ERMA — Four candidates are seeking two seats on the Lower Cape May Regional School District Board of Education. The board consists of nine members serving three-year terms.
Incumbents Kathleen Elwell and Roy Abrams Jr. are running to retain their seats, while Violanda DiRenzo-Adams and Patrick “Pat” Holden are challenging. Elwell was appointed in May 2011 and Abrams in May 2021.
The Cape May Star and Wave sent the same questions to all four candidates but Elwell ignored the requests for comments. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
DiRenzo-Adams
DiRenzo-Adams retired after 33 years as a public school educator for grades seven to 12. The Lower Township resident graduated from Glassboro State College (now Rowan University) with a bachelor’s degree in home economics and two teaching certifications.
She taught at Richard M. Teitelman Middle School for 21 years. In addition to teaching, she served as a student mentor, assistant director of the student mentor program and teacher mentor.
DiRenzo-Adams served on the Cape May County Curriculum Committee, representing the district for several years. She is a longtime track and field and cross country official throughout New Jersey. Additionally, she is an active lector and Eucharistic minister at Our Lady Star of the Sea.
“[I] am perhaps most recognizable as ‘Miz V’ of the Fun Food Cooking and Baking Camps, for 26 years and counting,” DiRenzo-Adams said. “I’m a lifelong learner and value the education of each child in our community.”
Holden
Holden, 60, is a longtime resident of Lower Township and an LCMR alumnus, teacher and coach. He and his wife, also an LCMR alumna, share three children who also attended the school district.
A retired special education math teacher and basketball coach for 36 years, Holden said he grew up in Cape May and his father was also a teacher. He graduated from Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) and Stockton State College (now Stockton University), where he majored in finance and business.
While Holden planned to go into the corporate world, the school approached him about becoming a teacher and basketball coach.
“It was a great experience; I wouldn’t do anything differently,” he said. “I ran a basketball camp down here for years.”
Holden said he takes great pride in being an alumnus and teacher at LCMR, and after serving in those capacities, he now wants to serve on the Board of Education to help improve the district.
“There are a lot of challenges right now: declining enrollment and rising health care costs,” he said. “I just want to see the school be successful, and after working there for 36 years, I think I would add a lot of value to the board.”
As an educator, Holden worked closely with the executive staff association and noted that the teachers association has a strong relationship with the Board of Education and administration.
“It’s very collaborative; everyone gets along and that’s a key component to why our school has done so well,” he said. “I want to continue that and brainstorm different ideas for challenges moving forward and work together to solve problems and do what’s in the best interest of our community.”
Abrams Jr.
Abrams, 38, was born and raised in Lower Township and still resides there with his wife and three children. Much of his family lives in the area, with his mom retired from the elementary school district and his sister still working there.
He has served on the LCMR Board of Education since 2021, when he filled an unexpired term and has continued to run for the board.
Abrams graduated from Lower Cape May Regional in 2007 and Stockton University in 2013. He works as general manager at the Joe Canal’s in Cape May and Rio Grande, as well as at FCF Realty.
“The biggest thing for me is I’m a dad,” he said. “I love the people on the board with me; they are parents and their kids are aged out of school or their kids have kids. I’m putting in the youth factor there; I’m a lot younger than most of the board members.”
Abrams served on the Lower Township Planning Board for two years.
“[I’m] trying to make sure that the community is in good hands for when my kids are ready to take over and get involved,” he said.
On why he wants to serve, Abrams said he likes to be involved and affordability in the area is one of his concerns.
“Right now, I don’t know if my kids can afford to live down here and I want to make sure they can,” he said. “It’s going to be very hard unless you have hard conversations and hard budget items.”
Abrams feels his private-business experience is a helpful skill he brings to the board.
Some of the top issues Abrams said the community faces are school taxes and affordability.
He said young families are not moving into the school district, “which hurts the district and it loses money on less kids. You have to make hard decisions when it comes to teachers, programs and items like that.”
He noted that addressing that issue would involve looking into shared services.
“I think we could save a lot of money doing more shared services,” he said, adding it was not just for schools but municipalities too.
Abrams said his phone is always on and his email is open for anyone with questions.
“If I don’t know the answer, I’ll try to find it for you,” he said. “I’m an open book and I just want to make sure everyone knows I’m accessible by email and phone.”
