Four Candidates to Compete for Three School Board Seats

Bernards Township School Board members Michael Byrne, who has served for about 24 years, and Elaine Kusel, finishing up her first three-year term, have filed to seek re-election, along with two newcomers seeking positions on the Board of Education.

Three three-year seats are up for election in November this year. Longtime incumbent William Koch, a board member for about 11 years who has served as many board committees, did not file for re-election, according to information received from the Somerset County Clerk's office at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, deadline for filing.

The other two candidates who filed to be included on November's ballot are Christopher Viereck and John Groot, according to the clerk's office.

The township's elections for Board of Education members last year was moved from April to the November general election, as per a new state initiative to move the election date and halt voting on school budgets for those school systems that agreed to keep their annual school tax levy increases to two percent or less.

Byrne lives at 18 Tanglewood Lane in Basking Ridge; Groot lives at 28 Briar Lane; Kusel lives at 52 Granville Way; and Viereck lives at 330 Grist Mill Drive.