ATNJ Education Fund
If you would like to support our efforts to educate and support citizens to serve on the Board of Education, please donate to our 501(3) nonpartisan nonprofit.
This initiative is provided by ATNJ Education Fund in response to requests from community members in New Jersey. As a leading trusted voice in voter education, we were asked to provide resources from people interested in running to serve their community on the Board of Education.
When we provided training for Board Of Education in 2017, there was not a lot of interest. In actuality, it was hard to recruit people to serve on the Board of Education back then. But as we have all seen in the past year, the nationalization of divisive politics has trickled down to the local board of education level. We believe this to be harmful to our communities.
Every time we vote, we are “being political.” Voting is both a civic act and a political act. But there are positions in society that require us to serve in a nonpartisan way and being on your Board of Education is one of those. We believe that these nonpartisan values are critical for those who wish to serve on the Board of Education.
“The school board has a dual role: To represent the concerns of the citizens, taxpayers and parents to the school administrators, and to represent the needs of the students and school district to the citizens, taxpayers and parents of the community.” NJSBA.org
When you sign up as a candidate, you can attend free publicly available training. This training will be virtual to reach as many candidates statewide as possible. It’s the most convenient, safe, cost-effective, and inclusive option.
The nonpartisan training is free to you. We are able to provide this by asking for donations from small donors and writing for grants to do this work. There will be a minimal charge for renting the voter list.
Absolutely. We strive to reply promptly. Contact us here.
No. We believe in rising above partisanship. Think back to when you (or your parents) moved into your town. If you have school-age children, when you consider where to move to, you think of “Oh, this town has good public schools.” You may also look at school rankings. Good public schools are a foundation of a thriving community, with young families, a bustling main street, and they also help maintain property values. A thriving town needs good public schools. And a Board of Education that works well together can rise above politics.
