The South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education election takes place on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. Three of nine seats are up for election. Three candidates filed to run by the July deadline and appear on the ballot: Shayna Sackett-Gable, Liz Callahan and Will Meyer. Two candidates, Jeff Bennett and Anthony Mazzocchi, announced a write-in campaign on October 7. Village Green is posting letters of support for all candidates: Deadline for submission is October 31 at 5 p.m. Read our guidelines here. Read all our election coverage here.
Dear Editor,
As a forty-two-year veteran teacher, twenty-five of which were proudly served here in SOMSD, I truly believe that education is the only way we drive out the darkness of ignorance and maintain an educated populace. An education system matters.
I am more than concerned about the state of affairs of our school system, as there are many critical areas that require immediate attention: the busing fiasco, the teacher hiring and retention crisis, an ineffective Superintendent, the lack of communication to all stakeholders, the lack of curriculum and materials for teachers, an out of compliance Special Education Department, unsafe and unclean classrooms and buildings, and our district’s failure to successfully teach our children to read.
How do we transform the broken areas of the district and set our district on a restorative course? Experienced leadership. How do we solve the plethora of problems that plague us? Experienced leadership. How do we restore hope and belief in our beloved school system? Experienced leadership.
Experienced leadership. It sounds quite simple, but it is not simple at all. After having listened to all the candidates, and read their material, I know and firmly believe that Jeff Bennett and Tony Mazzocchi are the light bearers our district requires right now. They are seasoned, former Bd of Ed members with proven track records. Experienced leadership. Please cast your vote for them as write-in candidates by writing their names on your ballot. We need them. The future thanks you.
Kind regards,
Suzanne Urban Ryan
[Note: Although Suzanne Urban Ryan moderated the Hilton Neighborhood Association’s Oct. 26 candidates forum, the views expressed here are her own and do not represent the views of the HNA.]
