Eleven candidates filed paperwork to run in the April 16 general election for three of the nine at-large seats on the Newark Public Schools Board of Education in New Jersey. The filing deadline was February 25. The withdrawal deadline is March 4.

 

Two of the three incumbents whose seats are on the ballot—Leah Owens and Tave Padilla—are running for re-election. Incumbent Kim Gaddy did not file to run for another term on the board. All three incumbents were first elected to the board in 2016. They ran together as the Newark Unity slate and were endorsed by Mayor Ras J. Baraka. The eight consecutive elections prior to 2019 also saw members of slates endorsed by the mayor win election to the board.

 

Owens and Padilla face nine challengers: Shayvonne Anderson, Denise Cole, Denise Ann Crawford, Maggie Freeman, Priscilla Garces, Saafir Jenkins, Yolanda Johnson, A’Dorian Murray-Thomas, and Arlene Ramsey.

 

The 2019 election is the second since local control was returned to the district by the New Jersey State Board of Education on September 13, 2017. The state originally took over the district in 1995.

 

Newark Public Schools served 40,514 students during the 2016-2017 school year.