Newcomer faces incumbent in Cape school board election

Newcomer Ashley Murray will attempt to unseat incumbent Janis Hanwell in the Cape Henlopen school board election, set for Tuesday, May 11.

In a March 16 email, Murray said she chose to run because she feels the community is failing local children.

“I have always stood behind Cape district and only spoke well of them until recently,” Murray said. “I am willing to work hard to help students, parents, teachers, staff and everyone else that makes educating our kids possible. If we can support one another, I have no doubt that we can make many positive changes that will allow us to once again take pride in our school district.”

If elected, Murray said, she promises that children’s needs will be her top priority.

“We have got to get all children back into school full time, and we can do this safely,” she stated. “Their education and their mental well-being are our responsibility.” 

Murray did not respond as to how she will get all students in school full time. She said she attended a reopen schools rally that was held March 15 at Legislative Hall in Dover. 

In her email, Murray said she would be available to parents who live in the district and would support teachers, who she said are working under impossible conditions and are expected to do more each year.

Murray said she has three children: a Cape High junior, a Beacon Middle seventh-grader, and a younger daughter she enrolled in a private school that has full-time, in-person instruction. She said her two older children are struggling to have their academic needs met due to a lack of in-person learning, which she said makes her uniquely qualified to advocate for students and parents.

“Thankfully, my daughter is now thriving,” she said. “My two sons, however, who are still in Cape, are not. That divide has been made all the more apparent as I compare the difference in education my three children have received this year. I now fully understand what fellow parents mean when they say their child is lost in the public school system.”  

Murray said she aired her frustrations on social media, and moments later, received a call informing her that an at-large seat on the Cape school board was up for election.  

“That is when it clicked,” she said. “Pulling my child out of Cape would only be helping him. What about all the other children that are suffering? What about the parents that cannot afford private school?”

Children are suffering and falling behind every day, Murray said, while private schools have been open to students full time, five days a week since August.

“I understand firsthand the frustration, concerns and exhaustion that most parents and teachers are feeling,” she said. “Parents’ concerns need to not only be heard but promptly addressed, and presently that is not happening. Parents need a voice that results in a positive change. I am that voice.”

Murray said she is a fourth-generation Lewes native and Cape High class of 1999 grad who also attended Shields Elementary and Lewes Middle School. She said she holds an associate’s degree in science from Delaware Technical Community College. 

To learn more, go to ashleymurrayforcape.com or email ashley@ashleymurrayforcape.com.

Incumbent opponent Janis Hanwell was first elected in 2016. Hanwell’s career in education spans 31 years, during which time she held positions as a special education teacher, principal and administrator. In 2010, she retired after eight years as Cape assistant superintendent. 

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday, May 11, at Cape High, Mariner Middle and Rehoboth Elementary schools. 

Eligible voters must be Delaware citizens age 18 and older who live in the Cape district. Proof of identity and address, such as a Delaware driver’s license or ID card, or other document such as a recent utility bill or rent receipt, must be provided. Absentee voting information is available at elections.delaware.gov. 

The winning candidate will be sworn in this July for a five-year term that will expire June 30, 2026.