Stacy Gray For Board Of Education

Good evening my Deptford friends! I have a lot on my mind tonight and need to blog because otherwise I’ll feel anxious and miserable all night. So, here goes! This morning I was talking to a friend and she told me that someone I know (from running for school board in the past) had posted on a Deptford Facebook group that I am not a member of. The information is accurate from the NJ ELEC website as public information. I had no idea she shared it and had nothing to do with it. It is nothing new in Deptford that the Deptford Democratic Club supports candidates financially. I personally do not agree with it but it is not illegal as far as I can tell and it is their prerogative. However, I just heard from a family member that my name is now somewhere in the mix of comments so I will address those comments accurately. Yes, I did go to speak to the mayor regarding this school board election, because in my opinion and based on the past~ that’s the way it goes so to speak. Our current board is very content with the way we work together. We, together, have been working hard to improve our schools over the last several years. We are excited about Deptford’s future and have goals we want to meet together. Ed, Mark, and I work together well. However, it has been apparent to me since I ran in 2012 that this local club chooses, in some capacity, the candidates. What I mean by that is the general Deptford citizen doesn’t usually run unless they have a specific concern about their child. (Hence the uncontested school board election last year). So yes, the mayor accepted my request for a meeting and we spoke for over an hour. For the record, I didn’t want ANY money from anyone. I simply “asked” if he would support the 3 of us running together. I actually pointed out that there would be no need to spend money. I will not go into all of the details but I left knowing he would support the 3 best candidates and I wasn’t one of them, in his opinion. For the record, I am a registered DEMOCRAT and have voted Democrat in every election I can remember. I asked if I could speak to the Democrat Club members and well, no. I am still not clear exactly how “they” (meaning someone or a group that I am unaware of) chooses the candidates to run. Does it bother me? YES……it bothers me because per NJ School Boards Association a school board election is non-partisan, meaning no party affiliation and that is for a very good reason. Also, I truly put everything I have into this position and take it very seriously. I even asked who is a better candidate considering NO ONE comes to our school board meetings. My opinion is that if you are interested in serving you  should at the very least attend meetings to be aware of the issues, concerns, etc. If you’ve been to a board meeting you know there are rarely any members of the public in attendance. I spent my own money in 2012 to buy my signs and send postcards. With a son in college I just can’t afford to do that and realistically anything I do cannot compete with their campaign. I do not know Ruth Logue but have heard how committed she is to the OVAA. I met Carol Gioia when she ran for a one year term a couple of years ago and she is a very intelligent woman. My only critique is that they have not attended school board meetings (Mrs. Logue was at the last one for transparency and Ms. Gioia was in attendance a couple of times when she ran last time). I have been attending board meetings religiously for the last 7 years as both a member of the board and a member of the public. I am trained in all mandated areas and have several credits of training beyond what is required. I LOVE serving our community on the school board and I truly believe it is pertinent to have a teacher serve on the board. Ed and I spoke prior to the nomination deadline and do NOT want any negativity in this campaign. I am very grateful there hasn’t been any hate mail this go around. After hearing about the post and comments I can only say that someone does not agree with PACS and donors supporting school board elections, that is not personal. If I WERE running with them this person would  probably have said the same and I’d be included. For someone else to bring my name into the conversation is really unfortunate because I am not even in that group. (for the record, I would not take money from those groups for reasons included in this post) If I am not successful this time (the voter turnout is expected to be low) I will run again next year because I KNOW I can make a difference. (I do much better in Presidential election cycles) I’m not going anywhere! The bottom line is I am not on the “A-List” of whoever chooses candidates, it is what it is. They want who they want. I can say if I was on the A list, the 3 of us may probably have run together. (just my opinion) I wish all of the candidates the best of luck and am just trying to do my thing, which is spread MY message of why I am running and my goals for our wonderful school district. I am so passionate about advocating for students and will always give 100%. The documents shared are public record. Some people feel it’s fine to get donations from professionals and PACs. Some do not. It is a matter of opinion. I can only do what I do and hope that my record as an advocate and dedicated educator and board member has earned the trust of the voters and they go to the polls to have their voice heard. Two weeks to go!  Please feel free to share, tell your friends, family, neighbors, bus stop buddies :) Thanks for reading :)