The return of East Windsor Township and Hightstown Borough incumbent school board members Jenna Drake, Christina “Tina” Lands and Kavitha Madhuri Velagapudi to the East Windsor Regional School District Board of Education has been confirmed by voters in the Nov. 5 general election.
Voters also chose Robert Laverty to fill out an unexpired one-year term on the school board, defeating incumbent school board member Paula Calia. She was appointed in January to replace Bernard Fougnies, who resigned.
Of the nine seats on the East Windsor Regional School District Board of Education, seven are set aside for East Windsor Township residents and two are earmarked for Hightstown Borough residents.
The final vote tally for each candidate was certified by Mercer County officials and released Nov. 21. The certified vote tallies include early voting, Election Day voting, mail-in ballots and provisional ballots.
Lands and Velagapudi received 7,206 votes and 7,314 votes, respectively, for a three-year term. They represent East Windsor Township on the school board. They ran unopposed.
Drake, who represents Hightstown Borough and who also ran unopposed, received 1,782 votes. She will serve a three-year term.
Laverty received 6,161 votes to Calia’s 4,087 votes in the only contested race. Laverty will represent East Windsor Township on the board.
Lands said she sought re-election because being a school board member is an act of great service. Each student has different needs. The decisions that the school board makes support students throughout their school journey. Many positive changes have been implemented since she joined the school board, but there is always more work to be done.
Velagapudi said she wanted to continue to serve on the school board because she has always been passionate about proposing positive changes. She said her top priorities are ensuring student and school safety, securing proper funding for school facilities and bringing in innovative ideas to improve the school rankings.
Laverty has served on the school board off and on since he was first elected in 2001. He served for more than 20 years, with some breaks in between his service to the school board. He said he learned about labor issues, board ethics, finance and management during those 20 years. He understands what it takes to build and support the management team, teaching staff and other district employees who have taken the district through some challenging times.
Drake could not be reached for comment.
