Keep Politics Out of Our Schools

By: Shawn Wallach and Jeremy Seideman

New Jersey has historically treated local Boards of Education as nonpartisan and independent bodies for a reason. Candidates do not run as part of a political party. This is because our children’s education should never depend on party politics, personal allegiances, or the color of someone's political lawn sign. School boards are supposed to focus on classrooms, not campaigns; on curriculum and community, not control. When political power creeps into those decisions, the losers are always the students and families who just want their schools to work. Those in power forget -- this town belongs to all of us, not just to those who hold the titles.

For years there have been rumors of political influence in our Board of Education. Now, though, we no longer have to guess which candidates the town leadership supports. Members of Middletown’s all-Republican Township Committee were recently shown on social media canvassing for their preferred slate of Board of Education candidates. This confirms and reinforces the open secret that the so-called “nonpartisan” Board has become closely aligned with the Committee itself. While there is nothing illegal about their actions, there is a reason school boards are meant to be apolitical. Our children’s education should not depend on party allegiance. If nothing else, we should welcome the revelation, because it is time for the Township Committee to accept at least part of the blame for our current school crisis.

Now is the time to send a message to the Committee and their hand-picked Board candidates: Middletown residents have had enough. We have tried it their way for over forty years, and the results speak for themselves: taxes keep going up, schools are on the brink of closure to cover years of fiscal mismanagement, and a “my way or the highway” approach to shared services decisions has left our district struggling.

One Committee member was even seen canvassing in an official township jacket, complete with the municipal insignia and the title “Deputy Mayor.” This may seem minor, but it raises a serious concern about public ethics. New Jersey’s Local Government Ethics Law makes clear that public officials may not use the power or symbols of their office to secure an advantage for themselves or others. There is a difference between the benefit of incumbency and the abuse of incumbency. Wearing a taxpayer-funded uniform while campaigning for a slate of Board of Education candidates blurs that line and sends the wrong message that the Township Committee itself is endorsing particular candidates in an election meant to be nonpartisan.

Middletown deserves leaders who respect the boundaries between governing and campaigning and who understand that ethical lines exist for a reason. If we accept this kind of behavior from those in office, those boundaries will keep shifting until they disappear altogether. 

Let us send a message, at the ballot box and in our conversations with friends and neighbors, that we expect better. Our schools, our taxes, and our town’s integrity depend on it.

Jeremy Seideman and Shawn Wallach are candidates for Middletown Township Committee