Seventeen Cape May County school boards have open seats on the Nov. 4 ballot; seats are being contested in four of those 17 districts.
In the remaining 13 districts, the candidates are either unopposed, or no one filed for a seat.
The four contested races are in the Lower Township Elementary, Lower Cape May Regional, Ocean City and Upper Township school districts.
In total, there are 46 seats open across the 17 districts. No candidates filed petitions to run for four seats in three districts. Those districts are Cape May Point, Wildwood and West Cape May.
Thirteen of the boards govern operating school districts serving specific county municipalities, one is the board for a regional school district answerable to voters in three municipalities, and three are non-operating school districts with boards that set budgets, tax rates and manage the sending relationship for their students to nearby districts.
Contested Races
In Lower Township there are three full-term, three-year seats open on the nine-member board, with two incumbents, Lauren Cox and Lauren Randle, seeking reelection and two newcomers, Lindsey Selby and Ember Loefflad, trying to win a post on the board.
Lower Cape May Regional, the county’s only regional school district, has three, three-year terms open on its nine-member board. Three incumbents running uncontested for reelection; they are Gary Douglas, Anne Maretta Matagiese and Frank Onorato. There is also a seat for a one-year unexpired term. Two candidates, incumbent Roy Abrams Jr. and Ralph E. Bakley Jr., are contesting that seat.
Ocean City has two slates of three candidates running for three, three-year open seats on the board. Running under the slogan Empower All Students are current board President Kevin Barnes and newcomers Jennifer Cawley-Black and Jennifer Dwyer. Under the slogan Transparency & Common Sense are two incumbents, Elizabeth Nicoletti and Catherine Panico, along with a candidate who previously served on the board, Robin Shaffer.
Upper Township, like Ocean City, has two slates of three candidates running for three, three-year seats on a nine-member board. Under the slogan Students First are incumbents Michele Barbieri, the board’s current president, and Christine Lentz, along with newcomer Brian Teeney. With the shared slogan Kids First are three candidates who would be new to the board, Kristi Lancaster, Meghan Miller and Logan Bird.
Uncontested races
In Avalon two incumbents, John L. Richardson and Matthew Wolf, are running in uncontested races for new three-year terms on the five-member board, which also includes a representative from the Stone Harbor board. The Avalon-Stone Harbor Schools were consolidated with the 2011-2012 school year to form a K-8 district. They have one superintendent but two separate school boards, with each having representation on the other.
The Stone Harbor board has one seat on the ballot. Incumbent John McAllister is running uncontested for the post on the five-member board.
Cape May has three incumbents running unopposed for reelection to a nine member board. They are Dawn M. Austin, the current board president, Edward B. Connolly and Anita de Satnick.
The Cape May Point Board of Education presides over a non-operating district that sends its students elsewhere depending upon grade level. The Cape May Point board has three members. Incumbent Janet M. Westcott’s term ends Dec. 31, but no one filed a petition to run for the seat.
In Dennis Township three incumbents are seeking reelection to new three-year terms unopposed. They are Joseph A. Berg Sr., Jeanne Donohue and Mary Kate Garry. The board has nine seats.
Middle Township has three candidates running for three, three-year seats on the board. Two are incumbents, Cheryl McHale and Lindsey Tyler DeLollis. The third candidate is newcomer Rimma V. Devault. Running unopposed for a fourth seat, an unexpired one-year term, is incumbent Brian L. Vergantino. Vergantino was elected to a three-year term in the 2023 election. He subsequently resigned, then accepted appointment to the seat he had vacated. Since he is now in an appointed position he must go before the voters to win the one remaining unexpired year on the seat.
North Wildwood has three, three-year term seats open and a one-year unexpired term to fill. Three candidates are running unopposed for the full-term seats: incumbents Gerald F. Flanagan and Michele M. Devine-Hartnett and newcomer Robert Causey. The one-year term seat is also uncontested, with newcomer James Burke on the ballot.
Sea Isle City is another of the county’s non-operating school districts. Two incumbents are running unopposed for reelection. They are Lauren Ciseck and Kristy Pittaluga.
West Cape May has two incumbents running unopposed for reelection to full terms on the five-member board, Shelly Richards and Brian Groetsch Jr. Newcomer Mary Margaret Lynn is running unopposed for a one-year unexpired term.
West Wildwood is the third of the county’s non-operating school districts; it runs no schools and instead pays to send its students elsewhere. The board has two seats open for three-year terms. Incumbent Maureen Kelly-Smith is running for reelection and newcomer Eleanor Hall is running for the second seat. Both candidates are unopposed.
Wildwood has three full-term seats on the ballot, but only one candidate filed a petition to run, incumbent Josephine M. Sharpe.
In Wildwood Crest there are two three-year seats open. Incumbent Leonard J. Berstein is seeking reelection unopposed for one of the seats; no one filed a petition for the other open seat.
In Woodbine three incumbents are running unopposed for reelection All three seats on the nine-member board are for a full three-year term. The incumbents are Sandra Bader, Adelina Mitchell and Melissa A. Rodriguez.
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
