UPPER TOWNSHIP — Five candidates are seeking three seats on the Upper Township Board of Education in the election Nov. 5.
Brian Teeney, an officer with the Ocean City Police Department Traffic Safety Unit, is the lone incumbent. He won a seat in 2021 and is seeking a second term on the board.
Three candidates — Donald J. Polo, Andrew Shawl and Thomas Tyrrell — are running as a ticket under the slogan “All About Kids,” while Earl “Bud” Smith is running under the banner “All Students Succeed.”
Shawl is a state-licensed engineer and planner who worked for Atlantic City Electric at the defunct B.L. England Generating Station, as well as a business owner. He served on the township’s Economic Development Committee and Bike Path Advisory Board and is a volunteer and past president with Habitat for Humanity.
Tyrrell is a real estate agent with Goldcoast Sotheby’s International Realty in Ocean City. The 39-year-old is a product of township schools and graduate of Ocean City High School. He was on the track and field team, competing in pole vault, for OCHS, Rider University and TCNJ. He currently volunteers with the Red Raiders pole vaulters.
Polo, 47, who has been a math teacher at Lower Cape May Regional High School for 22 years, earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in mathematics from Rowan University. He is a real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Fox & Roach Realtors in Ocean City.
Smith, 65, is a retired high school teacher and administrator. He and his wife, Chris, a former NICU nurse at Shore Medical Center, raised five children. They all are graduates of Upper Township Middle School and Ocean City High School.
Smith has lived in the township for more than 35 years. He was a pastor at Abundant Life Church in Seaville for almost 10 years before a career change to education.
Brian Teeney
“I’m running for re-election to continue being the voice that parents, students, teachers and residents want and deserve,” Teeney said.
He believes the skills he has learned in his first term are valuable to the board’s operations.
“During my current term on the school board our school district has faced many challenges including COVID restrictions, staffing shortages and budget cuts. These challenges and the help, input and passion that our students, parents, staff and community provided me have given me invaluable experience and insight on what our students, school district and community expect and deserve from their school board and school district,” he said.
Teeney said the continued loss of state aid and rising transportation costs are among the biggest obstacles the district must overcome.
“We need to continue as a community to fight for the equal and fair distribution of state aid for our school district,” he said.
Teeney said that while transportation costs have skyrocketed, he feels the district needs to continue looking for ways to provide transportation to all students.
The district also must deal with “politically motivated policies that are infiltrating our school districts.”
“Politics and politically motivated policies have no place in the education of our students. Let’s let our professional teachers, administrators and staff give our students the superior education they deserve and stop overwhelming them with politics and politically motivated policies that do nothing to prepare them for the best possible future,” he said.
The school tax rate and tax levy have grown exponentially over the past several years.
Teeney believes the fair and equal distribution of state aid, fiscally responsible school and municipal budgets and more investment in the township’s infrastructure would help ease the burden.
“Investing in our infrastructure could potentially bring more community-based businesses and ratables into our community and help lessen or stabilize the tax burden,” he said.
Teeney said sidewalks and crosswalks should be part of the infrastructure improvements.
“Continuing the efforts that the district has already begun with state and township officials to improve the infrastructure in the township, and specifically around our school facilities for traffic, pedestrians and bicyclists, will greatly improve the safety of our students,” he said.
Donald Polo
Polo said he would like to serve on the board to bring his 22 years of teaching experience, as well as his problem-solving skills, to the community.
“The last year and a half, the board’s decisions have not been transparent. The handling of the long-term financial planning of the district with known budgetary cuts was poor, as well as the board’s handling of the previous superintendent and all other issues surrounding his departure. These issues are what have caused me to want to get involved,” he said.
Polo believes he has the skills needed to be an effective board member, such as working with multiple stakeholders.
“I am currently the co-president of my local union and have worked closely with the administration to navigate a multimillion-dollar budget cut without losing a staff member,” he said. “I believe this experience will add value to the community at which I live and has not faced similar issues with the same level of success.”
Polo said tuition paid to Ocean City High School is an issue that needs to be resolved.
“One of our major future issues is the debt we owe for our students attending Ocean City High School. This debt was pushed into the 2025-26 budget due to the fact of our budget cuts for this year. This issue of rising tuition for our community sending students to Ocean City is something the state needs to address to help keep the taxes down for our community,” he said.
The school tax rate and tax levy have grown exponentially over the past several years, and Polo thinks downsizing may help alleviate the burden.
“Shrinking smart is a way to help slow the exponential growth over the past several years,” he said.
