Westfield Board Of Education 2025: Kristen T. Sonnek-Schmelz

WESTFIELD, NJ — Westfield's school board election on April 15 has four candidates running for three open seats on the Board of Education.

Incumbent Kristen Sonnek Schmelz is running for one of the three, three-year seats. Opposing candidates include incumbents Robert Benacchio and Mary Wickens and newcomer Violetta Watson.

Are you running for school board in Westfield? Contact Alexis Tarrazi at alexis.tarrazi@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Westfield Patch.

Kristen T. Sonnek-Schmelz

• Age: 46
• Town of residence: Westfield has been my home for the majority of my life since 4 years old.
• Position sought: I am running for re-election as a member of the Westfield Board of Education.
• Family: I am married to Blake Sonnek-Schmelz and have two children (13 & 16 years old).
• Education: I hold a B.S. in Biology with a minor in Secondary Education from James Madison University, and an M.B. in Biotechnology & M.S.Ed in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania.
• Occupation: I am a homemaker, community service champion, and an educator.
• Previous or current elected appointed office: I am a current member of the Westfield Board of Education.
• Campaign website: @SonnekSchmelz4WestfieldBOE

Why are you seeking re-election to the Board of Education?

I am proud of the positive change the Board and district administration have brought to the Westfield Schools over the past 3 years and want to keep the momentum going. Rob, Mary, and I all decided to re-run to ensure consistency and continued support of the administration as the District executes it’s five-year strategic plan, which will run through 2028.

How do you feel about offering full-day kindergarten in Westfield?

I wholeheartedly support the idea of Westfield offering full-day Kindergarten. It is essential that the District nurtures its youngest learners’ curiosities and supports them with the highest quality education possible. Those attending Westfield’s current half-day Kindergarten program receive approximately 180 LESS hours of instruction and purposeful play-time than their peers who attend full-day private programs. This results in quite a large range of skill sets in our first-grade classrooms. Imagine how much more productive first grade could be if the majority of students received a similar and consistent foundation in language arts, reading, and math. The addition of a full-day Kindergarten program would also help ease the cost of child-care for our dual working parent homes and eliminate the inequities created between families who can afford to pay for a full-day private program and those who cannot.

What would you like to see improved in the school district?

The upcoming referendum captures many of the improvements I would like to see in the District. When I ran three years ago, one of my main goals was to support the administration in outlining a viable way to bring full-day Kindergarten to the District. The upcoming bond referendum will allow the District the necessary funds to create the space required to bring full-day K to fruition, while also updating and modernizing all of its facilities to make the District’s classrooms as comfortable and safe as possible for all of its students district-wide. I would like to see continued improvements to the District’s athletic fields. Over the last year, the District has made major improvements to its fields by creating a separate grounds team, providing professional development to this designated team through the Rutgers turf management program, and initiating a shared service agreement with the Town for Roosevelt’s field. Next, I would like to see a comprehensive field maintenance plan presented to the Board’s Finance & Facilities committee to ensure this continued commitment.

What other issues would you like to tackle if elected to the Board of Ed?

I am excited to support the expansion of the District’s community connections through the development of a structured student internship program with local businesses. The development of such a program marries goals 1 and 4 of the District’s strategic plan; a structured student internship program at the high school will deepen our students’ learning by providing them with real-life experiences and help strengthen the relationship between our schools and the downtown business community.

What sets you apart from the challenging candidates?

I bring a variety of perspectives to the Board table. I am a 1996 Westfield alumnus. I taught Biology at Westfield High School from 2000-2006. I am a parent of two school-aged children (7th grade at RIS and 10th grade at WHS) and the proud aunt of four nieces & nephews ranging between 3rd grade and 11th grade in Westfield schools. Lastly, I am a current seated Board of Education member. Over the last three years, I have served as a member of the Policy committee, a co-chair of the Curriculum committee, an alternate on the Finance committee, and as the Board liaison for Washington, Roosevelt, and the PTC.

Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself or your campaign?

I want to thank the community for their trust in me over the last three years. My passion is helping others. I am honored to have served and look forward to continuing my commitment to our schools and our students, if re-elected. In addition to serving on the Board of Education, I am also the vice chair of the Board at Imagine, a center for coping with loss, in Mountainside & Newark, NJ, and the leader of our family fund — The Matthew Thomas Toriello Memorial Fund — helping to bring drug prevention and awareness programs to schools and to support those in recovery.