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For Maplewood families, school board elections can feel personal because decisions made at board meetings reach into classrooms, budgets and daily routines.

r Maplewood families, school board elections can feel personal because decisions made at board meetings reach into classrooms, budgets and daily routines.

The Maplewood school board election described in a local endorsement has four candidates seeking three seats on the nine-member South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education.

They are Trish Azeez, Liz Callahan, Kevin Diaz and Will Meyer, giving voters a choice between returning members and new voices.

Among the school board endorsements in this race, former board member Annemarie Maini is backing Callahan and Meyer for reelection and Diaz for a seat.

Maini served on the board for six years, including two as president, and frames her choices around experience, access and sound judgment.

Her endorsement argues that board service requires more than agreeing on broad goals for students.

Members must question district proposals, weigh limited resources and explain difficult choices to neighbors who may see those decisions differently.

That is a useful reminder in a community where school policy can carry real emotional weight for families.

Maini credits Callahan and Meyer with bringing experience to the board’s work on equitable opportunity, integration and student support.

She points to their respective backgrounds in behavioral health and special education law as strengths when complicated issues reach the board table.

She also argues that their experience with hard decisions and setbacks could help them serve another term.

For Diaz, her case rests on a different quality: a willingness to listen, learn and consider the needs of the wider community.

That mix of returning members and a newcomer is the central appeal of her endorsed slate.

It is not, however, the only choice on the ballot: Azeez is also competing for one of the three seats.

An endorsement offers one perspective, not a substitute for weighing what each candidate would bring to Maplewood and South Orange schools.

For voters, the deeper question is who will press for answers when priorities collide and resources fall short.

The stakes extend beyond election day, because board decisions shape how the district serves students with different needs.

In this race, experience and fresh perspective are both part of the conversation; voters will decide which combination earns their trust.