Four candidates filed Monday to run for three three-year terms on the Plainfield Board of Education.
As listed by Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi, they are Emily Morgan, John C. Campbell, Jackie Coley and Richard Wyatt. Coley will be seeking her second term. Campbell is serving as an appointee since April after board member Mahogany Hall resigned, and is the husband of board President Wilma Campbell. According to the New Jersey School Boards Association, there is no prohibition on a husband and wife both serving on a school board.
Morgan and Wyatt are first-time candidates for the board. Morgan recently won a seat on the Plainfield Democratic City Committee. Both Coley and Wyatt are city employees, Coley in the Fire Division and Wyatt in the Tax Assessor's office.
Campbell and his wife operate a real estate agency in Plainfield, and John Campbell is a former Plainfield councilman. He has also backed school board slates for several years, with many wins.
Reached by phone Tuesday, Campbell confirmed his 2015 slate and commented on a range of school topics:
Union contract - After three years of district negotiations, he said, "I went to two meetings and we got a contract."
District status - Enrollment and graduation rates are up, Campbell said, and Plainfield High School has been removed from the U.S. Department of Education's Focus list.
School construction - He said the district got the "green light" from the Schools Development Authority for work at Cook and Woodland schools.
In April, Campbell described his appointment as "a trial run," but on Tuesday he said, "My mission is to create an environment where teachers can teach and children can learn."
The school board candidates will be on the Plainfield ballot along with those running for the Second Ward and the First & Fourth Ward at-large City Council seat. Winners will take office on Jan. 1, 2016.
Assemblyman Jerry Green, who showcased his school board slate last year before campaigning for others on the November ballot, said Monday he did not field a slate this year. He said he is concentrating on his work in the state Assembly, where he represents District 22, and also as chairman of the Union County Democratic Committee.
--Bernice