Polo said the district does “an exceptional job of having events that get parents, guardians and extended families involved to see the great things the teachers and students are doing,” but needs to work harder on “having tough, honest conversations with the community about how the district budget is constantly increasing but revenues are declining.”
Andrew Shawl
Shawl has had a long career that “provided experience managing projects, analyzing data, working with government and non-profits and making critical decisions,” and wants to use the skills to “improve outcomes for students, provide a rewarding teaching experience for teachers, stabilize the school budget and increase transparency to the process.”
Noting he has a child in the district, he said “based on my experience, the current board needs some help.” He said issues that need to be addressed include the rising tax rate and levy, student performance on state testing and lack of transparency with the board.
“It’s important to focus on student outcomes while controlling spending. These two things must be done in a way that is transparent to the community,” Shawl said. “I think there is a need to balance spending against student outcomes and continue to increase transparency around the budget process.”
He said state test results indicate students do well in English language arts but poor in math and fair in science.
The rural nature of the township means many roads have no curbs or sidewalks, but courtesy busing was eliminated due to financial restraints.
“The school board should advocate to the Township Committee to improve roads leading up to schools. There are Safe Streets to School grants available from the NJDOT which the township could be encouraged to apply for, as an example,” Shawl said.
Superintendent Allison Pessolano is in her second year with the district, and Shawl said she appears to be adjusting well to the job.
“She seems to be a good communicator and I would continue to encourage her efforts in that area,” he said.
Shawl also is a supporter of public comment at meetings.
“Public input and transparency are crucial,” he said.
Bud Smith
“Public service is a privilege,” Smith said. “After a career in public education as a teacher and administrator, and working as a community leader, I would like to give back.”
He said he also is a father of five former district students.
“I believe this experience would offer perspective and insight into the issues facing our school leaders,” Smith said.
He believes his career experience lends itself to serving on the board.
“I have been involved in the budget process from the ground up and understand the complex choices involved,” he said, noting that as a local pastor he spent time in community engagement.
“There may be no greater need right now than to bring people together to find solutions to the challenges that face our students,” Smith said.
He believes the top issues the school district is facing include unstable funding, falling state test scores and student safety.
“To address these issues, we need improved stakeholder involvement. Specifically, if test scores continue to lag, we should convene a task force to study the problem and offer recommendations.”
He said school safety is linked to positive academic outcomes.
“So it’s imperative that our schools are free from violence and bullying. To promote this environment, we should make sure we are aligned with best practices and are using all resources necessary to plan for school safety and violence prevention,” Smith said.
He said Upper Township is an excellent place to raise a family.
“One of the biggest reasons for this is the high quality of our schools. The entire community benefits from the hard work of our administrators, teachers and support staff,” Smith said.
He said he believes public input is vital for school board meetings and offers valuable perspective.
“Equally important is public participation in the life of the school. Families, teachers, business leaders, churches, volunteer organizations, public service groups, our volunteer firefighters and elected leaders all make up the fabric of our community. When we work together for what’s best for our kids, together we can make a difference,” Smith said.
Tom Tyrrell
Tyrrell, the father of two district students and another on the way up, said he attended township schools and wants “my children to have the same great experience I had.”
He believes his work experience lends itself to becoming an effective board member.
“Through real estate, negotiations and finding value have become strengths of mine as well as talking to people and the ability to anticipate my clients’ needs and goals,” Tyrrell said.
Noting his children are involved in sports and other activities, he said being out and about with them has provided an opportunity to interact with other parents of children in the district.
“I want to use this as my way of getting what the people of our community want right to the front,” Tyrrell said.
Regarding the exponential growth of the budget and corresponding tax rate and levy, Tyrrell said the budget must clearly be the top priority of any board member.
“I believe we need to come together and really comb over our budget and make sure our kids have everything they need without anything important being cut,” he said.
Tyrrell believes some administrators and board members were aware of the pending aid cuts and did not disclose the information.
“One thing that seems to be echoing in most of my conversations is transparency; everyone wants it and it’s something that I would like to keep top of mind as a member of the board,” he said. “We are here to serve our children and support the school.”
Tyrrell said cutting teachers and activities “that help young minds grow” does not seem like the best way to help students.
“We need to keep Upper schools at the forefront when it comes to school districts in our area,” he said, suggesting the district form a stronger bond with the Ocean City School District.
“I think we need to help each other as we all end up as one school once our kids go to OCHS. An adversarial relationship, as it has been in the past and most recently with Ocean City’s restructuring of our tuition, isn’t beneficial to either party. I hope I can help bring the two districts back together,” he said.
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff