OCEAN CITY — The Sentinel conducted interviews with the 11 candidates for the Ocean City Board of Education.
They were all asked to respond to four questions: about their work and family background, why they are running for office, their priorities if elected and the qualities that would make them good representatives of the community on the board.
How they chose to answer was up to them.
There are three seats up for grabs in the Nov. 2 election.
Candidates challenging for seats include Henry (Disston) Vanderslice of 3713 Oxford Lane, Robin Shaffer of 915 Second St., Catherine Panico of 22 Simpson Road, Dale F. Braun Jr. of 326 West Ave., No. 4, Liz Nicoletti of 4061 Asbury Ave., Ryan Leonard of 4 Brittany Drive, Chris Halliday of 73 Spruce Road and Conor Fleming of 1301 Pleasure Ave.
Incumbents on the board seeking re-election are Suzanne Morgan of 219 Victoria Lane, Jacqueline McAlister of 100 E. Fourth St. and H. James Bauer of 701 Moorlyn Terrace.
All of the candidates are running for three-year terms.
The Ocean City Board of Education has 12 voting members, nine from Ocean City and three from Upper Township. Dan Tumolo is a nonvoting representative from Sea Isle City and Carl Tripician is a nonvoting member from Longport. Upper Township, Sea Isle City and Longport are the sending districts to Ocean City.
In alphabetical order, the candidates are:
H. James Bauer (Incumbent)
Bauer says long tenure key part of maintaining Taylor’s achievements
OCEAN CITY — H. James Bauer said during his long tenure on the Ocean City Board of Education, he watched the high school turn into one of the premier schools in the area academically. He credits the former superintendent of schools and said he is running for re-election to ensure her successor keeps it that way.
As a board member for more than 20 years, he points to some sending districts that have chosen to have their students educated in Ocean City and even closed their primary schools because of what this district has to offer.
“When I first got on the board, and this isn’t a negative comment, it was an older established faculty. Now they’re young, they’re very progressive and our course offerings are exceptional,” Bauer said. “And I am running now because Kathy Taylor was there for 15 years and she was instrumental in making a lot of changes that made this a premier school. … I would like to sustain that. I would like to have a vote on a new superintendent.”
Bauer said he has three sons who all graduated from Ocean City High School. Two are now teachers in Florida and the other is a chiropractor in Atlantic City. His wife is a 25-year teacher retired from the Upper Township School District and he is a retired teacher with 40 years in Delran Township.
He said it is necessary to sustain the academic priorities at OCHS. He notes the school does not go out and recruit incredible athletes but believes in having academically talented students. He points to graduates headed to the U.S. Naval Academy and one year in which a student was headed to every Ivy League School.
“We had one who turned down an acceptance to Cornell and went to Harvard. That’s unheard of at a public school. The school puts out some really good students,” he said.
Bauer said people move to Ocean City because they want their children in school here.
“I’m very high on this school,” he adds.
Bauer said among the qualities he brings to the board is having lived here for more than 40 years and having all of his kids graduate from college. He notes they were not No. 1 in their classes but they did well.
“That’s representative of the quality of teachers and the general curriculum,” he said. “As a teacher, they’re the things I look for as a board member.”
Bauer challenges people who run for the school board saying they’ll run it like a business because you can’t do it.
“You cannot run a school with 2,000 or 3,000 students as a business. You just can’t. There’s no way to do it. You run a school like a school. You listen to the parents. You listen to the board,” he said.
He doesn’t always agree with what the board does, but believes there is “good give and take.”
Bauer also nots there isn’t the same type of strife at Ocean City school board meetings as seen on television.
“We have some packed houses. We do. But people are generally satisfied,” Bauer said.
“During the pandemic they went to school. When they had to wear masks, they wore them. When they didn’t have to wear masks, they didn’t. Good things happen in the Ocean City school system. And for 20 years, one of the nine Ocean City members, I’ve been a part of it,” he said.
