School Board Elections In Manahawkin and Barnegat: 12 Candidates Running In Three Districts

Twelve candidates filed to run for a total of nine seats on three local Boards of Education.

Here is the breakdown by school district:

Barnegat Township Schools, 550 Barnegat Boulevard North

The Barnegat Schools boasts the most challengers -- James J. Brown of Aphrodite Drive, Grace Paulhus of Janelle Drive and Kim Murphy of Tradewinds Avenue, with two incumbents Frank Caputo of Hidden Lake Circle and Robert Houser of Ravenwood Boulevard running for re-election.

Stafford Township Schools, 775 East Bay Avenue

With three seats up for grabs, three incumbents -- current Board President Tammy Nicolini of Willow Court, Christine English of Outboard Avenue and Beth Sicoli of Galleon Road -- and a newcomer Michael Hemenway of Lazy Oak Lane are in the running.

Southern Regional School District, 105 Cedar Bridge Road

Unless a new challenger files their candidacy in the beginning of next week, the board election here will hold no real competition, with three incumbents Board President Steven P. Berkheiser of Pond Hollow Lane, Christopher Taylor of Lyle Avenue and Keith Weidenhof of Lighthouse Drive seeking to hold on to their three seats.

The candidates list is unofficial, as names can be challenged for four days after the filing deadline, which was at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 5.

This would be the first year for a November school board election for all three school boards. All Ocean County School Districts, with the  exception of Lakewood, opted to move their School Board elections from  April to November as a result of a .

Candidates will be listed in a separate section of the November ballot, as school board elections are nonpartisan.