Former Hoboken Board of Education Trustee Sheillah Dallara will be running on a slate with Board President Sharyn Angley and Trustee Chetali Khanna, according to filings with the Hudson County Clerk’s Office.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Dallara, who opted not to seek re-election last year after winning three-year terms in 2016 and 2019, will be running in place of Trustee Melanie Tekirian, who is coincidentally not running after two terms in office as well.
She had been rumored to be mulling a bid for the 2nd Ward council seat in the non-partisan council races contested on the same day as the school board election, November 7th, but that never ended up happening.
Instead, she will be running on the “Moms Leading Progress” slate with Angley and Khanna, who ran unopposed in 2020 with Tekirian as the “Hoboken Together” team.
Unlike last year when there was an eight-person race for three seats where the “Leadership that Listens” team pulled off a clean sweep, it doesn’t appear there will be much competition.
However, perennial candidate Pat Waiters has submitted her petitions to run under the “Demanding Integrity Transparency” banner and all BOE candidates have until Monday at 4 p.m. to submit 10 verified petitions of nomination.
The Moms Leading Progress slate could not be reached for comment on Friday, but they provided a joint statement to HCV late Tuesday afternoon.
“We are moms. We are experienced board trustees. We are committed to the Hoboken Public School District, and to the Hoboken community. Collectively, we have eight children in the Hoboken Public School District from Pre-K through 11th grade, three of which will be attending Hoboken High School next year,” the trio of candidates said.
“We have volunteered our time over the last eight years to advance progress in the district. The district has experienced tremendous growth over that time in a variety of ways, from academic success to enrollment growth to the creation of out of the classroom offerings and opportunities provided for all students. We aren’t done yet. Public schools are the backbone to a strong community.”
They concluded by stating that they are committed to being community leaders and making the Hoboken Public Schools “a premier educational choice.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated late Tuesday afternoon with a statement from the Moms for Progress slate.