BY Christopher Lang, Correspondent, @topherlang2 | MonroeNow | Aug 8, 2018
It will likely be quiet races for board of education seats in Cranbury and Jamesburg this election season.
According to election information from Middlesex County, between the two municipalities, five candidates declared for open seats on the school boards and are running uncontested.
Nine candidates declare for three, three-year seats on Monroe Board of Education
In Cranbury, board President Karen Callahan, Dominique Jones and Peter Katz, all incumbents, will seek reelection unchallenged for the three, three-year seats.
However, in Jamesburg while three terms will expire on Dec. 31, only two three-year seats will be open.
Board President Elliott Stroul and Vice President Paul Rutsky both declared for the November election. Trustee Anne Luck-Deak did not declare to run, thus ending her brief term on the board when the new year starts. Luck-Deak was appointed to fill an un-expired term, which concludes Dec. 31.
However, even if Luck-Deak did seek reelection, one of the three incumbents would have been ousted because of a reduction in the number of serving board members.
In 2016, Jamesburg voters approved a public ballot question to reduce the number of school board seats from nine to seven by 2019 because of a lack of volunteers willing to serve.
Rutsky also serves on the Monroe Board of Education by appointment from Jamesburg trustees.
Both Jamesburg and Cranbury send their high school students to other districts. Jamesburg’s students attend high school in Monroe and Cranbury’s go to high school in Princeton.
Of course in both races, residents from Jamesburg and Cranbury can opt for a write-in candidate instead of voting for declared candidates.
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