Brick 2022 Election Results: Iannarone, DiBenedictis Lead School Board

Updated, 9:50 pm.

BRICK, NJ — Newcomers Madeline Colagiovanni-Iannarone and Frances DiBenedictis appear to be poised to join the Brick Township Board of Education, according to unofficial tallies from Tuesday's general election.

With all 57 districts reporting, Colagiovanni-Iannarone was leading with 11,031 votes and her running mate, DiBenedictis, had 9,670. Erin Wheeler had 8,614 votes, and Maureen Molz had 7,849, according to the unofficial results.

The results are not official until certified by the Ocean County Clerk.

There were two, three-year terms up for election, and current board members Daisy Haffner and Melita Gagliardi were not seeking re-election.

Molz is a retiree who was a program manager for the U.S. Army and the FAA. Wheeler is a teacher in another school district. DiBenedictis is a parent, and Colagiovanni-Iannarone works for the Brick Township Recreation Department with children's programming.

Colagiovanni-Iannarone and DiBenedictis attacked Molz and Wheeler, accusing them of supporting "progressive indoctrination" of the district's students. DiBenedictis has been vocal in her opposition to the state's new sex education standards, and said during a voter forum that she would support banning books — a stance that set her apart from the other candidates.

Colagiovanni-Iannarone has campaigned on what she says is a lack of transparency with parents by the current board and the district.

Molz has campaigned on her background managing multimillion-dollar budgets for U.S. Army and FAA programs as a skill that will be useful in the school district's budget process, along with academics. Wheeler has said she would focus on improving academics.

Here are the unofficial vote totals for the candidates:

BRICK TOWNSHIP BOARD OF EDUCATION (vote for 2)

• Maureen Molz, 7,849
• Erin Wheeler, 8,614
• Madeline Colagiovanni-Iannarone, 11,031
• Frances DiBenedictis, 9,670