Election 2025: Here are Passaic County's contested November school board races
The candidates who filed in the summer of 2025 for the November election represent a mix of individual runs and jointly filed slates, according to the unofficial list released by Passaic County officials on July 29.
There are uncontested races in most towns, including Clifton, Hawthorne, Little Falls and West Milford, but more than a handful have challengers vying for limited seats. Some involve incumbents attempting to regain their seats while running alongside newcomers in a clear attempt to displace fellow board members.
Story continues below photo gallery.
Haledon school board race
That is the case in Haledon, where all three incumbents are running for reelection but not all on the same slate.
Current Board President Liesl Fores-Iza and fellow board member Rafael Martinez are running along with Jamie Spiridigliozzi under the banner "Partners in Education." Incumbent Michael Coletta, meanwhile, jointly filed with Tuneisha Gatling and Evelyn Garcia with the slogan "Putting Children First."
Manchester Regional High School Board of Education
Haledon residents running for seats on the Manchester Regional High School Board of Education, however, are running unopposed. So are the rest of the residents seeking regional high school board seats in Passaic County. That includes one candidate in North Haledon, one in Totowa, two in Woodland Park and one in Ringwood, where three seats are available on the Lakeland Regional High School Board and write-in campaigns are likely.
Ringwood school board race
Ringwood's K-8 school board is nonetheless a fully contested race. Six candidates are seeking just three seats. Like in Haledon, the incumbents are split, with board members Theresa Struck and Dawn Savastano running alongside Dulce Bueno under the slogan "Achieve More." Trustee Melissa Zepponi-Kearney is joining Michael F. Echols and Michael A. Benetatos as the "Ringwood Kids Matter" slate.
Pompton Lakes school board race
In Pompton Lakes, Board President Jared Luciani is the only candidate running for reelection. He is joined on the "Defining Our Future" slate by Lorie Teggart and Anthony Gesimondo. Two other candidates, Lynn Hazelman and Michael Barbera, are running separate individual campaigns for the three open seats on the board.
Story continues below photo gallery.
Wayne school board race
Two of three incumbents are running in Wayne, though in separate campaigns. Current Vice-President Barbara Rigoglioso jointly filed with Keith M. Heyman under the banner "Excellence for Education." Incumbent Ryan Battershill, meanwhile, is running solo for one of three seats in a race that also includes Joseph V. Agnes, Mayer Gurkov and Joseph "Joe" Troy, Jr., the latter with the slogan "Vision-Driven Leadership."
Woodland Park school board race
In Woodland Park, the two incumbents vying for reelection jointly filed. Board members David Amanullah and Gina McQuin are running with Jamie Zummo with the slogan "Children Come First." Sanjay Desai, with the slogan "Future Starts Now," is running an individual campaign. Meanwhile, Laura Spagnola Vargas and Maria Flynn have jointly filed with the slogan "Voice For Board" as they seek two of the three open seats.
North Haledon school board race
Two incumbents are also seeking reelection in North Haledon, where four candidates are running for three seats. Board members Nicholas Nagy and Jared Blaso are facing competition from Jennifer Mendillo and Hector Montes in that race.
Paterson school board race
Paterson also has a contested race featuring seven candidates, none of whom have filed jointly. They are Valerie Freeman (Children Over Politics), Cameo Black (Parent Not Politician), Della McCall (Student First Always), Alexander "Alex" Mendez, Jr. (Empowering Future Generations), Eddie Gonzalez (Every Child Matters), Christopher "Chris" Small (Change is Coming) and Sumaidah Ramadan.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Passaic County has 8 contested school board races in November 2025
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