TWO SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES DROP OUT

A big shake-up in the Board of Education race with two candidates - Elissa Malespina of South Orange and Anthony Mazzocchi of Maplewood - announcing they are dropping out of the race.  

This cuts the field down from six to four vying for the three open seats in the November election. 

Those seats are held by Andrea Wren-Hardin, Bill Gaudelli and Sandra Karriem, each of whom is not running again.  

Mazzochi told Maplewoodian.com: "I just have some concerns right now, just some concerns that the extra stress is not going to help right now." Malespina, who was running with fellow South Orange candidate Donna Smith, issued this statement:
 

Elissa Malespina announced today that she will not be seeking a seat on the South Orange Maplewood Board of Education this November due to a book deal.

“This was a very difficult decision. A unique opportunity to publish a book on augmented reality in education recently presented itself and it’s a project that will take considerable time and focus. Showing other educators how to leverage technology tools in the classroom is such a passion of mine, and is a way for me to make an impact not just in my own community but nationwide”she said. “After discussing it with my running mate, I’ve made the decision to move forward with this project and consider a run for the Board of Education in the future.”

Malespina, a 19-year resident of South Orange and former Librarian at South Orange Middle School, says she will continue to stay involved with the school district and hopes the issues she brought to the table will continue to be discussed by all the candidates in the upcoming weeks.

“Increasing stakeholder involvement, building better relationships between teachers and administrators, doing a thoughtful superintendent search, infusing more technology into classrooms, taking a good look at the IB program and increasing training for implementation of these types of initiatives –these are all issues that I care a lot about.

With Mazzocchi and Malespina out, the field is down to Smith, as well as Maplewood residents Elizabeth Baker, Maureen Jones, and Godwin Molokwu.

The six challengers will vie for the three seats up for grabs in this year's election set for November 5.