It will be a contested Shamong Township Board of Education election this November as three residents filed as candidates for two open seats according to the Burlington County Board of Elections.
Incumbent board president Melissa Ciliberti will seek re-election against two other candidates, Susan Daniels and David Rosenthal. Current board member, Greg Vitagliano, will not seek re-election.
Vitagliano found himself embroiled in controversy earlier this year after publishing disparaging remarks about the district’s teachers on his Facebook page during contract negotiations between the board and the Shamong Township Education Association. STEA president Karen Clementi called for Vitagliano’s resignation and asked the board to censure him. Former school board president Diane Tallaksen filed a state ethics complaint against Vitagliano.
When the board members are sworn in at January’s reorganization meeting contract negotiations will not be on the forefront for the first time since December of 2012. The board ratified the contract between the Shamong BOE and the STEA, dated July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2016.
“It was a long time coming,” Ciliberti said. “We were able to finalize the teachers’ contract and the principal/admin contract. Very pleased and happy to return our attention fully to planning for next school year.”
Ciliberti was sworn in as president in January of 2013 and again at the beginning of this year. The board reorganizes its positions at the beginning of each year appointing a president and vice president.
All three openings up for election in November are full three-year terms. The Shamong Township School District and Lenape Regional High School District Board of Education elections will take place alongside the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 4. More information will be available as the date of the election draws closer.
