Eight candidates running for three Cherry Hill Board of Education seats will face community questions at a forum Tuesday, Sept. 15, at Cherry Hill High School West.

The event, hosted by the Cherry Hill Zone PTA and moderated by the League of Women Voters, runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the High School West auditorium, according to 70and73.com. It is the first in-person Board of Education candidates forum since the pandemic. Residents who cannot attend can join by Zoom, meeting ID 816 9441 0918.

The forum is free.

Voters will choose three board members for three-year terms on Nov. 3. The candidates, in ballot order: Melissa Manzano (incumbent), Darby Malvey, Renee Cherfane (incumbent), Joseph Lynch, Harold "Hal" Melleby Jr., Steven Redfearn, Ineda "Corrien" Elmore-Stratton and Anne Einhorn.

Jamie Marchese, Zone PTA chair and a Windsor Park parent with three children in Cherry Hill schools, said special education usually comes up at candidate forums and that student screen time is a big issue this year. She said the PTA pushed for an in-person format because not all residents want to participate through a screen.

Special education touches a large share of the district's families. About 18.2% of Cherry Hill's 10,919 students receive special education services, according to district data.

Cherry Hill adopted a wireless-device policy before the 2024-2025 school year requiring students to keep phones in backpacks or lockers. The district is now updating that policy to comply with New Jersey's bell-to-bell cell phone ban, which takes effect in September. At a board meeting in late July, Cherfane raised concerns about student access to district-issued Chromebooks at home. "What I've witnessed with this is that when they come home, there's still very unlimited access to a lot of things on those devices," she said at the time, as reported by 70and73.com.

The district's $363 million school renovation bond program, approved by voters in 2022, is also part of the backdrop heading into the election.

Each candidate will have two minutes to present a platform, one minute to respond to each question and two minutes for a closing statement. Residents can submit questions through Friday, Sept. 11, via a Google form linked on the Zone PTA's announcement.