Thank you for signing the School Buses for SOMA Kids petition calling on Dr. Taylor and the BOE to expand current school bus eligibility to K-8 students in our district beyond the 2 mile minimum established by NJ law. Thanks to your support, we have reached over 1,000 signatures and counting!
There is a BOE meeting tomorrow, Monday, July 18 at 7:30pm. We plan to share our petition with Dr. Taylor and the BOE and need a strong show of support from all of you. We strongly encourage you to voice your concerns about current transportation policy and your support for our petition during the Hearing of Individuals and Delegations (aka Public Speaks).
There are two options for participating in Public Speaks. Both require signing up ahead of time in order to speak.
Option 1 - Attend the meeting in person and sign-up to speak at the entrance to the meeting room.
Meeting Location: BOE Administration Building, 525 Academy Street, Maplewood
Meeting Time: 7:30pm
Note: If you plan to attend in person we strongly encourage you to arrive well before 7:30 pm to sign up for Public Speaks.
Option 2 - Participate in the BOE meeting virtually via WebEx and provide audio comments.
To do this please follow the directions outlined here and below:
Step 1 - Install Webex on your device
Step 2 - Submit a Request To Speak by completing the following form: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/c7212837/Ffsh7_wY2Eqo3hmR56EzJg?u=https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd5l0got9auloI3HjdDTyo6Huk4IhHbN6Lt6iScuMrodYs06A/viewform
Step 3 - Connect To The BOE Meeting using the information below:
Event: Board of Education Meeting - Public Session
Date / Time: July 18, 2022 - 7:30 PM
Webex Link: Click Here
Event Number: 2338 533 0199
Event Password: Orange20Maple (67264320from phones)
Telephone Number: 408-418-9388
If you are unable to participate in the BOE meeting, we urge you to email BOE members and Dr. Taylor as soon as possible to voice your concerns and support for expansion of bus transportation eligibility.
BOE Members group email: boemembers@somsd.k12.nj.us
Superintendent Dr. Taylor: rtaylor@somsd.k12.nj.us
List of individual Board Members:
Thair Joshua (he/him/his)
Board President
Term: 2020 - 2022
email: tjoshua@somsd.k12.nj.us
Susan Bergin (she/her/hers)
1st Vice President
Term: 2021 - 2023
email: sbergin@somsd.k12.nj.us
Kaitlin Wittleder (she/her/hers)
2nd Vice President
Term: 2022 - 2024
email: kwittled@somsd.k12.nj.us
Elissa Malespina (she/her/hers)
Term: 2021 - 2023
email: emalesp1@somsd.k12.nj.us
Erin Siders (she/her/hers)
Term: 2020 - 2022
email: esiders@somsd.k12.nj.us
Qawi Telesford (he/him/his)
Term: 2022 - 2024
email: qtelesfo@somsd.k12.nj.us
Arun Vadlamani (he/him/his)
Term: 2022 - 2024
email: avadlama@somsd.k12.nj.us
Courtney Winkfield (she/her/hers)
Term: 2021 - 2023
email: cwinkfie@somsd.k12.nj.us
Johanna Wright (she/her/hers)
Term: 2020 - 2022
email: johannawright@somsd.k12.nj.us