On Wednesday, Sept. 27, Grace Kim announced that she would be stepping down from her position on the Madison Board of Education (BOE), effective immediately. Kim has been a Madison resident since 2012, and a member of the BOE since January of 2022, and she was set to serve through December of 2024. However, due to the current climate of the BOE and conflicts surrounding the recent discussion of the $79 million referendum that would go towards improving school facilities, Kim has decided to step down before the end of her term. Kim, along with fellow board member David Irwin, is against the referendum, while the majority of the Board is in favor of it, and voted to approve it. At the Sept. 26 BOE meeting, she again expressed concern about the referendum, stating her belief that the district should focus on improving the academic standing of the schools before taking on the infrastructural issues that the referendum would address. During this meeting, Kim also spoke about how she felt her difference of opinion on the referendum wasn’t listened to, and these same sentiments were echoed the following day in her resignation announcement. Kim stated that she feels her time on the Board “has become an exercise in frustration and [her] share of voice is not appreciated, effective or quite frankly, welcome.”
Due to Kim’s resignation, mid term, her spot on the Board now needs to be filled. Because Kim did not wait until the end of her term to step down, it will fall to the remaining members to appoint a replacement rather than Madison voters. The Madison Board of Education will likely hold interviews to find a replacement for Kim in the upcoming months. As per New Jersey School Boards Association, the Board will have a 65 day period before the vacancy must be filled. If they do not meet this deadline, then it will fall to the executive county superintendent to appoint the new member.