UPDATE: Four Candidates Drop Out of Franklin Lakes Board of Ed Race

A crowded election ballot for the Franklin Lakes Board of Education got a little bit thinner this week as four candidates announced they would no longer be seeking one of the three open seats on the board.

Jamie Martino, who is currently serving his first term on the board, announced at a Board of Education meeting Tuesday night that increased work obligations informed his decision not to run for reelection in November.

“Over the summer, we had some very positive things happen on the business front,” Martino said Tuesday. Increased travel and other work-related responsibilities will, “make it impossible to fulfill a three-year term,” he said.

Martino will “enthusiastically” fill out the rest of his current term, he said, which ends at the end of 2013.

According to a NorthJersey.com report, newcomers Susan Miller and Victoria Holst announced via letters to the publication that they have also dropped out of the race. Holst said a recent business opportunity prompted her not to run, while Miller said business and family considerations informed her decision, NorthJersey.com reported.

Longtime board member Richard Koenigsberg also recently announced his decision to drop out of the race, the report said.

Koenigsberg, who has been on the board for 10 years, said the board's recent decisions to not renew its curriculum director and accept the resignation of Superintendent James Romano prompted his decision, according to the report.

Recent board decisions also caused Koenigsberg to remove his daughter from the district and place her in private school, the report said.

According to NorthJersey.com, all four candidates withdrew by the September 6 deadline.

The changes leave a field of four candidates left vying for three seats on the board: incumbent Christine Christopoul is seeking reelection, former board president Kathleen Schwartz is looking to reclaim a place on the board, and newcomers Ralph Valvano and Anthony Zolfo are looking to win elections to their first terms.

The Board of Education election will be held November 5.