There are three seats of three-year terms open on the Southampton Township Board of Education in the general election on Nov. 7.
Incumbent Russell Hann and newcomer Leon Carelli will be on the ballot. No one petitioned for the third open spot.
Charles Roseboro is running for reelection for the open seat on Lenape Regional High School District board. He had not returned the Sun’s election questionnaire before press time.
Name: Leon Carelli
Age: 36
How many years have you lived in Southampton? 4.5 years
Married? Children? Grandchildren? Married with four kids: 5, 12, 14, and 17
School and degree: Attended Shenandoah Conservatory and then Drexel University before transitioning out of the degree program into an industry apprenticeship.
Profession: Chief Technology Officer
Elected Office: First time running for an elected seat.
Community involvement: I am actively involved in the community – particularly in our school district. I served on the Southampton Township School District Strategic Planning Committee. I’ve served on the Southampton Township PTA (parent teacher association) Board, first as a Bylaws chair and then as the 2023-24 president. My family participates in STRA, drama, music, and sports at Southampton School No. 3 and Seneca. Finally, I am a resource parent and have been fortunate to work with many kids through the foster care system – four of whom now call our house their home.
Why are you running for an elected seat?
We should all strive to be part of the solution, not the problem. I love this district and this town. When it was time to raise a family, I was proud to make Southampton my forever home. I’ve attended many schools throughout my life and have a perspective and skill set that can help our schools. I believe in getting the truth and working with the facts. Our goal is, and should always be, “What is best for our kids?”
What is one area you would like to concentrate on if elected?
If elected, I will focus on implementing policies to provide consistent and clear communication with parents, teachers, and administration. Without clear communication and an engaged community, we can’t begin to address the many challenges facing our kids and our district.
Russell R. Hann
Age: 80
How many years have you lived in Southampton? 36
Married? Children? Grandchildren? Married with two children in there 40s and two grandchildren, ages 5 and 10.
School and degree: University of Delaware; biology and horticulture degree, College of New Jersey elementary teaching degree
Profession: Retired teacher
Elected Office: Served on the Southampton Township school board for 32 years
Community involvement: I have served on the environmental committee and as well as school board. This year I was honored to be selected as Citizen of the Year for Southampton Township.
Why are you running for an elected seat?
It has been and honor to serve the community of Southampton. I ran for the board when our children were attending our elementary schools. Education is my passion and I wanted to be involved in making sure that our community was afforded the best educational possible opportunities. We, as board members, must work together to insure that our school community is providing the leadership team with the support they need for student academic success as well as ongoing district wide School Climate, Culture and Security Initiatives. The administrative team is developing an action plan to increase student math progress. The Board of Education will be monitoring this information.
What is one area you would like to concentrate on if elected?
We must make sure that we are able to provide our staff with the support they need to achieve our goals. Our leadership team, teaching staff, support staff, board of education, and community working together will provide a “tradition of excellence.”
