Wide Margin Separates Toms River School Board Candidates: Unofficial Results

Updated, 10:15 p.m.

TOMS RIVER, NJ ? Toms River voters have returned Kathleen Eagan to the Toms River Regional Board of Education by a wide margin, according to unofficial results.

Eagan, who was seeking her third term on the school board, held a 2,364-vote lead over George Lobman, and was more than 8,000 votes ahead of Josef Pentz with all Toms River districts reporting, according to the unofficial results.

The seat is a three-year term on the nine-member board and one of six that represent Toms River. Beachwood, Pine Beach and South Toms River each have one seat; Beachwood representative Katie Coyne and Pine Beach representative Kevin Kidney ran unopposed for their seats.

With 63 of 63 districts reporting, Eagan was leading with 12,269 votes, Lobman had 9,905 and Pentz had 4,215. The results remain unofficial until certified later in November.

Eagan is the former president of the Toms River Education Association and was heavily supported in the campaign by both Republican clubs in Toms River and by the NJEA.

Lobman served less than a year on the Toms River Township Council in the seat vacated by Daniel Rodrick when Rodrick became mayor. His campaign for the school board has been supported by Rodrick allies.

Pentz was a newcomer who has not campaigned much at all for the seat.

It has been a bitter campaign.

Eagan challenged Lobman's candidate petition in court but ended up withdrawing her challenge during a court hearing on Sept. 4.

Eagan has been attacked in campaign mailings over the district's 22.9 percent increase in school taxes over the last two years as the district has been fighting with the state over funding cuts. Mailings also have blamed her for a proposed new contract for Superintendent Michael Citta that would have increased his salary by about $80,000 over five years, including nearly $50,000 in 2025-26. That contract proposal was slated for a vote in early October but a special meeting to discuss it was canceled and it was not addressed at the school board meeting a week later.