Community Leaders Endorsement Letter
Endorsements: We urge you to give these three candidates your serious consideration when deciding who should receive your three Board of Education votes. We are convinced they will bring fresh perspective and reasoned judgment to their service.
To Our Many Friends in the South Orange-Maplewood Community
We are current and former long-time members of the Board of Education, Special Education advocacy organizations, school-related community organizations and municipal government leaders, whose children attended or are still attending our South Orange-Maplewood public schools. We care deeply about the long-term stability of our school district and the quality of education for current and future generations of students.
We are writing to offer you our thoughts on this year’s Board of Education election. In our many roles over the last 25 years, we have worked with hundreds of community volunteers and paid close attention to the Board of Education.
This year, we are excited to lend our support to Malini Nayar, Paul Stephan and Meredith Higgins who each brings a different body of experience relevant to service on the Board of Education. We are convinced they will bring fresh perspective and reasoned judgment to their service.
Malini Nayar is a community development finance professional, who will bring seasoned oversight to our school district’s financial management. She is a longtime Maplewood resident, and proud parent of two Columbia High School students. Her children’s entire education has been within SOMSD, which has deepened her commitment to fostering inclusive, nurturing schools where every student can thrive.
Paul Stephan is a public interest attorney, former public-school teacher and Maplewood resident. His legal advocacy focuses on standing up for communities and holding powerful institutions accountable. He is a Democratic Party District Leader. Paul brings civic experience, analytical rigor, and a belief in strong public schools as essential to a strong community.
Meredith Higgins is a community arts educator and Maplewood resident. She teaches dance at the YMCA, the Baird and the Adult School. Meredith’s deep insight into the challenges faced by parents and children made her an effective advocate as a member of the school district’s Early Childhood Advisory Council. She is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Meredith believes that the Board of Education needs a compassionate vision and an effective accountability framework to ensure that there is progress toward making the vision a reality.
We urge you to give these three candidates your serious consideration when deciding who should receive your three Board of Education votes. They are endorsed by our local SOMA Action group and New Jersey’s Garden State Equality.
Sincerely,
Mila Jasey, BOE 1999-2007, NJ Assembly 2007-2024
Beth Daugherty, BOE 2007-2016
Annemarie Maini, BOE 2016-2021; Dir. South Orange Country Day School 2007-present
Bill Haskins, Community Leader
Olivia Lewis-Chang, Community Leader
David Huemer, Maplewood Township Committee and Board of School Estimate, 2002-2007
David Giles, BOE, 2010-2013
Chris Sabin, BOE, 2016-2018; 2021
Christine Houseworth, Achieve Foundation President, 2020-2023
Ronni Schwartz, PTA Presidents’ Council co-President, 2022-2024
Erin Scherzer, PTA Presidents’ Council 2018-2020
Reesa Salomon, Board member, SEPAC (Special Education Parents Advisory Council), 2016-2019
Barbara Cokorinos, co-President CHSMPA (Columbia High School Music Parents Association) 2015-2018
Jane Collins-Colding, Community Leader
Sarah Savino (they/them), Community Leader and CHS grad
Devyani Guha, Community Leader
*Please Note: organizations listed for identification purposes only
