Newark School Board Election 2021: What You Need To Know

NEWARK, NJ — Newark voters will get a chance to pick among several candidates in the 2021 school board election on Tuesday, April 20.

Registered voters can cast ballots for three open seats on the board of education of the Newark Public School District. Each term lasts for three years.

The candidates up for election are:

• Nadirah Brown
• Dawn Haynes
• Yolanda Johnson
• Asia Norton
• Vereliz Santana
• Phillip Wilson

Voters will also take part in a special election for a fourth seat. A special election was called after board member Tave Padilla died in November 2020. Vereliz Santana was appointed to the seat in January; her term will end after the April 20 election. The winner of the special election will serve the last year of Padilla's term.

The candidates in that race are Sheila Montague and Daniel Gonzalez.

In addition, voters will be asked to approve or reject the district's budget for the next school year.

Registered Newark residents can vote in person at their regular polling locations. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. The last day to apply by mail for a vote by mail ballot was April 13.

VIRTUAL FORUMS

A pair of virtual candidate forums were recently held in advance of the election.

The Newark NAACP, Project Ready and the Newark Trust for Education co-moderated a candidate forum last week.

In March, the Newark NAACP hosted a virtual forum for candidates, which can be seen below.

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