The discussion boiled down to the main topics of schools and taxes during a Gloucester County Candidates Forum that was held Monday night at the Abingdon Ruritan Club, Bena.

Nearly 200 people attended the event, which was sponsored by the Gloucester chapter of the NAACP, the Gloucester Education Association and the Gloucester Retired Educators Association.

While some of the local candidates running for the Nov. 7 General Election thought that the school system was the answer to retaining local graduates and attracting new residents, others said they felt the answer also lies in attracting viable businesses to the community to keep residents with particular skill sets. 

“Needing to bring the right type of business to the county is important,” said Phillip Bazzani, who is running to retain his York Magisterial District seat on the board of supervisors. “We also need to prepare our students with vocational and specialized training depending upon the path the st...