Forty school board seats are up for election across the 17 municipal school districts in Cape May County on Nov. 5.
Seven of the districts have contested elections this year. There are also two districts where there are not enough candidates for all the seats available.
Eight districts have uncontested races.
Following is a list of the candidates.
Contested Elections
Dennis Township School District has five candidates running for three spots on the nine-person board of education, each for a three-year term. Two of the five candidates are incumbents Mariam Khan and Tami Kern. The seat on the board occupied by Kristi Siekierski is also up in 2024 but she is not listed as a candidate on the November ballot. The three others vying for seats on the board are John Costanzo, Steven Gurdgiel and Blaine Paynter.
Lower Township Elementary School District has four candidates for three seats on the nine-member school board of education; all terms are three years. Three of the four candidates are incumbents, Monica DeVito, Patricia Smith and Lindsey Selby; the fourth candidate is James “Coach JR” Morris.
Lower Cape May Regional School District has three candidates for two spots on the board representing Lower Township. There is also one open seat on the board representing Cape May City. In the regional school system, each board seat is elected by voters from the municipality that seat will represent. The overall board has nine members, all serving three-year terms. Seats are based on population, with seven going to Lower Township, one to Cape May City and one to West Cape May. All three municipalities also have their own boards of education for their own school districts.
The seat on the board representing Cape May City has incumbent Harry F. Sundstrom running unopposed. The two seats representing Lower Township are being contested by four candidates, incumbents Roy Abrams Jr. and Kelly Cronin and challengers Violanda (V. Adams) DiRenzo-Adams and Glenn Douglass.
Middle Township School District has seven candidates running for three open positions on the nine-member board; all seek three-year terms. Two of the candidates are incumbents, Stephanie Thomas, who serves as current board president, and Kathleen Orlando. Board member George DeLollis is not seeking reelection. The five other candidates are Samuel Carabello Jr., Lindsey Tyler DeLollis, Linda George, Krista Ostrander and Lauren Keating Wear.
Stone Harbor Board of Education is part of the jointly administered Avalon Stone Harbor Schools. Stone Harbor has a five-member board with two seats open in the election. The terms are three years. Incumbent Margaret Day seeks reelection, but Robert A. Ross is not running to return to the board. The two others seeking posts are Kara Sweet and Elizabeth Hodges.
Upper Township School District has five candidates vying for three seats on a nine-member school board. Only one incumbent is seeking reelection, Brian Teeney. Both Frances T. Newman and William M. Holmes are not running for another term. The four other candidates are Earl “Bud” Smith, Donald J. Polo, Andrew Shawl and Thomas Tyrell, the latter three running as a team.
Woodbine School District has four candidates for three board seats on the nine-member board; all terms are three years. Two incumbents, Wanda Young and Alicia Larcombe, seek reelection; board member Gregory Hudgins is not seeking another term. The other two candidates are Harold H. Harris and Erica Moffitt.
Districts Without Sufficient Candidates
West Wildwood School District has one seat open with no petitions filed. The seat is currently held by Lori Perloff, who is not running for another term.
Wildwood School District has two candidates for three seats on its nine-member board; all seats are for three-year terms. The candidates are both incumbents, Ernie Troiano III and Roberta-Joy M. Taylor. Board member Edward Harshaw did not file for reelection.
Districts With Uncontested Elections
Avalon Board of Education is part of the jointly administered Avalon Stone Harbor Schools. Incumbent Dorothy Lynn Schwartz is running uncontested for reelection to the five member board. The seat carries a three-year term.
City of Cape May School District has three incumbents running for reelection to a nine-member board without opposition. They are Shaun Deignan, Mark J. Le Munyon and Joseph McKenna. Each seat carries a three-year term.
Borough of Cape May Point has one incumbent, Alice Gibson, seeking reelection to one available three-year term on the three-person school board.
The City of North Wildwood School District has a nine-member board, with two incumbents and one other candidate running unopposed for three open seats; all are three-year terms. The incumbents are James P. Farrell and Laura Stefankiewicz; the third candidate is Haroula Rotondi, who is seeking the seat being vacated by Victoria Rozanski.
Ocean City School District has three candidates running for three seats on a nine-member school board; all seats have three-year terms. Two of the candidates are incumbents Jacqueline A. McAlister and Christopher M. Halliday; the third is Charles V. Roche III, who is seeking the seat being vacated by Henry Vanderslice, who is not running for reelection.
Sea Isle City School District has an incumbent, Patricia Halfpenny, who is not seeking reelection to the five-member board. The three-year term is being sought by Brigid Woolery.
West Cape May School District has a five-member board with two seats on the ballot; the seats are for three-year terms. Incumbent David La Puma is seeking reelection; Kathleen Satt is trying to win the seat being vacated by Elaine Lawler, who is not running again.
Wildwood Crest School District has two incumbents seeking two new three-year terms. They are board President Toni Fuscellaro and William “Bud” Morey. Separately, Nicholas Holland is seeking to fill a two-year unexpired term, in a seat being vacated early by Justin Feraco.
