Morristown School Board Election: See Who's Running In 2022

MORRISTOWN, NJ — Four candidates have filed to run for the Morris School District Board of Education this November, according to the Morris County Clerk.

Three candidates are running for two seats in Morris Township, while one candidate is running for a single seat in Morristown.

Monday, July 25, was the filing deadline for candidates to submit their petitions to run in November’s general election for school board seats across the state of New Jersey.

In Morris Township, incumbents Melissa Spiotta and Susan Pedalino have all filed for the three-year posts. They are being challenged by Dawn Parkot, who is running under the "A Real Education" slogan.

Spiotta currently serves as the board president and a member of the Morristown-Morris Township Joint Municipal Alliance. As a Morristown High School graduate, Spiotta has lived in Morris Township since 2005 with her husband. Spiotta has one daughter who attends Morristown high school.

Pedalino, who has lived in Morris Township for 15 years with her husband Jason and their three sons, ages 7, 9, and 13, who attend elementary and middle school, was appointed to the board in Jan. 2020. Pedalino has been an educator for over 18 years, working for Hanover Township Public Schools since 2003 as a third-grade teacher, school librarian, and second-grade teacher at Salem Drive Elementary School.

Parkot ran for the school board in 2021 as well. She graduated from Morristown High School and has been a member of the Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance Committee for the last 14 years. Parkot told Patch in 2021 that she has also been running her own organization, The Climb Organization.

Read more: Morris Board Of Education Election: Dawn Teresa Parkot

Cary Lloyd is the sole candidate seeking the Morristown seat of the Morris School District Board of Education.

The local school board elections have heated up in recent years, becoming much more politicized last year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The school board makes important community decisions such as hiring administrators and handling property tax money. Until 2012, all school boards held elections in April, when a state law was passed allowing districts to switch to the November general election.