Seven candidates are vying for three seats on the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education in the Nov. 5, 2024 election. Village Green invites voters to submit Letters to the Editors in support of candidates. See guidelines below.
Our son was just about to turn one when my husband Greg and I moved to Maplewood in 2017. We were drawn to SOMA for many reasons, including its diversity, its celebration of the arts, and its proximity to NYC. We love it here and are proud members of this wonderful community.
In 2021, our son was among the first cohort of students placed by the Intentional Integration Initiative (III) as he entered Kindergarten. His placement was not only distant but isolating—nobody else from our neighborhood was placed at his school. We sought to work amicably with the administration at the time to find a common sense solution. Instead, we were rebuffed at every turn, again and again.
Our frustration blossomed into positive momentum when we got to know Jeff Bennett in June 2022. We admired the thoughtful and comprehensive posts he had written about the III and its unintended consequences on school transportation. Through his extensive research Jeff understood the policy inside and out—but it was his desire to understand the human experience of the student and family that left us most impressed. When he found out our son was one of the most distantly placed Kindergartners the first year of the III, he was curious to learn more about our experience, including whether our son had made friends at school. Jeff’s empathy was a refreshing contrast to the rigid dogma we had faced from the administration at the time. Jeff truly cares first and foremost about the experience of the child. I know that as a member of the BOE he will look out for your children in the same way he looked out for mine. That’s what we need more of on the Board of Education—Board Members who will look after all children as if they are their own.
Not only is Jeff an expert on transportation and the III, he is also an expert on state aid. He was part of a grassroots group of parents from under-aided districts that supported state aid reform. This group’s efforts—including Jeff’s work as the Research Director—culminated in a landmark state aid reform bill in 2018 that has resulted in almost $2MM in incremental funding for SOMSD.
We have known Bimal Kapadia since 2020 when our sons were in preschool together. He is warm and intelligent, and a champion of the arts. We believe that a Board member who knows the importance of the arts is of utmost importance as we deal with a tight budget and crumbling infrastructure. Bimal will continue to advocate for putting our tax dollars toward supporting something that sets SOMSD apart and is a source of pride for our community: arts and art education. As one example, Bimal will advocate for utilizing the arts within our Special Education curriculum, whether it be through the use of art therapists or peer to peer interactions. Art is a discipline that can be used for learning and uniting students, and Bimal understands its importance in developing a well-rounded student body.
Deirdre Brown’s work in government accountability and policy makes her uniquely qualified for a position on the Board of Education. We have gotten to know her more recently, but it is obvious that she truly understands policy governance. We fully support her stance on getting back to basics and focusing on academics. Along with Jeff and Bimal she will work to account for the shortfall that led to teacher firings and a near nonexistent arts budget.
The Brown Bennett Kapadia platform is one of optimism, possibility, and common sense. We hope you will join us in voting for Brown Bennett Kapadia. Now more than ever, we need independent thinkers who will make decisions based on data and the needs of the community. We are proud to support Brown Bennett Kapadia and hope that you’ll do the same.
Meghan and Greg Mortenson
Maplewood, NJ
Letters to the Editors guidelines: Village Green publishes Letters to the Editors in support of candidates. Publishing these letters is at the discretion of the editors. We do not publish letters attacking competing candidates or any person. We aim to publish as many letters as we receive; however, if there is a large volume of letters and they are received late in the race, we cannot guarantee that they will be posted. Letters to the Editors can be submitted to villagegreennj@gmail.com. Please send as a Word or Google document, not as a PDF. Letter writers should provide their name and place of residence (town and state). The deadline for submitting a Letter to the Editor for the Fall 2024 election is Tuesday, October 29, at 5 p.m.
