The Petty family (from left) Bob, Bailey, Chase, Logan and Bonnie at the Major League Baseball draft in Denver on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Bonnie Petty)
Ocean City Board of Education incumbents running uncontested in the November 2015 election include (clockwise): H. James Bauer, Jacqueline McAlister, Thomas Oves, Gregory Whelan and Tiffany Prettyman.
Five incumbents will return to the Ocean City Board of Education after an uncontested election on Nov. 3.
Nominating petitions were due July 27, and only five threw their names in the hat for five open seats.
H. James Bauer seeks his eighth three-year term on the board, Thomas Oves his third, and Jacqueline McAlister her second.
The election also includes two one-year seats to complete the unexpired terms of Pete Madden (who resigned when he was elected to City Council) and Ray Clark (who stepped down when his brother was hired by the district). Gregory Whelan and Tiffany Prettyman were appointed to fill those seats and now will run to complete the terms.
The candidates include:
- H. James Bauer: A 74-year-old retired teacher (Delran Township School District) who has lived in Ocean City for 48 years and whose three sons attended school in the district. He has served seven three-year terms on the board.
- Jacqueline McAlister: A 44-year-old teacher in the Egg Harbor Township School District with two daughters in Ocean City schools. She has served one three-year term on the board.
- Thomas Oves: A 52-year-old retired teacher who helps run a family business on the Boardwalk (Oves Restaurant) and who has three sons in the district. He has served two terms on the board and is currently vice president.
- Gregory Whelan: Whelan, 54, is an attorney and director of business operations at Pfizer Inc. He has two children in the district. He replaced Pete Madden in July 2014.
- Tiffany Prettyman: Prettyman was appointed in June to fill Ray Clark's seat. She served a full three-year term on the school board that ended in 2010. She was appointed to fill another school board vacancy in 2012 — when Antwan McClellan stepped down after being elected to City Council. She then ran unopposed to fill out the remainder of his term. Prettyman is a social studies teacher at Mainland Regional High School, parent of two Ocean City schoolchildren and wife of Ocean City Police Capt. Jay Prettyman.
School board positions are volunteer and include no benefits. With tax levy increases now capped at 2 percent annually and voters not required to approve school budgets that fall under the cap, school elections have seen little drama in recent years.
In 2014, four candidates vied for three seats. The 2013 election saw only two candidates in a race for three seats, but seven running for a one-year seat (an appointment filled the empty seat). The 2012 election also included four running for three seats.
