SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — South Orange-Maplewood Cares About Schools will hold a South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education candidates debate on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. at the Baird Center, 5 Mead St. in South Orange. The debate will be co-moderated by South Orange Village President Sheena Collum and Maplewood Mayor Vic DeLuca and will be broadcast live on the South Orange-Maplewood Cares About Schools Facebook Page.
This debate is a little different from the others that will be happening this year. South Orange-Maplewood Cares About Schools will be inviting the public to compile the questions that will be asked. All members of our Facebook group and community members from the two towns will be invited to fill out a form at https://goo.gl/forms/Tj2EB8L2Sgh4IjWp1, which will compile the questions for the candidates. The responses will be shared with the moderators, who will then choose which questions to ask the candidates. No personal attacks will be allowed and questions have to be answerable by all candidates. The candidates will not be getting the questions in advance.
The format of the debate will be as follows: Each candidate will have 1.5 minutes for a previously prepared opening statement; candidates will get two minutes each to answer debate questions; there will be brief period left at the end of the debate for a few questions from the audience and from Facebook Live viewers; and the debate will end with each candidate having 1.5 minutes for a previously prepared closing statement.