In Cape May County 40 school board seats are up for election across 17 municipal school districts on Nov. 5. In two of those districts, Dennis and Middle, those seeking board posts are doing so in the wake of overwhelming voter rejection of referendum measures that would have significantly increased local property taxes. The open seats, three in each township, are being contested.
The Herald emailed all of the candidates in Middle and Dennis and asked them to talk about their reasons for running and what they see as the issues confronting their districts. How the winners, and their school boards, respond to the defeats of the referendum measures will be a defining issue for the next year.
MIDDLE TOWNSHIP
In the referendum in Middle, residents were asked to allow the district to bond for $26.5 million to create new pre-K classrooms at Elementary School 1 while relocating second graders to renovated space in Elementary School 2. Funds were also to be directed to upgrade ventilators in two schools and make improvements to district athletic facilities, including installing synthetic turf at Memorial Field.
The district has four schools with combined offerings from pre-K to 12th grade and hosts one of five public high schools in the county, drawing students from other municipalities for secondary education. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the district had 2,577 students in the 2022-2023 school year, the last for which figures were available, with 31% of those students enrolled in the high school.
In the November election, seven candidates are running for three open seats on the nine-member board. Two of the candidates are incumbents, Stephanie Thomas, who serves as the current board’s president, and Kathleen Orlando. Thomas voted in favor of placing the funding measure on the special election ballot; Orlando voted no. Board member George DeLollis is not seeking reelection.
Six of the seven candidates responded to the Herald email by its print deadline. Board President Stephanie Thomas, who contacted the Herald after its print deadline, said she did not receive the email. Her comments therefore missed that deadline but are included in this updated online version.
Lindsay Tyler DeLollis
DeLollis describes herself as a Panther, an alumna of the school district with two children now pursuing education there.
She says that the district has “achieved remarkable outcomes with limited resources,” pointing to the fact that the district has “the lowest per-student cost in the county at $15,000.” She says the district provides “a well-rounded education while being measured against schools with greater resources and selective admissions.”
On the failed referendum measure, DeLollis says, “Our needs have not vanished.” Aging facilities need upgrades, with a special emphasis on HVAC systems, she said.
In terms of academics, she speaks of the ongoing need to deal with learning loss during the pandemic. She specifically points to a need to reevaluate the reading curriculum.
With the imminent retirement of Schools Superintendent David Salvo, DeLollis sees the appointment of a replacement as a major decision confronting the board. She wants someone who “mirrors” Salvo’s philosophy and approach. She sees this as especially important in what she terms “today’s choice school era,” when parents can elect to send their children to other districts.
She says she will “prioritize evidence-based decision-making and responsible stewardship of our resources” if elected.
Kathleen Orlando
Incumbent Orlando, whom some voters may identify as Kathleen Kindle from the 2023 board, is a lifelong resident of Cape May County, a wife and mother of four with eight grandchildren. She served 26 years as a first grade teacher in the district, having taught, she estimates, 650 children in that time. Orlando says she will be a board member who is not afraid to ask the “hard questions of other board members.”
Orlando says she has reservations about the mental health program the district is currently implementing, preferring a more robust “in-depth wellness program.”
She says that the state test scores for the district “are of great concern.” One approach to that issue that she favors is alignment of the curriculum with top schools in the state.
As a board member, Orlando says she was instrumental in creating an “opt out” of the controversial health curriculum. She self-describes as an advocate for parental rights with regard to sexual and violent content in the school libraries.
Orlando vows to “act as a watchdog with regard to legislation that will affect your children moving forward.”
Krista Ostrander
Ostrander is a former teacher in the Middle Township District and has two children enrolled as current students.
She says she is a strong believer in the obligation of parents to support their school systems, support she is in part showing by running for the board. The common goals parents and the district share is to produce students who are able to enter society “able to think critically, respect others’ viewpoints and contribute to their environment in a positive way.”
Ostrander sees the diversity of Middle Township as a strength, but one that needs to be properly dealt with in the school system, where “learning opportunities are modified for children whose capabilities differ.” She sees small group or individual support options as critical to accomplishing that goal.
The referendum measure’s failure poses problems for Ostrander in that “proper HVAC systems, safe bleachers and sound structures are the basic rights of our children.”
She was the only candidate to advocate for greater investment in English as a second language in the township schools.
In her professional life, Ostrander says she is daily analyzing budgets, making financial decisions for clients and ensuring a team approach to work. These are skills that she feels would benefit the board and that she would like to “invest” in the education of the township’s children.
Linda George
George was previously a member of the board but lost her seat in a bid for reelection in 2023.
She says she is running again because of her commitment to ensuring that the township’s students receive an “exemplary educational experience.” She adds that she wants “to ensure that opportunity is extended to all students in the township.”
Like others, George accepts that some of the work grouped under the failed referendum measure still needs to be done. Locating funds to do it will be an early issue before the board.
