Delaware School Board Candidates 2020!

So who is running for the Delaware school boards this year?  We have some incumbents and lots of new faces.  Some of these races are going to be riveting.  But it all means squat unless you actually get out and vote.  Do some homework on the candidates.  It’s your local taxes at play here so it is important.  And for many, it is your children in each district.  Go to the debates if they happen.  And vote!  Congrats to the solo filers.  You won without doing anything more than signing a piece of paper.  For the races, be fair, don’t get anyone to steal signs, and be honest.  Voting goes down on May 12th.  Be there or be square!

Appoquinimink 

At Large: Wayne Meadows, Michelle Wall 

Brandywine 

District B: Sydney Jones, Kristin Pidgeon 

District E: Karen P. Gordon 

Cape Henlopen 

At Large: William W. Collick 

Area B: Jason Bradley 

Caesar Rodney 

At Large: Joyce Denman 

Capital 

At Large: Anthony DePrima, Dennis S. Hallock Sr., Leandra Casson Marshall 

Christina 

District A: George E. Evans, Althea Smith-Tucker 

District D: Naveed Baqir, Claire O’Neal, John M. Young 

Colonial 

District B: M. Lucille Kennedy 

District D: Christopher Piecuch 

Delmar 

At Large: Raymond T. Vincent 

Indian River 

District 1 (Two seats available): Anthony Cannon, Leo Darmstadter III

District 2: Gerald T. Peden 

District 4: Gregory M. Goldman, Constance T. Pryor 

Lake Forest 

At Large: James L. Rau 

Laurel 

At Large: Barbara Erkline, D. Brent Nichols, Jana B. Pugh 

Milford 

At Large (2 seats available): Rony Baltazar-Lopez, Scott Wiley, Jean Wylie 

Red Clay 

District B: Sarah Fulton, Lillian Oliver, Martin Wilson 

District G: William Doolittle, Grace Otley, Catherine H. Thompson 

Seaford  

At Large (5 years): Jeffrey T. Benson 

At Large (2 years): Troy R. Purnell 

Smyrna 

At Large: Christine B. Malac 

Woodbridge 

At Large: Darrynn S. Harris, Julleanna B. Seeley 

 

The official filings and contact info can be found at the three county websites below. 

https://electionsncc.delaware.gov/PubSchool/candidates/2020_sch_cand.pdf 

https://electionskc.delaware.gov/school_districts/2020_SB_Cand_Filed.shtml 

https://electionssc.delaware.gov/2020%20SB%20Filings/2020%20School%20Board%20Member%20Filings.shtml 

 

 

Christina Board Member Sworn In & Resigns Minutes Later

In the oddest move I’ve ever seen in Delaware education, Katie Hegedus was sworn in as a board member of the Christina School District Board of Education last night at their monthly board meeting and resigned minutes later.

Hegedus beat incumbent John Young two months ago in the school board election.  Her platform was basically that she would resign once she is sworn in.  This would force the current board to hand-pick a replacement.  They announced at their board meeting last night they would begin this task.

This ridiculous stunt was concocted by the Friends of Christina, a small but connected group of parents in the district who basically hated the fact John Young would call out the district on, well, anything.  Whether it was right or wrong.  Their mantra of go along to get along brought forth this latest oddity in Delaware school board race history.  One for the record books, that’s for sure!  This election meant so much to their de facto leader that she is currently trying to sell her house and move out of state.

While Young is no longer on the Christina Board of Education, he has come back and relaunched his blog as Transparent Christina 2.0.  I fully expect Young, who is now no longer beholden to certain bylaws of being a board member, to come out swinging on his blog!  While this very sad attempt at silencing Young may appear to be a win in some circles, I fear all they have done is awoken an already alert dragon.  With a tagline of “Because sometimes Exceptional needs some help“, Young has written several articles of late.  Speaking for Exceptional, I welcome any help in the Delaware education blogosphere!  Unless it is some urgent sounding blog…wink wink!

The board re-elected former President Meredith Griffith to another one-year term as President while Keeley Powell was elected to Vice-President of the board.

Governor Carney & Secretary Bunting Will Be At Big WEIC Meeting Next Week

The Wilmington Education Improvement Commission will hold their next meeting on Tuesday, February 28th.  On the agenda is an appearance by none other than Delaware Governor John Carney and Delaware Secretary of Education Dr. Susan Bunting.  This will be interesting!

This week, Carney gutted a proposed weighted funding formula for the FY2018 state budget stating there is no money for it.  WEIC doesn’t work at all if the money isn’t in that budget either.  The state is facing a $350-$400 million dollar budget deficit.  In November, WEIC Chair Tony Allen publicly announced that if WEIC doesn’t go through he can foresee some type of legal action against the State of Delaware.  Interestingly enough, WEIC member Meredith Griffin filed today to run for the Christina School District Board of Education for the election in May.  That sets up that election for a four-person race with still another week to file for potential candidates.  This week, issues of race and due process came up in Red Clay stemming from an incident at a basketball game between A.I. DuPont High School and Delaware Military Academy.  Carney and Bunting are getting an hour to talk.  That is actually a long time.  I can’t say if I’ve ever heard Carney talk about education that long.  I don’t know if all of these issues will come up at the meeting, but this meeting comes at a very interesting time.  This will also be a big moment for Secretary Bunting as she is new in office and will be tasked with restricting the Delaware Dept. of Education.

WEIC and it’s earlier incarnation, WEAC, have been around for two and a half years.  Eventually, WEIC presented a plan to send Christina Wilmington students to Red Clay along with several other initiatives throughout the state to improve education for high-needs students.  After a long and drawn-out battle with the State Board of Education, WEIC’s plan turned into legislation.  That legislation failed to pass in the Delaware Senate.  New legislation extended the planning period for another year.  But with this year’s budget deficit looking dismal, will WEIC get the bypass again?  If it does, what will folks like Tony Allen and Jea Street’s next move be?

This could be a crowded meeting.  Get there early.  And what is up with five minutes of public comment?  They may want to stretch that out!

School Board Election 2017: Many Filings Already!

On May 9th, Delawareans across the state will vote for school district board members.  It happens every year!  This year will be no exception.  Below are the list of districts with open seats for the election and who has already filed.

Appoquinimink, at-large, expires 2022, no filings

Brandywine, District D, expires 2022, no filings

Caesar Rodney, at-large, expires 2022, Alan Claycomb (filed 2/3/17)

Cape Henlopen, Area D, expires 2022, no filings

Capital, at-large, expires 2022, Andres Ortiz (filed 2/2/17)

Christina, District G, expires 2022, Shirley Sutton-Saffer (filed 1/5/17) and Jeffrey Day (filed 1/31/17)

Delmar, at-large, expires 2022, no filings

Lake Forest, at-large, expires 2022, Austin Auen (filed 1/6/17)

Laurel, at-large, expires 2022, Linda Wintjen (filed 12/30/16)

Milford, Area D, expires 2022, no filings

Milford, at-large, expires 2022, no filings

Red Clay, District C, expires 2022, no filings

Seaford, at-large, expires 2022, Michael Kraft (filed 1/4/17)

Smyrna, at-large, expires 2022, Vetra Evans-Gunter (filed 1/23/17)

Woodbridge, at-large, expires 2022, no filings

So it looks like we have one contested seat up in Christina, but no others… yet.  That will change.  The filing deadline is the first Friday in March.  And no, I will not be running for Capital again this year.  But I do see one of my opponents is taking another shot at it.  Good luck Mr. Ortiz!  Indian River does not have any open board seats this year.  All I can say about school board elections is get the word out.  The number of votes in these things compared to the number of students in the district is very small.  People shouldn’t complain about school board members if they don’t vote in these elections!  Come April, you will start seeing school board election signs all over the place across Delaware.  Don’t steal them though, it is still against the law!

What Happened To Publius e decere?

For years, the commenter going by the name of Publius e decere haunted the comment section of Kilroy’s Delaware.  Last summer, he vanished without a trace claiming the “sign was in the yard” and it was a “Capitol” move.  For those of us who know who he is, it is very easy to put the pieces together.  Why he left and why he doesn’t want to stick his neck out there anymore.  But make no mistake, the spirit of Publius is alive and well in Delaware.  Those who support school choice to the exclusion of minorities, the impoverished, and the disabled.  Those who want to get their people in at district levels or on a school board.  These are the same shakers and movers that allowed Charter School of Wilmington and Newark Charter School to have the demographics they have.  They have their hooks in with legislators and state leaders.  They are non-profits, for-profits, charter school board members, and even some are so embedded into the state education system it would take a work of God to get them to leave.

