Two School Board Veterans Not Seeking Re-Election

Two veteran Toms River Board of Education members will not seek another term, according to petition filings at the Ocean County Clerk's Office. 

Edward F. Gearity, who holds Beachwood's seat on the regional school board, and Thomas Baxter, a Toms River member, did not file petitions to seek the three-year terms, according to the county clerk. 

Those two seats, in addition to the Pine Beach seat held by Michael A. Jedziniak, are available in November. Jedziniak did file a petition to seek re-election, according to the county clerk. 

Petitions to run were due to the county clerk's office by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4. 

Gearity was appointed to the board in January 2001 and went on to win his seat that April, according to the school district. He served as the board's president before Ben Giovine was elected to the position in January. 

A Toms River school board member for over 20 years, Baxter is a High School South graduate who has been an educator for 30 years and currently works as the Director of Curriculum for Manchester schools. 

Each of the three races for a single school board seat are contested; two candidates are running in both Beachwood and Pine Beach, and five candidates are running in Toms River.

The 2013 Toms River Regional Board of Education candidates are:

Toms River
Gus Kakavas of Smokerise Lane
Robert Onofrietti, Jr. of Medjay Lane
James G. Sigurdson of Echo Place
Joyce Blair of Wedgewood Drive
Brian McCaskill of Morris Boulevard 

Beachwood
Gloria McCormack of Halliard Avenue
Ronald A. Ross of Neptune Avenue

Pine Beach
Michael A. Jedziniak of Radnor Avenue (Incumbent)
Walt Ramsay of Station Avenue 

All Ocean County school districts, with the exception of Lakewood, opted to move their school board elections from April to November as a result of a bill signed into law by Governor Christie in 2012. Toms River Regional then voted to move the election locally.