She spoke of the task of hiring a new superintendent in the face of Salvo’s retirement at the end of the school year. Salvo has been with the district since 1995 and has served as its superintendent since 2014. George says hiring at all levels has been a challenge in recent years, and she expects hiring a new leader for the district will be one as well.
She says the district has a history of “making do with what we have.” As an individual who did not come from wealth, she says, she is experienced in setting the priorities that tight financial realities require. Professionally she see herself bringing skills in financial services, “specifically audit and compliance.”
Samuel Caraballo Jr.
Caraballo, who likes the sobriquet “Coach Sammy Caraballo,” feels he would be a “tremendous asset” to the board. He cites 32 years of experience in the military, saying he is a decorated combat veteran who retired in 2022 with a concentration in organizational leadership and personnel management. He says he is committed to transparency and fiscal responsibility.
Putting students first is best achieved, he believes, by a collaborative and productive school board that he feels he can help foster. Serving as a coach for football and baseball at Middle Township High School, he says his experience at coaching and his service on volunteer boards have taught him how to help and advocate for the youth in our community.
Speaking to some of the issues facing the township’s youth, Caraballo says he supports Critical Race Theory as a “topic that I feel should be taught within the context of our nation’s history.” He also advocates for diversity, equality, and inclusiveness but says that is something that must start at home and be reinforced at school.
“We live in a transformative world, and our school district should reflect and embrace some changes without forgetting that all of our students deserve a quality education,” he says.
Caraballo is the father of four children who went through the district school system and of two who are still doing so.
Lauren Keating Wear
Keating-Wear is the mother of five children who says she feels passionate about their education. She wants to see more parent “interaction and involvement” in the schools.
A supporter of the referendum measure, Keating-Wear calls its defeat sad and argues that the school board will have to find ways to accomplish some of the improvements that would otherwise have been covered by the bond ordinance. She also sees replacing Salvo as a major task this next year.
She feels that the schools must pay greater attention to nutrition, arguing, “Our kids are being fed horribly and then are expected to sit still in the classroom.”
She raised safety as a concern, especially as students enter high school. “Our kids should feel safe and want to go to all of our schools, including the high school,” she says. She would also like to see broader opportunities for high school students, ones that prepare them for college or other options for their future.
Keating-Wear promises to “oppose radical agendas” and to work hard for the community.
Stephanie Thomas
Thomas has been a resident of Middle Township for 26 years, is a mother of three and says she has been an involved parent with the school district for 24 years. She currently serves as the school board president.
She says that the township’s schools offer every child a “pathway to success.” As a member of the school board, she says she has been an “effective factor” in the continuous expansion of the curriculum and programs within the district.
Thomas supported the recent referendum question. Given its decisive rejection by the voters, she says “the focus becomes maintaining our valuable programs in the most fiscally prudent manner while simultaneously prioritizing the district’s most urgent needs.” She also cites the upcoming challenge of hiring a new schools superintendent.
She says that Middle has the lowest cost-per-pupil in the county while also “rendering the most comprehensive educational experience.”
Thomas says she is thankful for the opportunity to serve, and she wants to continue to work collaboratively with the board, parents, staff and community.
DENNIS TOWNSHIP
In Dennis, where school officials argued that state budget cuts over the last seven years have left the cupboard bare, the referendum proposal to the voters asked for an increase of $2.2 million in the school property tax levy. This would then become a permanent part of the levy base going forward. The proposal was rejected by 81% of those who cast ballots.
The school district must now deal with the fact that it has publicly stated that it does not have the resources to meet the state constitutional mandate of providing a “thorough and efficient” education for its students. No other municipality in the county has stated an inability to meet this requirement.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the district has 670 students spread across two schools. On Nov. 5 three seats, with five candidates seeking them, will come before the voters. The board has nine members, each serving a three-year term. Only one of the five candidates responded to the Herald’s email prior to its print deadline.
Two incumbents, Mariam Khan and Tami Kern, are running for reelection and did not reply to the Herald’s email; each voted in favor of having the funding measure placed on the special election ballot. The third incumbent, Kristi Siekierski, is not seeking another term.
Blaine Paynter
Paynter is a lifelong resident of the county who moved to Dennis with his wife and daughter four years ago. He says low taxes and a desirable school district were among the reasons for the move. Since then, he says, “Trenton has done its best to destroy that for me” and others in the township.
He blames the Senate Bill 2 funding formula for the current predicament of the township schools and says he will work at the state level to “bring back the funding that we so badly need.” Speaking of the two incumbents running for reelection, Paynter says, “We need a new set of eyes on the matters at hand.”
He says among his goals are increased transparency by the school board, a return to more manageable class sizes and an effort to increase teacher morale. Uncertainty about the future has led, Paynter says, to the loss of outstanding teachers. The board must bring back some sense of continuity and certainty.
He says he will welcome any ideas from the community. He hopes to maintain a productive dialog while remaining committed to transparency in all board actions.
The other non-incumbent candidates for the school board seats are John Costanzo and Steven Gurdgiel.
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
