Board of Education race gets deeper

The election for three open seats on the South Orange Maplewood Board of Education was originally uncontested until earlier this month when two candidates entered the race, asking people to write their names in.

Candidates Shayna Sackett-Gable, Liz Callahan and Will Meyer followed the traditional route, getting 10 signatures of qualified voters on a nominating petition and submitting them to the clerk’s office by July 31.

Jeff Bennett and Anthony Mazzocchi recently announced that they will be running for the Board of Education (BOE) in the current election as write-in candidates.

Mazzocchi said he believes that the community does better when there are more than two choices in an election. “It’s a sign of a healthy democracy,” he said. “There is research that has been done to show that when you have a contested election, you have improved academic outcomes.”

Before Bennett and Mazzocchi entered the race, the Schools Committee of the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race had invited the public to meet the candidates on Oct. 9 at Marshall School.

Sackett-Gable, Callahan and Meyer said at the event that they came to the race as a result of their long experience in education, their dedication to the community and their desire to see all students thrive in strong, healthy, diverse schools.

Sackett-Gable is a lifelong SOMA resident, former Seth Boyden teacher, recent co-president of Presidents’ Council, current Director of Pedagogy at a math nonprofit and mother of two Columbia High School students and bonus mom to a college student.

Callahan is a school based behavioral consultant with nearly 20 years’ experience in education, an active Maplewood community resident and a mother to a son at Tuscan Elementary and a preschooler at Applecore.

Meyer is an education lawyer for special needs families, a leader in SEPAC SOMA and the South Mountain PTA. The South Orange resident is a father to a son at South Mountain and a daughter at Montrose.

During Sackett-Gable’s opening statement, she said that in her hometown of South Orange, she was one of the very few Black faces at Columbia High School. “Sound familiar?” she asked.

She feels that “we owe it to our children to make sure they are supported and their intellectual curiosity nurtured in integrated academic spaces from kindergarten through their senior year at CHS.”

Meyer spoke about the disparity Black students are still facing and said, “We have got to do a better job with our struggling students.”

“Rebuild trust between schools and community,” Callahan said. “Together we will thrive.”

Even when Sackett-Gable was in high school in the mid-1990s, she said CHS was known as “two schools in one.” She suggested continuous focus groups where the students speak out. “Get their feedback,” she said.

Echoing everything Sackett-Gable said, Meyer suggested finding a way so that every student has a mentor—one person they could see. “Strengthen our elementary and middle school to prepare Black students to move into high school,” he said.

“It is clear kids need a sense of belonging,” added Callahan. “It’s imperative.”

Later in the evening, she also pointed out that family engagement needs to be proactive. With families who are new to the district, you are not always able to rely on neighbors. “Affectionately welcome families,” she encouraged. “This makes our community richer and broader.”

Another issue brought up during the meeting was transportation and students losing quality time in school for arriving hours late. Callahan felt that outsourcing was the root of the problem because of “less control.”

“Think about how you feel when you’re late,” she said. “It’s not good and needs to be immediately rectified.”

“We have to fix this for the sake of our kids,” added Meyer.

Putting the GPS tracking system back on buses was suggested by Sackett-Gable.

An audience member said that she would like to see more diverse staff in the school system.

Sackett-Gable agreed that it’s an issue and that a Black student asked her why most people of color are custodians or lunch staff.

Callahan agreed that academic segregation still exists.

“We need to get staff that reflects the identity of the whole student body,” added Meyer.

During closing statements, encouraging people to vote, Callahan said, “There is no such thing as an unimportant election.”

Meyer feels that the thought of serving the next three years is daunting, but he’s optimistic about the collaborative work all three could achieve.

“I believe we can gain greater success for our students,” he said.

“Our district has important work to do,” added Sackett-Gable. “A vote for Liz, Will and me is a vote for tempered discourse and collaboration. As a resident, I value our district’s strengths.”

To learn more about Sackett-Gable, Callahan, and Meyer’s campaign, visit: https://www.somaboe2023.com/vision

  Maplewood, South Orange, South Orange Maplewood School Board