Moorestown BOE Race One of Largest in County

Moorestown is tied for the largest school board race in Burlington County this year, .

The county released the official list of candidates yesterday, following the verification of petitions. Moorestown and Hainesport Township each have eight candidates vying for three seats, with Hainesport also having one additional candidate running uncontested for a one-year term.

Mike Yaple, a spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA), said on average, there are three candidates for every two open seats (or 1.5 candidates per one seat) in school board elections going back 10 to 20 years. 

The impact of switching school board elections to the fall—a switch 86 percent of elected school boards statewide made—is still being analyzed, Yaple said. “We’re still compiling the information so we can see what the effect has been.”

Of the eight candidates running for school board in Moorestown, only one is an incumbent: David Weinstein. Board members William Van Fossen III and Linda Alexandroff are not seeking reelection.

Alexandroff tendered her resignation from the board of education last week after serving for nine and a half years. In a statement on the district website, she said, “It has been my pleasure to serve the community, the district, parents, staff and especially the children as a member of the board … I have enjoyed each connection I made and will miss the camaraderie afforded to me by the many board members who have served with me over the past years.”

She goes on to say her decision to leave is the result of her family moving to a new home in a nearby community.

"I wish the district, the board, the staff and administrators the very best as they move forward in their pursuit of excellence under the direction of the ," she wrote. "Finally, I would be remiss if I also didn’t add my thanks to Mr. John Bach for ."

A call to Alexandroff was not returned as of press time.

The district is currently accepting recommendations for qualified candidates to fill the vacant seat. The deadline to submit a resume and letter of interest is 4 p.m. July 31. 

Though interest and voter participation will undoubtedly be higher for this year’s school elections, as they coincide with other locals races and the presidential election, the NJSBA was concerned candidate participation would lag due to the early deadline for filing petitions, according to Yaple.

The deadline to file was June 5—five months before the election and seven months before the candidates would be sworn in.  

“That’s a very substantial lag time,” said Yaple. “The concern was the early deadline would discourage interest.”

A bill has been introduced in the Legislature to move the petition filing deadline to September.

For more information on the qualifications for the vacant school board seat and where to send the resume and letter of interest, visit the Moorestown School District website.