Five Run For 3 Seats On Maplewood School Board

MAPLEWOOD AND SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Five candidates filed by the deadline Monday afternoon to run for three seats on the Board of Education on Nov. 2.

The candidates are:

• Shannon Cuttle of Maplewood: "Forward Together"
• Kaitlin M. Wittleder of Maplewood: "Student Voices Matter"
• William Rodriguez of Maplewood
• Arun Vadlamani of South Orange
• Qawi Telesford of South Orange

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The South Orange-Board of Education has nine seats, and each term is three years. More information on the Board of Education can be found here.

Coronavirus And Students

Among the issues the new board will deal with in late fall, COVID safety procedures will likely still be at the forefront.

Gov. Phil Murphy already said last month that he won't require students to wear masks as a COVID precaution in fall, and that each district can make its own decision. However, the guidance regarding masking is constantly evolving, and recently has changed in some states and cities as cases of the Delta variant rise. READ MORE: No Mask Mandate For NJ Students This Fall

Children under 12 may not be eligible to receive a vaccine until winter, federal officials said last week. The FDA is requiring four to six months of followup safety data for kids, rather than the two months required for adults.

Last year, the South Orange-Maplewood district saw much controversy as educators, parents, and children faced delays and disagreements about returning to on-site learning. READ MORE: Maplewood Students Attend Sit-In; K-2 To Return To Class Monday

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