State Concerns, Fresh Ideas Among Reasons Incumbents Aren't Running

Together, they’ve served more than two decades as Board of Education members, but this year, it’s time to say goodbye to the volunteer positions.

At the end of their third and fourth terms, respectively, Board of Education members Wolfgang Schneider and Neil Hudes opted not to run for re-election in this year’s school board race.

“You don’t think 12 years is enough,” Hudes said.  “It’s been a great experience.  It’s been very rewarding and I’m all for community service.”

“I think it’s time for someone else to share their thoughts, their ideas, their expertise,” he added.

For Schneider, the change in the state’s attitude toward public schools prompted him to make this term his last.

“I’ve had three terms and I am very frustrated with what is coming out of Trenton,” Schneider said.  “It’s just getting difficult with what is happening down in Trenton and it all filters down.  I don’t like that so much is coming out of Trenton that it puts a damper on what local Boards of Education need to do to do their job.”

“We’re put in a corner and we’re lost,” he said.

Hudes and Schneider said the budget would be the most pressing concern for both candidates and current board members.

“The biggest challenge is trying to mitigate the budget,” Schneider said.  “We lost $5 million last year and any tax increase will be an issue.”

Candidates also need to remember serving on the board is different from other elected positions, Hudes said.

“From the personal side, it’s really understanding what a board member does...as oppose to other elected officials,” Hudes said.  “Board members shouldn’t carry personal agendas.  They are a representative of a whole. ... At the end of the day, the goal is consensus.  I think that is a challenge for a lot of people.”

A lack of political bias and the ability to concentrate on the district and the students are among the qualities Schneider felt he brought to the board.

“I’m not politically affiliated with any party,” Schneider said.  “I look at the facts and make a decision based on the students and the district.”

Though he’s spent 12 years on the Board of Education, Hudes does not focus on individual accomplishments made during his time on the board he said.

“I don’t really look at it that way,” he said.

Instead, he looks at the traits he brought during his time there: leadership, guidance, level-headedness and support for high-quality schools.

“All the other things that come with that are great,” he said.