“The fact of the matter is, I enjoy it. And I don’t think you can put the time in if you’re not enjoying it,” he said.
Bauer notes politics don’t enter into it.
“I don’t think we’re politically wired. I can’t remember a comment being made that one party was better than the other party or whatever. There are 11 people running this time and I haven’t heard any negative comments about any of them. And that’s pretty good,” he said. “When I see the (election) results — and I would like to win — I would not be disheartened or think this board is in trouble. I don’t see that happening.”
He offers one piece of advice: “Shut the mouth and listen once in a while. I think when you run for something like this and have your mouth open all the time, and you’re screaming about your personal opinion or something that happened to your own child, you’re less effective.”
Dale F. Braun, Jr.
Experience important to pick superintendent, ex-member Braun says
OCEAN CITY — Dale Braun said he is running to get back on the Ocean City Board of Education because he believes experience is important with the issues ahead and the need to keep improving the school district.
“I want to continue raising our standards so it’s educating each and every student,” Braun said. “I think we’ve done very well with our Advanced Placement and honors at the high school, but we need to continue that with some of the other kids so that everybody has an equal opportunity to learn and we get the best potential out of each student.”
Braun is retired as a senior vice president and controller for a bank in Burlington County, where he worked for about 20 years. His entire banking career spanned about 35 years. He has three children and the youngest two have been in the Ocean City School District. Daughter Victoria graduated in 2013 and daughter Emily started in the district in kindergarten and is now a junior at Ocean City High School. Braun’s wife, Brenda, is a nurse.
Braun is running to get back on the board. He said he loves the community.
“I love the fact the heart of the community is the school district. (The students) are our future. I have been involved with the schools with PTA, PTO, all these years and it’s such a joy to see these kids learn and progress is such a good thing,” he said.
“This is a very trying time in the school district. There is a change in leadership. I think it’s time that we have someone who is experienced,” he said.
Superintendent of Schools Kathleen Taylor retired over the summer and an interim superintendent is in place as the board searches for a permanent replacement.
Braun touts his past experience on the board.
“I was asked to be chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee. During that time I managed to do something that not too many people could do. In fact I believe I was the first one on the school board … the last month I was there I achieved and was awarded the certified school board member status by the New Jersey School Boards Association, which requires a lot of additional hours of training and participation in certain state and county activities,” he explained.
“I believe if you’re going to do something, in for a penny, in for a pound. Whether it’s working with the kids or a volunteer at the hospital or sitting on a planning board, you have to give it your all,” he said. “If you can’t give it your all, step back. I think experience is needed to be able to select the next superintendent.”
Talking about the qualities he would bring to board that make him a good representative of the community, Braun talked about his experience of putting his children through the schools, his experience in banking, serving on the Planning Board and organizations such as the PTA and PTO. Those, he said, “have given me good insight as to what this community is about and what we expect.”
Conor Fleming
Fleming vows to take pragmatic, analytical approach to problems
OCEAN CITY — Conor Fleming, a candidate for the Ocean City Board of Education, wants all students in the district to have what they need to do well in school and beyond.
“My main priorities are to provide each student the opportunity and the resources for success not only in their education but further along in life,” Fleming said.
He and his wife, Elizabeth, have two daughters — Makenna, a freshman at Ocean City High School, and Stella, a third-grader at Ocean City Primary School. (Makenna is the current Junior Miss Ocean City, having won that title in August, and little sister Stella was a runner-up in the Little Miss Ocean City pageant.)
For the majority of his career, Fleming worked with medical devices and was a senior product manager for a medical device company. Now he is a marketing manager for a building materials company as well at a Realtor in Ocean City.
Fleming said he is running because he has two daughters in the district and believes his perspective can help on the school board.
“I don’t have to tell anybody that over the past 19 months there have been many unique problems facing not only the Ocean City School District but all the school districts across the country,” he said. “I think I can take a pragmatic and analytical approach to the unique issues that are arising and come up with creative solutions in order to best serve our students.”
Fleming said he has qualities that make him a good representative of the community on the board.
“I am a good listener, I am a people-person,” he said. “Many people around the community already know me and I tend to take in all the data and analyze it and try and react without emotion and just do what I think would be best for the students and the community.”
Chris Halliday
Halliday thinks he can help make decisions to improve student health
OCEAN CITY — Ocean City Board of Education candidate Chris Halliday said he will bring his collaborative approach to decision-making to the board.
Halliday is an architect like his wife. He grew up in Ocean City, went to college in Boston and started his career in Santa Barbara, Calif., before moving back to the resort. He and his wife run an architectural practice of six in Ocean City. They do custom home design.
“With my two children in the district I feel I have an obligation to assist and collaborate and bring an approach that I learned from my architectural background of taking in all the information, trying to be empathetic to others’ opinions and to make the right decisions for the physical and mental health of our kids,” Halliday said. “With the upcoming challenges in the district, I think I might be able to help.”
Halliday said he is excited about the new partnership between the high school and Stockton University, believes the superintendent search is incredibly important and he is interested in exploring the Sustainable Jersey Schools program. (Longtime superintendent of schools Kathleen Taylor retired this summer and the district is searching for a replacement while an interim is in place.
“Overall I would want to bring a positive approach to the upcoming decisions as far as the superintendent search,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot through the COVID process and think everybody with kids in school have really come to value our educators.”
Halliday added he wants to make sure the schools are well-equipped, that educators have all they need “and our students are cared for and we’re making the best decisions for our students.”
He points out the Ocean City School District has “a great amount of funding and it should be one of if not the best district in the state.”
Halliday said he is a good listener and that will be an important quality on the school board.
“My professional approach is to take in all the information provided, understand where people are coming from, be empathetic and pare down everything and make a decision based on that information,” he said. “I also think that due to what I do for a living I am a good collaborator. We work with a lot of different teams and professions and we are used to kind of getting everybody’s perspective and information and making the best decision for everyone.”
Ryan Leonard
Leonard offers younger voice, tech expertise
OCEAN CITY — It took going to college for Ryan Leonard, a candidate for the Ocean City Board of Education, to understand the full value of his education. He appreciates that but believes the board can use some new voices.
“I grew up here and I didn’t really understand how amazing Ocean City High School, especially, was until I left,” he said. “I went to college and realized the head start we had over other people. That being said, there is some dysfunction that happens. There is an opportunity to introduce some fresh blood with interesting takes.”
Leonard said because of the way people’s lives are today, “representation from younger families and people with younger kids in the school district isn’t there as much. It could be stronger. These are the people who are going to have children in the district for the next decade, decade and a half, and I think it is important to bring that in.”
“I also think my perspective personally as a technologist is rather unique and critical in 2021,” he added.
Leonard’s father is a builder in Ocean City — the Leonard in Halliday-Leonard — but he didn’t follow that path. He and his wife grew up in Upper Township.
“My wife and I went to school together, all throughout, we got married and we ended up living in Manhattan for a while,” he said. “I worked for a bunch of financial institutions there. (He works in computer security.) And then we moved from Manhattan down to Rumson and then back home three or four years ago. We have two kids in the district, a first-grader and a preschooler.”
He said he is running for office because he believes in open dialogue.
“A lot of times it is whoever is yelling the loudest. I think that we can change that,” Leonard said. “One of the things that is frustrating, especially for younger families, is school board meetings being Wednesday nights, usually during dinner time. For younger families who are doing things and have dinner with their families, it’s hard to go. There are simple changes we can make, such as during the pandemic we Zoomed all the meetings. It allowed more participation from the community.
“I’m not saying we have to necessarily allow people to comment on Zoom and interact, but the fact is that to get a copy of a school board meeting, even though they’re professionally recorded, you have to put in an OPRA request (Open Public Records Act). That seems kind of insane in 2021,” he said. “I’ve seen other districts in the area that either stream online or make their meetings available for download. I think it’s a great way to keep everyone informed and keep everyone engaged.”
Leonard said he believes that being born and raised here and understanding people in the community and what they can offer would help him as a board member.
“I think we have little splinter groups, whether it’s the PTA or OCEF (Ocean City Education Foundation) that can interact with the community, but I think the local community itself could be more engaged with the district.”
Other qualities that would help him on the board are “being open and able to have discussions” and being able to bring his technology background to bear in the dialogue.
Jacqueline McAlister (Incumbent)
McAlister: Education, experience assets with superintendent choice
OCEAN CITY — Jacqueline McAlister said she is running for re-election to the Ocean City Board of Education because she believes her education background is an asset and she wants to improve communication between the board and the community.
First elected in 2012, she is proud of the work the school district has done.
“We have grown so much in that time, not thanks to me but thanks to the work of the community,” she said. “I do feel like our board has work to do and we’re facing a lot of controversial issues and I do feel that my background in education is helpful to the board.”
While she believes her work in education is an asset, she said what makes school boards function well is having a diversity of opinion and members from all walks of life.
“Because the board is meant to represent the community it shouldn’t be comprised of only educators or only lawyers. It should be a little slice of life of everyone,” she said.
Because the district is facing “daunting” issues, McAlister said she wants “to continue to be part of the solution.”
She and her husband have two children in the Ocean City school system. Her family moved to the island in 2001.
She started her career as classroom teacher in Trenton, worked as an English teacher in Egg Harbor Township for about 15 years, then a literacy coach in EHT. She became an administrator at Cape May County Technical School District and now is an employee of the New Jersey Department of Education.
She was vice president of the Ocean City Board of Education from 2016 to 2019, chair of the Curriculum and Student Affairs Committee and a member of various committees including Strategic Planning, Superintendent Search and School Choice.
McAlister is a certified member of the New Jersey School Boards Association and on the NJSBA board of directors since 2019. She was president of the Cape May County School Boards Association from 2016 to 2019.
“Education is pretty much the only thing I know and that I’m good at,” she said. “That’s why I volunteer my time on the school board. It’s the only thing I can think of to give back to the community that has given us so much.”
One of her priorities is “to make sure there is clear and consistent communication coming from the district to the public.” She said during her time on the board it went from little interaction to “a lot of community engagement, which I think is only to the benefit of the kids.”
School board members, she said, “don’t hold special powers or special knowledge. We’re just chosen members of the community representing the community. We’re on the same page. The schools belong to all of us. The board does not run the schools, the administration does not run the schools.”
She said parents should not be scared to speak out at a board meeting, dissuaded from calling or emailing board members.
“The more we’re engaged, the better outcome we’ll have,” she said about educating the students. “The schools should reflect the morality and values of the community they’re located in, so it is important that the board reaches out and lets them know we are not separate, we are not an entity that is in opposition to what they think. We are the community.”
McAlister said she is a good listener, is responsive and deeply interested in what is going on in the schools.
“I do have background knowledge in the field of education, which can help maybe bridge the gap of misunderstanding,” she said. “When people don’t understand what we are teaching in our schools, I feel I have the background to help explain what is going on.”
She said she also has a good grasp of funding and regionalization issues and the district is searching for a new superintendent.
“I think all of my background in education, my willingness and my desire to listen to the community and engage with them in a kind and respectful way, I think helps move the mission of the board forward,” she said.
Suzanne Morgan (Incumbent)
Morgan emphasizes role as ‘common taxpayer’ is to represent community
OCEAN CITY — Suzanne Morgan said she is an independent thinker who doesn’t hesitate to ask questions and brings her perspective as a “common taxpayer” to the Ocean City Board of Education.
“I don’t lose sight I am just like everybody else. I’m a common taxpayer, citizen, and I always view that my vote on anything … is based on what the community wants,” Morgan said of her service on the board. “I volunteer and guess you say ‘work’ for our community, the taxpayers and parents of this community. I mostly do it for that, but I’m all about the kids.”
