Even though the Moorestown Township School District elections will not be held until November, the ballot for the perspective board of education members is already set.
The Burlington County Clerk’s office released the candidates for the November election. The deadline to file as a candidate for the election was Tuesday, June 5.
The Moorestown Township School District Board of Education will see three seats expire at the end of the year. William Van Fossen III, David Weinstein, and Linda Alexandroff will all see their seats expire this year.
According to the clerk’s office, Weinstein was the only incumbent member on the board of education to file for reelection, meaning there will be at least two new members on the board of education for the 2013 school year.
Each seat is a full-term seat for three years.
Candidate Weinstein will be running against Brandon J. Pugh, Joseph Ruccolo, Daniella Gordon, Christian J. Moye, Dimitri Schneiberg, Sheryl Sawin, and Rebecca Hagerty Williams.
Pugh is the youngest candidate looking to win a seat on the board, as he just graduated from Moorestown Township High School in June of 2011. He is 19-years-old and delayed his collegiate career to remain in Moorestown and work as a township emergency medical technician.
This will be the first year that the township will host its school district elections in November, along with its general elections.
In a special meeting on Feb. 16, the township council voted to move the elections to November. State law allows municipal governments to override individual school board decisions on such changes. Originally, the board of education voted to keep the school elections in April, but the township used its legal rite to overturn the decision.
The council vote was 4–1 in favor of a November election, with councilman Michael Testa abstaining.
Gov. Christie signed a bill to give municipal governments the authority pass a resolution to automatically move school district elections from April to November, despite what the local boards of educations decide.
The BOE voted on the measure originally in the first week of February by a 5 to 2 margin to keep the April election. However, Button reported at a township council meeting in February that most school districts in the county and state were moving the elections to November.
School district representatives have estimated school board elections cost about $22,000 each year.
