Polls open Tuesday for school board elections

The 2024 school board elections in Delaware are Tuesday, May 14, with polls opening at 7 a.m.

Only 16 candidates will compete for a school board seat this year when the polls open Tuesday at 7 a.m. 

In a year that already had fewer races than normal, candidates have been dropping out since qualifying, narrowing the field.

Seven of Delaware’s 19 school districts have school board elections, with polls open until 8 p.m. 

Preliminary results are expected a couple hours later Tuesday night.

Voting is open to anyone 18 or older, so, yes, high school students have a voice in how their schools will be run moving forward. 

“Delaware’s children deserve quality education, and it starts with your vote,” said a statement from First State Educate, a Delaware educational advocacy group.

Voters must be United States citizens and provide proof of identity and address, which can be in the form of: a Delaware driver’s license, a Delaware ID card, a work ID card with photo and home address or a U. S. postal material with street address.

It is every citizen’s civic duty to vote in school board elections, said David Tull, executive director of the Delaware School Boards Association. 

“Your vote makes and helps to assure the most capable people are making the decisions for your school district,” he said. “Remember, school boards play the most important role in deciding how schools are run and making sure future community members are educated.  If you want the best education for your children, you need to get to the polls and vote on Tuesday, May 14th.”

Being a school board member is an unpaid, volunteer position.

In addition to hiring and evaluating the district superintendent, some of a board member’s duties include oversight and coordination in regard to budget adoption, facilities, curriculum adoption, employee relations, transportation, fiscal planning and more.

The ACLU of Delaware onTuesday called school board races “one of the most overlooked yet deeply impactful local races.”  

Voting in school board elections is one of the best ways for people to inform community-level decisions, like how public dollars get allocated, said Paul Herdman, chief executive officer of Rodel, a state educational advocacy group. 

It’s also a way the public can hold district and board leaders accountable, he said. 

“These are positions that can represent thousands of constituents, and oftentimes because these elections take place off-cycle, only hundreds of people vote,” Herdman said. “It’s not unusual for school board elections to be decided by a dozen votes or less, so participating in elections is critically important and we hope everyone takes the time to have their voice be heard.”

Per Delaware Code, districts with uncontested seats do not hold elections, and the single candidate automatically wins the open seat. 

Christina School District’s election was canceled after Matt Clifford withdrew, so Amy Trauth is the winner and will be sworn into her seat for District D this summer. 

Brandywine, Caesar Rodney, Capital, Milford, Smyrna, Cape Henlopen, Laurel, Seaford and  two of the four seats in Indian River will also not have elections.

Here’s who is up for votes:

New Castle County

Appoquinimink School District (1 open seat)

• Norman A. Abrams Jr., incumbent at-large
• Candace M. Jusino, at-large
• Britney Mumford, at-large 

Polling Places:

Bunker Hill Elementary School – 1070 Bunker Hill Road, Middletown 19709

Cedar Lane Elementary School – 1259 Cedar Lane Road, Middletown 19709

Loss Elementary School – 200 Brennan Boulevard, Bear 19701

Marion Proffitt Training Center – 118 South Sixth Street, Odessa 19730

Middletown High School – 120 Silver Lake Road, Middletown 19709

Old State Elementary School – 580 Tony Marchio Drive, Townsend 19734

Townsend Elementary School – 126 Main Street, Townsend 19734

Colonial School District (1 open seat)

• Robin Crossan, District G
• Tanya Kerns, District G

Polling Places:

Castle Hills Elementary School – 502 Moores Lane, New Castle 19720

Eisenberg Elementary School – 27 Landers Lane, New Castle 19720

Kingswood Community Center – 2300 Bowers Street, Wilmington 19802

Mccullough Middle School – 20 Chase Avenue, New Castle 19720

Pleasantville Elementary School – 16 Pleasant Place, New Castle 19720

Southern Elementary School – 795 Cox Neck Road, New Castle 19720

Wilbur Elementary School – 4050 Wrangle Hill Road, Bear 19701

William Penn High School – 713 East Basin Road, New Castle 19720

Red Clay Consolidated School District (1 open seat)

• Jason P. Casper, incumbent District E
• Susan Sander, District E

Polling Places:

Activity Center At Hockessin Pal – 7259 Lancaster Pike, Hockessin 19707

A.I. Dupont High School – 50 Hillside Road, Wilmington 19807

Baltz Elementary School – 1500 Spruce Avenue, Wilmington 19805

Cab Calloway School Of Arts – 100 North Dupont Road, Wilmington 19807

Dickinson High School – 1801 Milltown Road, Wilmington 19808

Forest Oak Elementary School – 55 South Meadowood Drive, Newark 19711

Joseph E Johnson School – 2100 Gilpin Avenue, Wilmington 19806

Marbrook Elementary School – 2101 Centerville Road, Wilmington 19808

Mckean High School – 301 Mckennans Church Road, Wilmington 19808

North Star Elementary School – 1340 Little Baltimore Road, Hockessin 19707

Warner Elementary School – 801 West 18th Street, Wilmington 19802

Kent County

Lake Forest School District (1 open seat)

• David Walter Mazur, at-large
• Sarah R. Starkey, incumbent at-large

Polling Places:

Frederica Fire Hall – 6 Front Street, Frederica

Lake Forest North Elementary School – 319 East Main Street, Felton

Lake Forest South Elementary School – 301 Dorman Street, Harrington

Lake Forest High School – 5407 Killens Pond Road, Felton

Sussex County

Delmar School District (1 open seat)

• Russell R. Smart, at-large
• Dawn M. Turner, at-large

Polling Places:

3c USA Church – 38238 Old Stage Road, Delmar 19940

Delmar High School – 200 North 8th Street, Delmar 19940

Indian River School District (1 open seat)

• Joshua W. Hudson, District 4
• Anita West-Werner, District 4

Polling Places:

Indian River High School – 29772 Armory Road, Dagsboro 19939

Millville Community Center – 32517 Dukes Drive, Millville 19967

Woodbridge School District (1 open seat)

• John Campbell, at-large
• Brian Swain, at-large
• Kristie Thomas, at-large

Polling Places:

Woodbridge Middle School – 307 South Laws Street, Bridgeville 19933

Woodbridge Early Childhood Education Center – 400 Governors Avenue, Greenwood 19950

Jarek Rutz

Raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Jarek earned a B.A. in journalism and a B.A. in political science from Temple University in 2021. After running CNN’s Michael Smerconish’s YouTube channel, Jarek became a reporter for the Bucks County Herald before joining Delaware LIVE News.

Jarek can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at (215) 450-9982. Follow him on Twitter @jarekrutz and on LinkedIn.