When asked if she would run for re-election now that her kids have all graduated, “I said ‘absolutely.’ That was never a determining factor of why I ran in the first place.” She was first appointed to fill the vacancy created by the death of board member Tom Oves.
“Every board meeting I dive into the materials and ask questions. I can’t vote on anything I’m not familiar with. I’m an independent thinker and independent voter with regard to the board and I always make sure I represent the community,” Morgan said.
She is the single mother of three daughters, ages 22, 21 and 18, all who went through the district. The oldest is a graduate student at Rowan University, the middle a senior at Lehigh University and youngest at Northeastern.
She moved to Ocean City in 2009 because of the community and school system. Her parents always had a shore home on the island.
“I was a shoobie, you could say.” She used to live in Egg Harbor Township and her two oldest attended St. Augustine School.
Morgan loves her work in the pharmaceutical industry and loves, especially, the clinic aspect.
She attributes the success of her students to the school district and she loves the close-knit nature of the community.
“Another reason I moved here is I knew I would have other people, strangers or friends, that would keep a close eye on my kids if I couldn’t,” she said.
Morgan said her main priority is hiring a new superintendent of schools.
“We need to not rush into it but pick the right person. That person needs to be a unique person because this is a unique town,” she said. “It isn’t just our town. It’s Upper Township, all our School Choice students, it’s Sea Isle. We have to get someone who has a good handle on what our community needs and deserves and students deserve.”
Collectively as a board, she said they need more communication with the community.
“I think we’re lacking that in the sense that our community deserves more transparency,” Morgan said.
She added her background as a parent, a taxpayer and having her children going through all three schools in the district “brings a unique perspective.” She has served on the board for almost five years.
Morgan said she was humbled by the fact she didn’t know anything about education when she got on the board, but has learned a lot by asking questions during her first term and brings that knowledge to the board. She explained there are a lot of legalities involved in how a school district and a school board operate.
School boards have a collective voice, “but I bring a unique perspective because …. I form my own opinions. I need that information in order to make that decision. I’m also a very bold individual.”
She said she keeps and open mind and if she hears a community member voice a concern, she has to “get to the bottom of it.”
Morgan understands the board doesn’t get into the “nitty gritty” of running the district, but the board holds the administration accountable.
“There is a fine line there, but questions need to be answered,” she said. “I am the voice for this community. Being a single mom, not knowing (initially) anything about education in the sense of the regulatory, the laws and how they run, I now have that concrete foundation to effectively sit on that board.”
Liz Nicoletti
Putting students first, making mask optional priorities for Nicoletti
OCEAN CITY — Ocean City Board of Education candidate Liz Nicoletti said if she had a campaign slogan it would be simple: “Let’s get school back to normal.”
Nicoletti believes she is being called to run for school board.
“We need to take a stand for our children. We need to be part of the decision-making of what is being taught and how our tax dollars are being spent, accountability for teachers and staff and the well-being of our students,” she said.
“My No. 1 priority would be that I would advocate putting the students first, that we are there for the kids and it’s about the kids and them having a great high school experience, whether in athletics or academics. That the tax dollars would be spent wisely. Maybe my No. 1 would be being involved in my own kids’ education.”
She and her husband, Bill, have four children: Tricia, 16, a junior at Ocean City High School who plays field hockey and runs track; twins Christian and Connor, 14, freshmen at OCHS; and Will, 13, in seventh grade at Ocean City Intermediate School. All of her boys surf, skateboard and play lacrosse.
Nicoletti went to St. Joseph’s University for education and while there played four years of field hockey and walked onto the basketball team, which was 15th in the nation at the time. She is in the St. Joe’s Hall of Fame. Like her children, she played a lot of sports in high school. She grew up in Kennett Square in Chester County, Pa. She regularly visited Ocean City during that time because her parents had a house here. Now she and her family live here too.
