OCEAN CITY — The three incumbent members of the Ocean City Board of Education running for re-election will face a slate that includes a former member who was voted off the board in the last election.
Only one incumbent is running in Upper Township. Three seats are up for grabs.
Jocelyn Palaganas, Corey Niemiec and Michael Allegretto are seeking their second terms on the Ocean City school board. The trio was first elected to three-year terms in 2023.
Three of the challengers are running together on a slate called Parents Paying Attention. The trio includes Catherine Panico, who lost her seat on the board in the last election, Kelly Anne Hudak and Steve Flogaus.
Matthew L. Maas is also seeking a three-year-term under the election heading “Ordinary Average Guy.”
Lisa Capra-Mansfield, who was appointed to the board to fill a vacancy, is running for the one-year unexpired term. She is not being challenged for the position.
Two incumbent Sea Isle City representatives are seeking new terms — Kerry E. Mullance and Sue F. Williamson. They are the only two running for the Sea Isle City seats on the board.
Panico and Liz Nicoletti were two incumbents running in the 2025 election. They were joined by former board member Robin Shaffer. All three lost after running on a Transparency & Common Sense ticket.
Although the school board is non-partisan, the trio touted their affiliation with GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, who lost by a wide margin to new Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill.
In the 2025 election, voters chose incumbent school board President Kevin Barnes and his two running mates, Jennifer Cawley-Black and Jennifer Dwyer, who ran a nonpartisan campaign under the Empower All Students ticket.
Panico, Shaffer and Nicoletti had attacked their opponents, claiming they were a conservative bulwark against a “liberal” board of education.
Upper Township
There are four candidates for three seats on the Upper Township Board of Education.
Two candidates, Kelly Pratt-Johnson and Anna Nistorenko, are running together under the Education Not Indoctrination ticket. Meghan Miller is running with an Empower Every Student slogan. The fourth candidate is Elsie Jamison.
The three incumbents on the board whose terms are expiring — Rebecca C. Holden, Thomas McQuillen and Kelly Emberger — are not seeking re-election.
Miller was appointed to replace Holden in April.
The Sentinel will be profiling all of the candidates prior to the Nov. 3 election.
– By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
