Sparta headlines crowded Sussex County school board election with 17 registered candidates

A whopping 17 candidates filed this week to run for six seats on the Sparta Board of Education, with many of the contenders citing a perceived lack of transparency and increasingly politicized culture in Sussex County's largest school district.

The Sparta candidates will vie for six open seats on the nine-member board, in a community that has seen contentious debates over teacher tenure and school curriculums in recent months. A trio of three-year terms and another three one-year terms will be on the ballot in November.

Sparta will host one of five contested board races in Sussex County this year, an unusually crowded field in school elections that typically struggle to find enough contenders for each open seat. The surge in interest comes after two years in which boards across New Jersey and the nation have been riven by debates over COVID restrictions, sex-education standards, how to teach American history and other controversies. After Monday's state filing deadline for board races, Hardyston, Vernon, Frankford and the joint Sussex-Wantage district will all have multiple contenders for each seat.

In Sparta, Kaitlin Gagnon, Jen Grana and Jessica Nelson − each seeking three-year terms − and Davina Daura, Dana Gulino and Tammy Mongon − seeking one-year terms − form one of the six-member tickets, running under the slogan "Advocating for All."

In an email to the New Jersey Herald, the group outlined numerous objectives for the district of more than 3,200 students. Their goals range from infrastructure upgrades and more prudent spending to overseeing proper implementation of school policy and holding repeat offenders responsible in instances of racism, bullying and other inappropriate conduct.

"We have witnessed firsthand what solutions our district so desperately craves," the email read, "and we are ready to commit our time and energy to becoming the most collaborative, efficient Board of Education that we can possibly be."

The slate said they chose to run in response to what they called "dubious decision-making with a blatant disregard for transparency" by the current board. The statement alluded to controversies involving the tenure of faculty members. While not speaking specifically about sex education or other recent debates in New Jersey, they pledged to refrain from "blind defiance" of new educational standards.

"As everyone is well aware, there is a mass politicization of school boards taking place across the nation," the group stated. "We believe it’s our duty to remove the politics from the equation and restore the board’s intended purpose by bringing the focus back to education at its fundamental core."

The Sussex-Wantage and Montague districts are among a handful around the state that have passed resolutions saying they wouldn't implement parts of a new state curriculum concerning sex and gender identity.

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The other six-person team in Sparta features incumbent board members Kurt Morris and Lauren Collier running with Leigh McMichael for the open three-year terms. The trio is accompanied by Christina Keiling-Longo, Walter Knapp and LeeAnne Pitzer for one-year terms, all under the slogan "Students First."

Niamh Grano, Jennifer Miller and Patrick McKernan, all current Sparta board members, form a team seeking additional three-year terms with the tagline "Experienced, Consistent, Dedicated." Gregory Rosenfeld (three-year term) and Carlos Mohammed (one-year term) are both running individually − Rosenfeld under the slogan "Students, Parents, Faculty," and Mohammed proclaiming "Aspire and Achieve."

Mohammed said via email that he is looking to "take a bigger role" in how his three children and their peers in Sparta are educated. He cited the township's school district as a significant factor in choosing to move there three years ago and said he hopes to work together with the board to uphold that reputation.

"In my career as a chef I have learned that more is accomplished by working collaboratively with others than doing it on your own," Mohammed said. "If I were to become a part of the Board of Education, I would look forward to working with the rest of the representatives to implement change and forward thinking."

None of the other Sparta candidates responded to requests for comment.

Frankford

Elsewhere in Sussex County, a team of "Conservative Frankford Parents" − Leif Andersen, Jamie Aromando and John Tiger − filed to run for three, three-year terms on the Frankford Board of Education against Andrew Lubchansky and incumbent Lara Longberg, who is using the slogan "Putting Children First." Lubchansky is a former Frankford board member who was ousted in last year's election.

Hardyston

In Hardyston, six candidates are seeking three seats. The team of Tony Alfano, Jean Barrett and Edward Reinle is running under the "Kids First" slogan. Also in the race are incumbent board members Brian Drelick and Michele Van Allen, as well as newcomer Kristy Lavin, whose slogan is "Children, Community, Future."

Sussex-Wantage

In Sussex-Wantage, there are two, three-year seats available for Wantage residents. Incumbent Ken Nuss, running as an "Experienced Conservative Voice," is facing off against Taylor Dely, who labeled herself a "Young Conservative Parent," and Brittney Simmons, whose slogan is "Putting Students First."

Vernon

The Vernon race features board President Kelly Mitchell, Vice President Joseph Sweeney and Jennifer Pellet, and challengers Elaine Colianni, Francis Pietrowski and Charles Cimaglia. The six are vying for three, three-year terms on the board.

Sparta and Vernon are the two largest school districts in Sussex County, according to data from the New Jersey Department of Education. Sparta had 3,212 students enrolled during the 2021-22 school year, followed by Vernon with 2,896.

In all, 85 Sussex County residents are running for 79 available Board of Education seats in the upcoming general election. The number of candidates sharply increased from the 64 listed on the November 2021 ballot, and is still well above the 74 who filed in 2020 and 70 in 2019.

The only county districts that will not have board seats up for grabs in November are Fredon and Montague, whose residents voted on board members and their respective school's budget in April.

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Sparta NJ school board race highlights crowded Sussex County election