Gerard Dalton is approaching the end of his first year on the Asbury Park Board of Education [BOE] and asking voters to elect him for another year.
Dalton was appointed to the nine-member board last year after a member resigned. He is running for one more year to finish that member’s term. After that, he can run for a full three-year term.
He works as a middle-school principal in the West Windsor-Plainsboro school district, and this is his 21st year in public education.
“I can be someone who brings something to the process because of my background,” he said. “I’m hopefuly we can work togetehr as a board to continue to make progress for the district.”
He’s lived in Asbury Park for five years, after moving from Morris County.
Working toward a common vision and common expectations between administrators and board members is important to him, he said.
“We’re still in the process of everyone being on the same page, but I’ve enjoyed working with people on that,” he said. “I enjoy engaging in discussion on topics and also learning from other people’s backgrounds and their experience why they are so passionate about certain topics.”
In the past year, good governance was an important topic for him.
“I’ve tried to focus on working with other board members,” he said. “There are agreements and disagreements, but we’re trying to work collaboratively so that the way we govern the district is seen in a positive light … You put a bunch of people together, they have to work cohesively to achieve the mission.”
He’d also like to see the district’s reputation improve.
“We receive a lot of criticism outside our community,” he said. “The image of the district continues to improve through action — action of the board and action of the educators, as proven by the progress of our students.”
Newcomer Qzeena Taylor is also running for the one-year unexpired term on the board.
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Six candidates are vying for three spots on the BOE with full three-year terms this year. Those candidates are incumbents Sheila Brazile, Rev. Geneva Smallwood and Barbara Lesinski, and newcomers Jessie Ricks, Christian Hall and Talesha Crank.
BOE elections take place along with general elections on Nov. 6.
