School Boards Matter

FOUR ISSUES DESERVING OF TOP PRIORITY:
  1. Improve student academic achievement. This is the main purpose of education.
  2. Create safe, positive learning environments for students and teachers. Common-sense approaches are required to teach disrespectful, disruptive students the proper behavior. Students can’t learn because teachers can’t teach in a chaotic classroom.
  3. Stronger engagement, involvement, and transparency with parents is vital to academic success.  
  4. Complete fiscal transparency and re-allocation of funds from bureaucracy to student-focused outcomes.
 
Visit the C4DS You Tube channel to learn more about these issues

School Board Engagement

What’s one way to make a positive impact in your community a couple of hours a month? 

Show up to school board meetings in your district. You can do it in person or virtually (if available).  Speak up for parents and students, suggest future agenda items you aren’t hearing them discuss, tell a story about what you hear going on in schools, or bring new viewpoints or ideas to them. 

Click on First State Educate’s SCHOOL BOARD/CHARTER SCHOOL LISTINGS to find out when your local school board meets and what’s on the agenda.

If you attend and hear something interesting, let Citizens for Delaware Schools know. We’ll get the word out as a public service.

Get ready to run for a 2026 school board seat

Now that the 2025 elections are over, it’s a great time to consider a run for a 2026 seat. The more time you give yourself before you have to file to run, the more you can set yourself for success – and we can guide you along the way.

First, you have to reside in the area where the nominating district seat is located. There are two types of seats:

At Large seats: Anyone residing in the school district can run.

Nominating District seats: You must reside within the borders of a defined geographic area. 

 

DON’T KNOW WHICH DISTRICT YOU RESIDE IN?

 It’s easy. This link will take you to a page where you can enter your address and scroll down to see the name of your school district, nominating district and the name of the current incumbent.

This table shows the school board elections for 2026 by county and school district.

Complete a short form to initiate a discussion with us. 

CLICK HERE

Candidate survey questions

Why are you running for school board?

How will you use your experiences and background to approach your role as a member of the school board?

If you had to pick one, which do you believe is more important for achieving higher academic achievement: greater funding or better reforms? Explain.

Name 1 or 2 changes or policies you will support that will raise the academic achievement of all students in your district.

What changes should be made at schools to make the classroom a safer and more effective environment for maximizing learning and instruction (teaching)?

Many educators say that not all parents are engaged enough with their children’s education. how can the school board create policies that help forge a closer relationship and involvement among parents, their children, and educators?

How do you believe the school board should respond to federal executive orders for K-12 schools to stop promoting gender and ‘radical ideologies’ such as DEI or risk federal funding?

Your Elected School Board Candidates for 2025

REMINDER: 

C4DS does not endorse or oppose any candidate running for school board. We simply provide their views in their own words from various sources. 

Congrats to the winners. May they be successful in improving student academic outcomes and reducing the growing achievement gap between high and low performers.

New Castle County

APPOQUINIMINK

At-Large – Tim Higgins

**Tim Higgins  participated in a FSE forum. Watch here.

CHRISTINA

District A – Shannon Troncoso 

**Shannon Troncoso participated in a FSE forum. Watch here.

 

RED CLAY

District B – Devin Hyson (ACLU)*  

District GBeth Twardus (ACLU)* 

BRANDYWINE

District A – Alexander Najemy 

District B – Brian Jordan (ACLU)*

District E – Frank Livoy 

 

COLONIAL (NO ELECTIONS)

District BChristine L. Smith (ACLU)*

District C  (2-year term) – Phils M. Breeding (ACLU)*

District D – Christopher Piecuch Sr. 

 

SMYRNA

At-Large – Aaron Weisenberger 

Kent County

CAESAR RODNEY

At-Large – Dr. Joyce Denman (ACLU)*  

 

LAKE FOREST
 
At-Large – James L. Rau 

CAPITAL

At-Large ( 3-yr term) – Vickie Pendleton (ACLU)* 

At-Large (4-year term) – Donna Johnson Geist 

**Vicki Pendleton and Donna Geist participated in an FSE forum. Watch here

 

 MILFORD

At-Large – Yanelle Powell (NO ELECTION) 

Sussex County

CAPE HENLOPEN

District BJason Bradley (NO ELECTION)  

Listen to his WGMD radio interview

District C – Patty Maull

At-Large – William (Bill) Collick (ACLU)*

 

 

DELMAR

At-Large – Raymond Vincent (NO ELECTION)

INDIAN RIVER

District 1 (2 seats)

Lisa Hudson Briggs

Kelly Kline 

**Lisa Hudson Briggs and Kelly Kline participated in a WGMD forum. LISTEN

 

District 2 – Jerry Peden Jr. (NO ELECTION)

District 4 – Michelle Parsons (NO ELECTION)

LAUREL

At-Large – Raymond Vincent (NO ELECTION)

 
SEAFORD
 

 At-Large – Jeffrey Benson Jr. (NO ELECTION)

 

WOODBRIDGE 

At-Large – Timothy Banks (ACLU)* Listen to his WGMD interview

At-Large – Moraima Reardon (NO ELECTION)