They are the wolves in sheeps clothing at times.  But if you look close enough, you can see the Publius clones out there.  They are hob-knobbing with those wolves in sheeps clothing.  They attempt to placate those whose vote can make a difference with statements that are not so genuine but think they have the ability to dupe those who know better.  They try to speak the corporate education reform Kool-Aid drinking lingo but come across sounding like a mini-me of Jack Markell.  They talk about gaps like there should be a different word behind every potential gap out there.  When the only thing they truly know about the Gap is the stores in every mall in America.

In this season of change, we need to be very mindful about who is attempting to get on our school boards.  We need to know who wants to advance their own cause or truly make change in every school district.  And no, I will not be one of those vying for a school board seat.  I will say to watch out for what happens in Wilmington districts.  Very carefully.

Senate & House Education Committees To Hear Controversial School Voucher & School Board Election Bills This Week!!!! And A Big Vote On Thursday!!!!

After a two-week recess, the Delaware General Assembly returns tomorrow  Both the Delaware Senate and House Education Committee meetings have some controversy coming on Wednesday in the form of two bills.  Both of these bills may draw a crowd, so get there early!  And two very popular bills will finally get a vote this week.

In the House, the Education Committee will meet at 2:30pm to discuss State Rep. Hudson’s school voucher bill.  House Bill 161, introduced a year ago, would take the state funding allocated to a particular student and put it in a “Parent Empowerment Education Savings Account”.  So, as an example, say a student gets $11,000 in state funding from Lake Forest School District.  If the student goes to a private school, those funds would be deposited into the savings account and it would go towards the tuition at the private school (which can also include books, tests, and more).  The bill does specify this would only be used for “exceptional children” as defined by state code.  When this bill first came out, many thought it would not just mean a child with a disability, but also talented and gifted students.  An amendment, added to the bill last June, eliminates that option.  This bill is just for students with disabilities.

The problem with school vouchers is it is more funds disappearing from the local education district.  The referendums are bad enough, but this would just add fuel to the fire.  Many folks who are anti-referendum want school vouchers and they don’t want their local taxes paying for public education.  In my opinion, if a parent makes a choice to send their child to a private school, you should still have to pay school taxes.  Every state has school taxes, and Delaware is no exception.  School vouchers are very popular with Republicans, but the results from other states have been very mixed.

At 3pm, the Senate Education Committee will hear Senate Bill 165.  After the controversial Red Clay referendum last year, Delaware Senator Karen Peterson introduced Senate Bill 165.  This legislation would cut polling places in school board elections and referendums, and all voting would be done through the U.S. mail.  As well, all voters would have to be registered to vote.  To add more heat, all school board elections AND referenda would be on the second Tuesday of May.  For districts that don’t have a referendum pass, they would have to wait another year to have another one.

A lot of folks do not like this bill at all.  Ironically, First State Liberty, the organization in Delaware that makes robo-calls during Christina referenda, is vehemently against this bill.  To be honest, I haven’t talked to anyone who supports this bill.  This one will draw a crowd.  I imagine some folks may want to attend both meetings, so I could see a mad rush to get through the House Education Committee meeting and then folks literally running upstairs to get to the Senate meeting half an hour later.

The Senate meeting will also have a presentation from the Parent Advocacy Council for Education (PACE).  Another bill which will be heard in the House meeting will be State Rep. Kim Williams very awesome House Bill 232.  This bill would allow public comment on any action item, be it a resolution, a charter school action, or anything else the State Board of Education votes on.  Currently, the State Board does not allow public comment at any of their meetings on any action item unless they give explicit permission (as they recently did with the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission redistricting plan).  As well, the House Education Committee will hear Senate Joint Resolution #8, which honors Delaware State University for their 125th Anniversary.

School vouchers, referenda, and school board elections.  While I don’t expect any of these drawing a crowd like House Bill 50 (the opt out legislation) did last year, I already know people who will be there.  The votes from the committee members will be very interesting on these bills.

Two bills released from the Senate Education Committee last June will be given a full Senate vote on Thursday.  Senate Bills 92 and 93, both dealing with Autism (see the Education Legislation tab at the top of the page).  April is also Autism Awareness Month, so it is fitting these bills will get a vote this month.

