Why Should Delaware Care?
On Tuesday, 11 of Delaware’s 19 school districts held elections for their boards of education. Local school boards are the governing authority for school districts, and these elected officials can play a large role in the educational outcome for the state’s students.
Results from Delaware’s board of education elections Tuesday included a victory by a candidate aligned with an oppositional faction in the Christina School District, and by a Brandywine School District candidate who toppled a prominent northern Delaware politician.
More than 21,000 people voted in the elections for the board of education members, who are responsible for a variety of governance tasks, such as hiring – or firing – a superintendent, as well as approving budgets and curriculum priorities.
Contested races were held in 11 of Delaware’s 16 public school districts — the state’s three polytechnic districts feature appointed boards . Below we’ll focus on the results for races in Christina, Appoquinimink, Indian River, and Brandywine school districts.
Races where there was more than one candidate also occurred in the Red Clay Consolidated, Smyrna, Caesar Rodney, Capital, Lake Forest, Woodbridge, and Cape Henlopen school districts.
According to the Delaware Department of Elections, the state does not hold an election when there is only one filed candidate for a school board seat. Instead, election officials declare the candidate elected.
Christina School District
Shannon Troncoso will be replacing Alethea Smith-Tucker on the Christina Board of Education for its Wilmington-area seat.
Troncoso received 67% of the votes cast in Christina and also received an endorsement from Doug Manley, who is also a board member.
Troncoso will play a critical role during her term, as the board’s current four-member alliance, which typically votes as a bloc, on the embattled seven-person board could lose one member, and consequently its majority.
Separate from the election, the Christina Board of Education has faced scrutiny from both the public and state lawmakers over the past year.
The current voting bloc has also pushed major decisions within the past year, like the firing of former Superintendent Dan Shelton, which has led to a lawsuit against the district and four board of education members.
In March, Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton (D-Bear) sponsored two bills that she said are in response to board member Naveed Baqir’s physical absence from the district.
Brandywine School District
Brian Jordan, a practicing attorney, received 80% of the votes from the Brandywine School District community.
Jordan was competing against Karen Hartley-Nagle, who previously served as president of the New Castle County Council.
Hartley-Nagle’s decision to run came after she lost the September primary election against Marcus Henry for New Castle County executive.
During a district board meeting Monday, current Board Vice President Shawn Jegede told voters, “You can either vote for the people who will get here and just keep co-signing foolishness, or you can take your district back.”
Jegede, whose seat will be filled by Frank Livoy, also said during the meeting that she decided not to run for re-election because she was “exhausted” and felt as though she was watching “inequitable practices.”
Last year, Jegede called on the public to file Freedom of Information Act violations against the board if they felt the board went against open record laws after then-Board President John Skrobot asked board members Jason Heller and Kim Stock to volunteer for a small working group to deliver superintendent contract proposals to the full board.
Jordan also received endorsements from Jegede, the Brandywine Education Association, and State Sen. Laura Sturgeon (D-Brandywine Hundred), among others.
Brandywine Board Member Alexander Najemy also won his re-election for District A by a narrow 69-vote margin.
Appoquinimink School District
Tim Higgins, a restaurant owner, won the only seat on the Appoquinimink Board of Education after receiving 38% of the votes in a close three-way race.
Appoquinimink is one of the largest school districts in the state and has been named as one of the state’s best school districts in recent years, but it is also contending with explosive population growth and the need to build several new schools in recent years.
Higgins told Spotlight Delaware that his family received support from the district and its educators when his son was diagnosed with leukemia. But in the 10 years since his son’s diagnosis, Higgins said he has seen the same educators leave the district because of behavioral issues in the classroom.
Because of that experience, attracting and retaining high-quality educators and staff is a top priority for Higgins.
Indian River School District
Both Lisa Hudson Briggs and Kelly Kline will continue to hold their seats on the Indian River School District board after they both held back challenger Dereck Booth.
Hudson Briggs won the majority of the 182 votes cast with 87, followed by Kline at 64.
In April, the current board members at the Indian River School District voted to go out for another operational referendum in June after its previous referendum on March 20 failed.
Spotlight Delaware spoke with voters during the March referendum, several of whom expressed frustration with the district’s request and some said it pointed toward the need for higher development fees to support local schools.
After the referendum failed, the district needed to hold a reduction in force, or layoffs, to cut costs.
When asked last month how the district plans to balance its finances until June, Superintendent Jay Owens told Spotlight Delaware the district has been looking at reductions in educational services “for some time now,” and is looking at the pay scales for extracurricular coaches and similar initiatives.
Earlier this month, Kline told Spotlight Delaware that if elected, she would use her second year on the board to focus on financial accountability within the district and to hopefully pass the second referendum in June.
Other competitive races
- Red Clay Consolidated
Devon Hynson won 72.5% of the votes cast in the Red Clay Consolidated School District.
Hynson also received an endorsement from Friends of A.I., an alumni group for Alexis I. du Pont High School, whose goal is to rebuild the school and support the students currently attending. - Smyrna
Aaron Weisenberger won Smyrna’s sole board of education seat after competing against both Justine Flint and Charlotte Middleton. Weisenberger received 49% of the total votes. - Caesar Rodney
Joyce Denman won 56% of the votes for the Caesar Rodney School District Board of Education. - Capital
Incumbent Vickie Pendleton won a three-year term as Capital’s at-large member after beating Jordan Davis by 140 votes.
Donna Johnson Geist won the board’s four-year, at-large seat. - Lake Forest
Incumbent James Rau defended his seat for re-election against Darrell Hughes. - Woodbridge
Timothy Banks defeated LaToya Harris by 136 votes to claim a seat on Woodbridge’s board. - Cape Henlopen
William “Bill” Collick received an overwhelming number of votes at 79% to win Cape Henlopen’s at-large seat.
Patty Maull will also be joining the board for its District C seat after defeating both Andy Lewis and Laura Parsons.
