See below for the NJSBA Nominating Committee Announcement naming Montville Township Board of Education Member Dr. Karen Cortellino as New Jersey School Boards Association's pick as NJSBA's 2023-2025 President.
Cortellino was chosen from two candidates who applied for the 2023-2025 NJSBA President position.
An experienced BOE member, Cortellino has been a dedicated and active BOE member at the local, county, and state level since winning a seat on the Montville Township Board of Education in 2006.
In 2011 Cortellino earned NJSBA's Certified Board Member status, which she followed in 2014 by earning Master Board Member status, and again in 2015 when she earned NJSBA's highest Board of Education Member status, the NJSBA Certified Board Leader Award.
An active member of the Montville Township Board Education, Cortellino as served as a member at large, President, and Vice President in Montville Township.
Simultaneously she has also held leadership roles in the Morris County Schools Boards Association and the NJSBA. In 2022 Cortellino became the first recipient of the Morris County School Boards Association’s Irene LeFebvre Excellence in Boardsmanship Award. Currently she serves as the NJSBA Vice-President for Legislation/Resolutions.
NJSBA Announcement:
The New Jersey School Boards Association Nominating Committee met, pursuant to Article VII, Section 5 of the Association bylaws, to interview candidates for officer positions. Nine applications were received; however, one applicant withdrew from the interview process. Two candidates interviewed for the office of NJSBA president, three candidates for vice president for county activities, one candidate applied for vice president of finance and two candidates applied for vice president for legislation/resolutions.
The committee interviewed all eight candidates and prepared a report naming a single candidate for each office. All officer positions will be voted upon at the annual Delegate Assembly meeting on May 13.
The Nominating Committee submits the following candidates to serve during the 2023-2025 term of office:
- President – Karen Cortellino, Montville Township Board of Education (Morris).
- Vice President for County Activities – Barry Fitzgerald, Lenape Regional Board of Education (Burlington).
- Vice President for Finance – Jonathan Castaneda, West New York Board of Education (Hudson).
- Vice President for Legislation/Resolutions – Chanta Jackson, Neptune Township Board of Education (Monmouth).
Additional Information for Filling Officer Positions According to NJSBA bylaws, candidates for all positions may also be nominated by petition, signed by at least 10 members from at least five different boards of education, filed with the NJSBA executive director, on or before March 29 at 5 p.m.
No candidate may be nominated unless he or she has previously served one full term as a board member prior to his/her election to office. In addition, candidates must have qualified for and received the Certified Board Member qualification as set forth in NJSBA’s Governance and Operations Manual. The signatures need not all appear upon a single petition and any number of petitions may be filed on behalf of a candidate, but no petition shall contain the endorsement of more than one candidate. (GO/6603.1 and 6603.1R). A report of all candidates nominated by petition shall be submitted in advance of the meeting to the district boards of education.
Nominations by petition should be sent either via e-mail to charrison@njsba.org (with scanned signature) Attn: Cindy Harrison, registered/receipt requested mail or regular mail, or hand delivered to NJSBA headquarters in Trenton.
The written consent of the candidate for nomination by petition must be filed with the executive director within the same time limit.
When submitting nominations by petition, candidates should include a “head and shoulders” photo and brief online resume, including a 200-word statement explaining why he or she is seeking the position. Resumes should contain information under the following headings: local board activities, county activities, NJSBA activities, education and employment/community activities. A sample petition may be obtained online or may be obtained from Cindy Harrison in the Executive Office at charrison@njsba.org or 609- 278-5254.