School Board Candidates Talk Top Issues at Forum

By MADDY VITALE With just weeks before the Ocean City Board of Education election, candidates answered tough questions and shared their platforms during a Q&A forum held at the library Tuesday night. The event, hosted by the Ocean City PTA, was attended by nine of the 11 candidates and was moderated by radio personality Maryann McElroy. The audience heard from candidates James Bauer (incumbent), Dale F. Braun Jr., Chris Halliday, Ryan Leonard, Jacqueline McAlister (incumbent), Catherine Panico, Robin Shaffer, Conor Fleming, and Liz Nicoletti. Incumbent Suzanne Morgan and candidate Henry Disston Vanderslice could not attend because of prior commitments. Each candidate answered an array of questions submitted by the community. Questions ranged from why they are running, whether they thought mask mandates and vaccinations should be required, how they felt about how the current school board is doing, the high school's ranking, how to improve communications between the board and the community and the qualities a new superintendent should possess. Candidates agreed that the district is a strong one, but believe there is a need for improvement at the top, including openness at school board meetings. They also want a visible superintendent, one who attends games, is tech savvy and knows what matters most to the schools, the parents, the students and the community as a whole. McAlister said she chose to seek re-election because, above all, she is a parent. “Educating our children is a noble pursuit. We need to have our voices heard at the state level,” she said. “Fighting with each other doesn’t get us anywhere.” Fleming said he wants to be on the board to work to return the district to the small community feel it once had. He noted that it has drifted from that feel over recent years. He and his wife, both from Ocean City, moved back from California so that their children could go to Ocean City schools. “I am a product of the Ocean City School District. The best thing Ocean City has going for it is it is a small community,” Fleming said. “We didn’t want our children to be faceless names. We made the decision to move back for the small, tight, familial atmosphere. In the past few years, it drifted.” Audience members listen to the candidates. Other candidates talked about a disconnect on the board, one that they believe has been there for a few years. Shaffer said he threw his hat into the ring because of “an erosion of trust.” “It is a big commitment to step forward. Whether you win or lose. What I have seen over the last few years is an erosion of trust," Shaffer said. "A wedge has been driven between the parents, the board of education and the administration.” Panico said as a mother of four she felt compelled to run because of problems she has seen in the district. “I have seen some shortcomings. I’d like to represent the other parents, and have a seat at the table,” she said. The candidates were amicable with one another despite some opposing views. Nicoletti strongly opposes the mask mandate. The majority of the other candidates said that they would abide by the state mandate, and they felt that it was a good one to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I don’t want the masks. I don’t want my kids to wear masks. I feel we are all playing doctor,” Nicoletti said. “I want my freedoms back. I don’t feel my children should be mandated to have (the) vaccine.” Leonard said what the majority of the candidates noted during the forum. “Masks work,” he said. “I don’t think we here have anything we will do that goes against what the state wants to mandate.” Questions about the district's ongoing search for a new superintendent were a major part of the forum. Halliday, when asked what qualities a new superintendent should possess, said that strong ethics was the top priority for him. “Ethics would be No. 1 for me, integrity and the ability to lead and to make people feel empowered and want to work,” he said. The PTA sponsored the event. Leonard said he would like to see a new superintendent who would bring more technology into the school system. “I think the superintendent search should be focused more on technology,” he said. When asked what the candidates felt about Ocean City’s school district not making the top 100 high schools in a statewide ranking, Braun emphasized that there are hundreds of high schools in New Jersey. “Ocean City always needs to improve. It can’t be stagnant. We are around the 140 mark,” Braun said of the current ranking. “But we also have 600 high schools in the state.” He noted that the district does a good job with the students in advanced placement and Special Education. “One group that is left out are the kids in between those groups, which I think should be addressed,” Braun said, emphasizing that that could be a factor in the ranking. Bauer called the district a “premier” school system. “It is premier. These children do a spectacular job. When they leave the school, some of the colleges they go to, they were Ivy League,” he said of some of the graduates. “We have outstanding academic people involved in this school. We don’t go out and recruit athletes. I am running on the board to maintain and try to sustain the academic endeavors.” The candidates had different ideas about how to improve relations between the community and the school board. McAlister said as an incumbent, she believes the board could and should do a better job with how some board members interact with the community. “Not returning emails, phone calls -- unacceptable. I am just a mom,” she said. “I think we should speak to the community.” The candidates listen to the moderator.