About 50 residents went to hear the candidates for for the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District Board of Education Wednesday night in the MRH High School auditorium hosted by the Hadley Township Democratic Club.
The election for the board positions will be on the April 2 ballot. There are two available board positions up for election. The top two vote-getters will be elected.
Candidates at the forum were:
• Dale Chambers
• Nikylan Knapper
• Brandi Herndon-Miller (incumbent)
Each candidate gave an opening statement, then current board member Nelson Mitten read questions to the candidates submitted from the audience.
All candidates said they believe that every student has a right to an individualized education. Both Knapper and Herndon-Miller said they believe education is more than subjects — it includes emotional development.
Mitten is not running for re-election. He had a ‘cardiac episode’ in September 2018 the school district reported then. He looked healthy at the forum, and was given a standing ovation at the end of the event.
Brad Jackson was originally scheduled to be at this event but has since announced that he is withdrawing from the race. He will still be on the ballot.
Maplewood Community Builders had hoped to live-stream the forum on Facebook but had problems with that. They said they hope to post a video later.
Nancy Miner contributed to this report.
