ALT PRESS STORY UNFAIRLY TARGETS SOMA SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES

The Alternative Press website oddly uses the South Orange-Maplewood school board in a story to warn of background checks on school board candidates.


But why?


This story seems to suggest challengers might have something to hide while the current board members, who have had clean background checks, may not. Why point to our towns with no cause?
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NJ Legislator: School Board Candidates May Want to Check for Skeletons in Closet

Caitlin Carroll

Sunday, January 29, 2012 • 10:08am

Three members of the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education will be up for re-election on April 17, if they choose to run, but the election may be a little different this year because of a state law that requires background checks for board members.

 The law was enacted in May 2011. In the South Orange-Maplewood School District, all the board members have undergone background checks and were cleared to continue serving, according to the district’s communication coordinator, Judy Levy.

However, for non-incumbent candidates, the background check acts a caution when deciding whether to run. Assemblyman Jerry Green, D-Union, a co-sponsor of the legislation, said the law does not require candidates for school board to undergo a background check. However, he said, it was unlikely a candidate would run knowing he or she had a previous conviction that would disqualify him or her.

"No one would want to embarrass themselves by knowing when they run they’ve been convicted of a crime” that would prevent the member from serving on the board, Green said.