The deadline for announcing candidacy for the upcoming WW-P School board election passed, and three challengers have thrown their hats into the ring with the three incumbents up for re-election on April 17.##M:[more]## By all indications, Ellen Walsh, the incumbent from Plainsboro will remain on the board, as she is running unopposed in the township.
School board president Hemant Marathe and vice president Robert Johnson, both from West Windsor, will face challengers for their seats in the election. Marathe has been a school board member since 2001. He has four children, lives on Clarendon Court, and works as a computer consultant.
Johnson is at the end of his first term as a school board member. He was elected in 2004. He has a daughter, and works as an administrator for the United States Marshals Service. He lives on
Brett Boal, who lost last year to longtime school board member Stan Katz, will seek a seat, as will newcomers Jay Bryant and Michael Donnelly.
Boal, who lives on Park Hill Terrace, is a consultant with three daughters. His campaign last year involved a charge that the school district holds back students who should be performing at a higher level by not providing them sufficient opportunities to excel. He says he has seen no improvements in that area and wants to change the system as a school board member.
Bryant lives on Steele Drive, has two daughters, and is director of online products for TVGuide.com. He has launched a website, vote4jaybryant.com, in support of his candidacy. He says WW-P is a district based in teaching for an industrial and agricultural society, and that “we need to provide the professional development and support to our teachers to transition their instructional methods into the information age.”
Donnelly has four daughters, and is a stay-at -home dad. He lives on Benford Drive, and is an attorney by training. He says based on his law background, he is qualified to serve on the board.
“I want to investigate ways the district can make sure that kids who are at the very top of the academic scale or at the bottom that need extra services can get them. It’s sometimes difficult to get that if you’re not performing poorly enough.,” says Donnelly.
