Barbieri, Chisholm, Lentz elected to Upper Township school board
UPPER TOWNSHIP — Voters chose two incumbents and a newcomer to represent them on the Upper Township Board of Education in the election Nov. 8.
Board president Michele Barbieri first was elected in 2004 and now is in her 18th year of serving on the board. A township resident for 33 years, she and her husband, Tom, have two daughters, both educators, and are anticipating their first grandchild in December.
Chisholm, 50, a township resident since 1984, has served on the board since January 2014, winning re-election twice previously.
A teacher with degrees in biology and education for 26 years, she and her husband, Joel, have two teenage daughters.
Lentz, 60, an educator for nearly four decades, has lived in the same home in Upper Township for 32 years. Over a 38-year career, she has taught middle school science in Delaware and high school science, biology, chemistry and physical science in Ocean City.
Barbieri garnered 2,219 votes (16.8 percent), Chisholm 2,109 (16 percent) votes and Lentz 2,208 (16.75 percent) in the seven-candidate field.
Mark Pancoast retained his seat unopposed and Victor Nappen will join Upper Township Committee after running unopposed for the seat vacated by Committeeman John Coggins, who chose not to seek re-election. Pancoast collected 3,943 votes and Nappen 3,915.
Pancoast, 44, a lieutenant in the Ocean City Police Department, was elected to a one-year term in November 2021 running on a slate with Jay Newman and Kimberly Hayes, who were elected to three-year terms. He and Nappen won the GOP primary in June.
Nappen, 37, is raising his young family in the same neighborhood where he grew up. The science teacher at Millville High School and his wife, Danielle (Greene) Nappen, have two boys, ages 6 and 4.
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff