While the November 7 election may seem a long way off, it is never too early to start planning a run for local office. To wit, Livingston Public Schools set a notice last month encouraging residents to run for Board of Education. One of the five Board seats will be up for a vote in this year’s election. It is currently held by Vineeta Khanna, who has not yet stated whether or not she will seek another three-year term on the Board.In recent years, the Board has seen the retirement of several of its longstanding members. However, in the past, we have consistently had multiple residents ready and willing to take those seats in each subsequent race. During more recent election cycles, we have had many residents run for open seats who did not ultimately win their respective elections, but whom we believe would make quality members of the Board. Each of them cared about the schools and our district’s students, and had unique attributes to offer. It is our hope that some of them will consider throwing their hat into the ring once more.We have said it before and will say it again, we believe there is great value in having a contested election. When there are multiple candidates vying for positions, the dialogue produced can help educate the public about issues facing the school district. Forums such as the League of Women Voters’ Candidates’ Night – which is not held if there is an uncontested election – provide an opportunity for members of the community to express their opinions, ask questions, and get answers to issues that concern them.It is our hope that qualified candidates will step up to the plate and announce their candidacies. Since the pandemic began over three years ago, while our school board elections have remained contested races, there has appeared to be more hesitancy from people wanting to step into debates about masking and remote learning, which have made some Board of Education meetings more contentious and polarizing than they once were. As we trend further away from those initial “lockdown” days, however, there have been substantially fewer of those types of discussions. Instead, more of a focus has been placed on the multitude of other topics surrounding our schools. These include the effects that new housing in town will have on the school district, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and curriculum and budget ...
