A few concerned Jersey City residents asked the Board of Education to consider Gina Verdibello or Mussab Ali, both who ran unsuccessfully on November 8, to fill the vacancy created by Vice President John Reichart resigning.
Jersey City BOE President Vidya Gangadin explained that the board is committed to “transparency†and “community involvement†and will be advertising for candidates as soon as tomorrow, with a plan to fill Reichart’s seat by January.
Education Activist Monique Andrews advocated for Verdibello, who ran under the Education Matters team with trustee-elects Sudhan Thomas and Angel Valentin.
The Education Matters team was backed by the Jersey City Education Association.
According to the Hudson County Clerk’s Office, Verdibello has accumulated 14,413 votes which is just behind Jersey City BOE-elect Luis Felipe Fernandez at 14,734. The tallies include vote by mail ballots, but provisional ballots will not be counted until next week.
Mussab Al,i who ran under the Fix It Now banner with Kimberly Goycochea, had one of his former teacher’s and a number of McNair Academy High School students asking the board to consider nominating him.
According to Middle School No. 7 teacher John Flora, Ali is a prime example of young leadership.
Additionally, McNair students Mahoud Daoud, Kaream El-Adle and Amine Ouadghiri explained the importance of having someone who attended Jersey City district schools to be on the board so that all students can have a true representation and a voice.
Interviews for all candidates will be held on December 15, 2016 and Jersey City BOE members will be voting to fill the seat by January 2017.
Reichart, whose resignation is effective today, was not present at last night’s meeting.
