Politics, contention and your kids: Delaware's school board races start taking shape

School board races across the nation have caught heightened attention and participation in recent years, particularly through pandemic shutdowns and districts embroiled over which versions of their history to teach.

Delaware offers no exception.

Mask mandates, inclusive facilities, buzzwords like critical race theory — many of these boardrooms have become backdrops to heated debate or even shouting matches. Officially nonpartisan, these boards and their elections continue to become increasingly rife with political discourse and party influence.

As Sadé Truiett put it, campaign checks aren't often green.

"It becomes political," said the vice president of advocacy with Delaware PTA. "I mean, it shouldn't be, but at the end of the day, it's dollars and cents to run these campaigns... When the checks come in, they're blue or red."

Delaware PTA expects to focus on a few major issues this election cycle, such as health and safety in schools, learning loss recovery, school funding and boosting family engagement. Members say general opposition to social justice themes, banning books or challenging representation could appear in new packaging, from discussions of a "Parent Bill of Rights," to concerns of "indoctrination" or similar claims across districts. But it's too soon to tell. This national organization's state arm will soon host forums to get to know Delaware's candidates.

"There may, in fact, be more competition than there was last year," added David Redlawsk, University of Delaware professor studying and teaching on political campaigns, elections and voter behavior. Redlawsk noted the heaviest competition has stacked up in New Castle County, with Appoquinimink, Red Clay and Christina posting contentious races with three or more candidates vying for individual seats.

Competition tends to cool as one moves down the map, but overall 12 of 19 districts will offer contested match-ups. ACLU-DE released a comprehensive school board voter guide on how to get to the polls.

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Even with recent evolution, Redlawsk said, school board election turnout has always been relatively low. This is likely due to races falling in the spring, as well as a possible perception of these races as being less important. Last year, however, a Delaware Online analysis of school board election results from the past five years did reveal most districts have seen an uptick in voting since 2020.

"That's a good thing," the PTA's Truiett said. "We want people involved in our school boards, for people to really be speaking about the things that matter to our kids in our schools."

This year, election is set for May 9.

With the filing deadline earlier this month, here’s a breakdown of candidates running for school board seats as of March 15. Races are broken up by county, though several districts cross county lines.

New Castle

Appoquinimink

Four candidates are vying for educational leadership in Middletown. With one seat up for election, Tashiba Graham, Timothy Johns, Raymond Joseph Petkevis and Shawn Rohe have officially put their names in the running.

The next at-large member will serve a four-year term, standard for school board seats.

Brandywine

Brandywine School District doesn’t host much competition in this election. May will see two seats up for grabs, and on candidate is currently running for each.

Shanika Perry hopes to represent District A for the next four years, while Ralph Ackerman is running for District C.

Christina

Three candidates have their eyes on Christina’s District C. Christine Gilbert, Donna Hitchner and Douglas Danger Manley will go head-to-head, while the New Castle County system’s District E has two other hopefuls in Yunfei Lou and Yong Peng.

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Colonial

Colonial School District has two seats to fill and two candidates on the ballot so far. Ronald Handy Sr., is running for District A, and Ja'Lisa White is running in District C.

Red Clay

Districts A and D will be up for election in Red Clay this spring, with three candidates looking for the first seat and two vying for the second.

Aje English-Wynn, Jing Han and John Shulli will run for District A. Carlucci Coelho and Jose Matthews will face off in District D.

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Kent County

Caesar Rodney

Caesar Rodney School District posts one at-large seat ready for its next school board member. And Tawanna Prophet Brinkley and Nicole Hall will all compete in May to fill the spot.

Capital

Capital School District is also looking to fill an at-large seat in Dover. Sean Christiansen is running unopposed to do just that.

Lake Forest

Jordan McCloskey is running unopposed, too. McCloskey hopes to fill the open, at-large seat for a four-year-term.

Milford

Milford School District had the most filed candidates at five, but Dinae Woodside pulled out on March 10, according to the elections dashboard. This Kent County system has three seats to fill. Ashlee Connell and Danielle Deinert are running for the at-large seat, while Victor "Butch" Elzey III is unopposed in District A.

For District B, with a term expiring in about one year, Jennifer Massotti is running unopposed.

Smyrna

Marie Fontaine St Pierre and Bobbi Jo Webber will race to fill one at-large seat on Smyrna’s school board.

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Sussex County

Cape Henlopen

Down in Sussex County, Jessica Tyndall and Shawn Lovenguth are hoping to secure one open seat on Cape Henlopen's school board for the next four years.

Delmar

With one at-large seat up for election in the Delmar School District, Shane Bowden and Dawn Turner are hoping to fill it.

Indian River

Indian River School District will be looking to fill two opening seats this spring, and one race holds three contenders. Michael Bellerose, Leo Darmstadter III and Ivan Neal have their eyes on District 2, while Leolga Wright stands alone running for District 3.

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Laurel

There is an open at-large seat in Laurel School District. Ivy Bonk and Sabrina Isler will both seek the spot and four-year term.

Seaford

Armore Rice, Stephanie Smith and David Tull are running for the at-large seat up for election this May.

Woodbridge

Jeffery Allen of Bridgeville stands alone in the race for Woodbridge School District’s open at-large seat.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Delaware school board races are taking shape. See who's running