School Boards Matter
FOUR ISSUES DESERVING OF TOP PRIORITY:
- Improve student academic achievement. This is the main purpose of education.
- 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.
- Stronger engagement, involvement, and transparency with parents is vital to academic success.
- 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.
Complete a short form to initiate a discussion with us.
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
COLONIAL (NO ELECTIONS)
District B – Christine L. Smith (ACLU)*
District C (2-year term) – Phils M. Breeding (ACLU)*
District D – Christopher Piecuch Sr.
SMYRNA
At-Large – Aaron Weisenberger
Kent County
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 B – Jason 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)
At-Large – Jeffrey Benson Jr. (NO ELECTION)
WOODBRIDGE
At-Large – Timothy Banks (ACLU)* Listen to his WGMD interview