Delaware Election 2016: Current Filings For State Rep, State Senator, & School Board Candidates

Election day is less than eight and a half months away. But there will be other stuff going on before that. Referendums, School Board Elections, final candidacy filings for State Representative, and State Senator, and Primaries. Below is every single candidate who filed for President, Congress, Lieutenant Governor, State Senator, State Representative, and School Board elections. Important dates are in purple, candidates who will face a challenger in the primary or a school board election are in green, and in the school boards section if no one has filed for a seat it is in red.  The biggest race is for Lieutenant Governor in Delaware.  No Republicans want to run?

Don’t see some of your favorites or those you love to hate on here?  Don’t worry!  For the State Representative, State Senator, and School Board positions, many more will file including the majority of the incumbents.  All 41 of the State Representatives are up for re-election.  If there are any candidates with stars all around their name, I really want someone to run against them.  Democrat, Republican, Independent, Green, Libertarian, it doesn’t matter.  Just run!  One of the major Presidential candidates hasn’t filed yet in Delaware!  Which one?

As for why there is no Delaware Governor listing, none of the candidates have officially filed yet!

Election 2016:

Deadline To Change Party For Presidential Primary: February 26th

Deadline To Register To Vote For Presidential Primary: April 2nd

Presidential Primary: April 26th

Deadline To Register To Vote For Primary Election: August 20th

Primary Election: September 13th (7am-8pm)

Deadline To Register To Vote For General Election: October 15th

General Election: November 8th (7am-8pm)

President:
Bernie Sanders (D)
John Kasich (R)
Marco Rubio (R)
Donald Trump (R)

Congress: US Representative
Hans Reigle (R)
Sean Barney (D)
Bryon Short (D)
Bryan Townsend (D)

Lieutenant Governor:
Sherry Dorsey-Walker (D)
Brad Eaby (D)
Greg Fuller (D)
Bethany Hall-Long (D)
Kathleen McGuiness (D)
Ciro Poppiti III (D)

State Senators & State Representatives

State Senate:

District 1: James Spadola (R)
District 5: Denise Bowers (R)
District 7: Anthony Delcollo (R)
District 12: Nicole Poore (D) (Incumbent)
District 14: Carl Pace (R)

State Representative:

District 1: Charles Potter (D) (Incumbent)
District 2: Stephanie Boulden (D) (Incumbent)
District 4: Gerald Brady (D) (Incumbent)
District 7: David Brady (D)
District 7: Robert Cameron (D)
District 7: Joseph Daigle (D)
District 9: Kevin Hensley (R) (Incumbent)
District 10: Dennis Williams (D)
District 13: John Mitchell (D) (Incumbent)
District 14: Peter Schwartzkopf (D) (Incumbent)
District 15: Valerie Longhurst (D) (Incumbent)
District 17: Michael Mulrooney (D) (Incumbent)
**District 27: Earl Jaques (D) (Incumbent)**
District 35: Harvey Kenton (R) (Incumbent)

School Board Elections:

Filing Deadline: March 4th: 4:30pm

Elections: May 10th

Appoquinimink: Richard Forsten (5 years)

Brandywine: John Skrobot (District F- 5 years)

Caesar Rodney: Mark Dyer (5 years)

Caesar Rodney: Dana LeCompte (5 years)

Caesar Rodney: Michael Marasco (5 years) 

Cape Henlopen: Camilla Conlon (5 years)

Cape Henlopen: Janis Hanwell (5 years)

Cape Henlopen: Heather Ingerski (5 years)

Cape Henlopen: Teresa Carey (Area B-2 years)

Cape Henlopen: Jessica Tyndall (Area B-2 years)

Capital: Chanda Jackson (5 years)

Capital: Kevin Ohlandt (5 years)

Capital: Andres Ortiz (5 years)

Christina: Margaret Mason (District B- 5 years)

Christina: David Ressler (District B- 5 years)

Christina: Desiree Brady (District F- 5 years)

Christina: Elizabeth Paige (District F- 5 years)

Colonial: Timothy Suber (District D- 4 years)

Colonial: Joseph Laws (District F- 5 years)

Delmar: Farrah Morelli (5 years)

Delmar: Andrew Rementer (5 years)

Indian River: Gerald Penden (District 2, 4 years)

Indian River: Heather Statler (District 3, 3 years)

Lake Forest: Austin Auen (5 years)

Lake Forest: Earle Dempsey (5 years)

Lake Forest: Lendon Dennis (5 years)

Laurel: John Bowden (5 years)

Laurel: Shane McCarty (5 years)

Laurel: Christie Shirey (5 years)

Laurel: Patrick Vanderslice (5 years)

Milford: Renate Wiley (Area C- 5 years)

Red Clay Consolidated: Joseph Weeks (District F- 5 years)

Red Clay Consolidated: Faith Newton (District F- 5 years)

Seaford: Dianne Abrams (5 years)

Seaford: Kimberly Hopkins (5 years)

Smyrna: Kathryn O’Connell (5 years)

Woodbridge: John Barr (5 years)

Woodbridge: Alberta Smith (5 years)

 

Referendums:

Brandywine: March 23rd
Cape Henlopen: March 23rd
Christina: March 23rd

Delaware Senate Bill 165 Would Make Referendums Once A Year & Change School Board Elections To US Mail Only

Apparently there was a Delaware Senate Bill submitted on July 15th that I didn’t know about.  I found out because the House has a pre-filing day today so I thought I would check the Senate Side.  House Bill 165 would drastically change things with school district referendums.  Instead of a district having more than one referendum in a year, all school districts would have their referendum on the 2nd Tuesday of May.  This is also the same day when school board elections take place.  As for those school board elections, instead of having them at schools, they would take place through the US Mail system.  This bill is sponsored by Senator Karen Peterson and State Reps Michael Ramone and Deborah Hudson.  Co-sponsors are Senators Brian Bushweller and Margaret Rose-Henry and State Rep. Stephanie Bolden.  I assume a lot of this is in reaction to the Red Clay referendum last winter which is also part of a lawsuit.  To read the legislation, please see below:

Delaware Legislators Add More Education Bills: Librarians, Charter School Audits & School Board Voter Eligibility

In the final month of the 148th General Assembly before they take their six month recess, three new education bills are on the plate.  These ones deal with school librarians, a clarification on a pending charter school audit bill, and new rules for voter eligibility in school board elections.

State Rep. Paul Baumbach wants to make sure no school librarians lose their jobs.  I fully support this bill, but we also need them for art, music and other classes that all children used to enjoy but are on the cutting floor in many of our schools.

More from Kim Williams with Delaware charter school audits.  This is good, but we are still waiting on results from at least three charters and their audits in the state auditor’s office.

I’m not sure how I feel about this bill.  I’m going to have to digest this one.

Delaware School Board Election Results

I will be updating this through the night as information comes in.  Nothing official from the county election websites yet.  Down in Laurel School District, Frank Calio is reporting a victory for incumbent Brent Nichols, defeating Kim Trivits 288-168.  If you get any information, please email me at kevino3670@yahoo.com from now until the official results are released.

Update 8:34pm: nothing yet…

8:36pm: I’m hearing Michelle Myers Wall won in Appoquinimink, but nothing official.

8:42: A direct source informed me Earle Dempsey and Andrea Miller won in Lake Forest.

8:52: Hearing Kristin Pidgeon and Karen Gordon won in Brandywine, and Jason Bradley and Roni Posner in Cape Henlopen.

9:05pm: hearing unofficially Ralph Taylor won in Capital by 11 votes.

9:10: Gilefski in Woodbridge

9:16pm: Martin Wilson defeated Alfred Lance, 291-264, unofficial…

9:17pm: Ralph Taylor confirming win in Capital…

9:25pm: Cape Gazette confirming victories for Posner and Bradley in Cape Henlopen

9:34pm: Delaware Department of Elections showing unofficial results for Kent County-

Capital: Taylor 336, Paylor 325, Servon 74

Lake Forest: Dempsey 356, Brode 176; and Miller 421, Auen 94

Milford: Dennehy 386, Evans 149, DelRossi 44

9:39pm: Department of Elections showing unofficial for New Castle County

Appoquinimink: Myers-Wall 609, Harrington 216, Christian 117, Greathouse 94, Weller 26, Scott 24

Brandywine: Pidgeon 1,000, Kirksey 163; and Gordon 995 Hanby 270

Colonial: Kennedy 140, Pierce 93

Red Clay: Wilson 291, Lance 264

Once the results are official by the Delaware Department of Elections, I will make it official!