After college graduation she taught for a couple of years then got certified to teach tennis. She taught at Deerfield Golf and Tennis Club in Delaware and was a tennis teaching pro for 10 years.
Asked about her qualities serving as a representative of the community on the school board, she said she has “a faith in God that I appreciate. I have my faith. I have my family. I believe in traditional values. I’m conservative. I love Ocean City. I believe that a lot of the teachers and staff should emulate what our town is so I would advocate for that. That we maybe hire teachers that are on the island, that live here.”
Nicoletti has been going to school board meetings and speaking on behalf of getting the schools open following the pandemic shutdown.
“I think I was instrumental in that because I spoke on that and the next week they opened it up,” she said.
She also is a strong advocate to make wearing masks in school optional.
“I’m very much for optional masks. Speaking for my own children, I do not want them wearing masks in school. I will be standing for that. I’m very supportive of anyone who wants to wear a mask or all the plexiglass (dividers) in school, but I don’t think they’ve spent a lot of money getting my kids in a safe spot so they can breathe fresh air. I’m going to be advocating on that one. That’s kind of a big one for me,” she said. “I want to go back to normal. My slogan could be ‘let’s get school back to normal.’”
Catherine Panico
Panico wants to share lifetime of service for betterment of schools
OCEAN CITY — Ocean City Board of Education candidate Catherine Panico said she believes in transparency, accountability and fostering collaboration with everyone involved in the education of students.
She describes herself as “an experienced educator with business acumen.”
“I am running for school board to give everyone a voice and to rally behind our children,” she said. “Our children do not have lobbyists or unions to push their agendas. Our children have parents and caregivers who want to be partners in their children’s education and to instill their own family values. We want our children to feel safe, cared for and valued as unique individuals.”
Panico said she is the mother of four and has been a teacher, a coach and a volunteer.
“My kids went to school in this district, which is ultimately why we moved here,” she said.
Avery, 20, is at Drexel University; Paige, 18, is at Auburn University; Marin, 17, is at Ocean City High School; and Brooke, 13, is at Ocean City Intermediate School.
She manages her family’s dental office. She notes that in 2019, Dr. Albert Porreca asked her husband, William, to take over his practice on Central Avenue.
She said as a representative of the school board, she “will be the voice of the community and represent all of the stakeholders including the parents, students and the taxpayers.”
Panico said a priority would be to “build cohesion and make decisions that work for our students and not just accept cookie-cutter mandates. I will push for collaboration with community businesses to develop meaningful career experiences and ensure that our children have the technology that they need to compete. Additionally, I feel it is important for the board to be transparent and accountable to the community.”
Qualities that would help her on the board include the fact she is a teacher, she said.
“I have experience in the classroom and in curriculum development. I can use my knowledge to help the board make sound decisions, which will improve the outcomes for our students,” she said. “Additionally, I am a small-business owner in Ocean City and I understand the budgeting process and will be able to provide fiscal oversight. As a mother, I have raised four children in Ocean City, volunteering in many different capacities, and I understand what Ocean City’s unique needs are as a community.”
She added she would “advocate for all of the children, be the voice of reason and unify the board to get things done.”
Robin Shaffer
Shaffer would provide a diverse background, analytical experience
OCEAN CITY — Robin Shaffer believes his extensive experience in education and past analytical roles would bring informed decision-making to the Ocean City Board of Education.
He has worked his last 27-plus years in education, has a master’s degree in education and positions in counter-threat analysis at the State Department and Defense Department.
“I have a diverse background I can bring to the table to inform my decision-making. I see a need for parents and other stakeholders to step up in Ocean City and fulfill their civic obligation to this board,” he said. “It’s a board I want to conduct its full oversight function over the school district. I want to see the local board, where appropriate, assert local control and local decision-making over matters that are truly local in nature.”
Shaffer is an educator from a family of educators who spent a month every summer in the resort before buying a house here 12 years ago. His children have attended Ocean City Intermediate School and Ocean City High School.
Initially, his priority would be to ensure the board is being held accountable on issues brought before it and answering constituent questions in a timely manner — “that we are not sweeping anything under the carpet. That we are indeed being transparent in our decision-making.”
He believes communication builds trust and said he would work to earn that trust of every voter who puts him on the board.
“I will work hard every single day to fulfill my obligation to the students, the parents, the faculty and staff, and ensure that the diversity of voices that we have in the community are not silenced,” Shaffer said. “I want every child to have a shot at success. There is no reason why a well-endowed school district like ours can’t ensure the success of every single student that enters its doors.”
He started teaching out of college, worked as special education math teacher and eventually moved into administration as a special education supervisor with two school districts in Maryland.
Shaffer was elected president of the Maryland State Special Education Advisory Committee, which advised the state board of education and superintendent on special education matters and served for two terms from 2002 to 2008. He also had different administrative roles including principal at a private school and vice principal at two public elementary schools in Maryland. He retired 2012.
Since then he has been working with Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools conducting accreditation visits, validation visits and in recent years has been chairman of those visits. Middle States examines schools, everything from finances to building operations to curriculum, and talks to every stakeholder group before making recommendations on accreditation.
He also volunteered as a Lego Robotics coach and Destination Imagination coach at his children’s schools and when former Superintendent Kathleen Taylor issued a call for substitute teachers during the pandemic, he got certified and answered that call.
“I’ve always sought to listen first, to gather information before jumping to conclusions. I believe that listening component is absolutely critical for any board member,” he said.
Outside of education, he said he worked in federal government as the head of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement at the U.S. Embassy in Kazakhstan and as a counter-terrorism and counter-threat analyst for the State Department and Department of Defense.
“Those roles, especially the analytical roles, were about gathering information and making judgments,” Shaffer said. “I had a great deal of trust placed in me to make sound decisions. I believe if I’m chosen to sit on the board that I have the critical-thinking skills and decision-making attributes that will make me a successful board member.”
Disston Vanderslice
Vanderslice: It’s time to step up and do part to improve community
OCEAN CITY — Ocean City native Henry “Disston” Vanderslice said he is running for the Ocean City Board of Education because he loves the community “with all of my heart” and wants to contribute.
“If I can have been a tiny bit of influence in making this city a better place for our kids, then it’s well worth my time and energy,” Vanderslice said. “My family has been deeply rooted in this unbelievable community for over 70-plus years and now that my wife and I have a child of our own, I knew it was time for me to step up and do my part.”
He said his priority would be making decisions based on what is best for the children.
“Ocean City is an amazing community, but there is always room for improvement in each and every facet, including the school system,” he said. “Ocean City students should be equipped with the best tools to learn and grow as both students and people, from digital advances in technology to superintendents, principals and school board members. If the best option is available in any facet of learning, that’s what I want for our kids.”
Vanderslice was raised in the community and he and his parents, Harry and Dawn, his two sisters and brother are all Ocean City High School graduates. He played baseball, basketball and soccer at OCHS, graduating in 2004. He graduated from Monmouth University in 2009.
He and his wife, Samantha, are parents to 16-month-old Henry. He notes both of his grandfathers and his father were awarded the “Book of Golden Deeds” and keys to the city and the 35th Street baseball fields are named after his grandfather Harry Vanderslice.
His work background includes being an advertising sales executive in Philadelphia with the 76ers, ESPN Radio and Learfield Sports. He is now a broker at Grace Realty (NJBOR Circle of Excellence Platinum Sales winner).
Talking about the qualities that will make him a good representative of the community on the board, Vanderslice said he prides himself on being a family man.
“My life and all of the relationships are based on love, honesty, fun, faith and happiness. I love our community and I hope I’m able to give back to Ocean City as much as this town has given me,” he said. “I wouldn’t be the person I am without Ocean City. Failing our kids is not an option.”
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff