your priorities to improve outcomes for students with disabilities – including related services and transportation? What are some ways you believe that the school district can accomplish these goals?
QUESTION 2. As a cost-saving measure, the district switched paraprofessional vendors this June. As a result, we lost over 80% of our experienced paras, and during the first few weeks of school, we are still seeing staffing shortages, causing scores of IEPs to be out of compliance. How would you hold central administration accountable for the operational failures related to this vendor transition? This transition is part of a district pattern of prioritizing short-term cost savings over the rights of disabled students. What policies, structural, or procedural changes at both the board and district levels would you support to ensure that special education needs drive budgetary decisions, and not the other way around?
QUESTION 3. Students with out-of-district placements are still SOMSD students, yet those families regularly report feeling ignored by the district. How will you ensure that OOD families receive equal access to communication, support services, and district representation? How will you provide our schools the resources required to meet the needs of these students, allowing them to return in-district?
QUESTION 4. Please share any experiences – personal, professional, or otherwise – that you believe are relevant to serving the students of our district who receive special education programming. For those of you that have previously served on the board, what policies have you supported or implemented that benefit our special education population?
Read the responses in the pdf document attached below or at this link: https://sepacsoma.
SEPAC is also hosting an October Cup Chat with BOE Candidates.The chat is an informal, in-person gathering, aimed at connecting parents and caregivers of kids with Special Education-related needs in the district. The four candidates running for the SOMSD Board of Education have been invited to join the chat and hear parents’ experiences with Special Education in this district.
Sunday, October 18 @ 4:00pm-6:00pm
◉ Community Center @ DeHart Park, 120 Burnet Ave, Maplewood
