Republicans Lead Bensalem School Board Race: Unofficial Results

BENSALEM, PA — Voters have decided who will be the next school directors of the Bensalem Township School District.

Eight candidates competed in the general election for four seats on the twelve-person board. The Democrats running are Stephanie A. Gonzalez Ferrandez, Alana Hardison, Jaime P. Devery, and Scott Endicter. Kim J. Rivera, Jack Meyer, Joe Pettyjohn, and Jiten Patel ran as Republicans.

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As of Wednesday, one week after the election, the Republicans were leading the day in unofficial vote totals returned from the Bucks County Board of Elections, with all 306 precincts reporting county-wide.

Unofficial Results:

• Stephanie A. Gonzalez-Ferrandez (D), 6,642
• Alana Hardison (D), 6,185
• Jaime P. Devery (D), 6,098
• Scott Endicter (D), 6,037
• Kim J. Rivera (R), 7,899
• Jack Meyer (R), 7,878
• Joe Pettyjohn (R), 7,564
• Jiten Patel (R), 7,648

Bucks counted 40.8 percent voter turnout in this election, or 193,694 ballots cast out of 475,049 registered voters.

Patel, Ferrandez, Hardison, and Endicter filled out profiles with Patch detailing the terms of their candidacy.

Jiten Patel is a Republican running on an agenda of board and district transparency with students, parents, staff, and community members.

Democrat Stephanie A. Gonzalez Ferrandez has served on the board since 2017. She aims to up graduation rates, address middle school infrastructure, and bring back publicly funded supplemental pre-K.

Scott Endicter, also a Democrat, believes that the current school board has been complacent in letting administrators take lead on district decisions, and that the board needs to take a more active role in guiding school priorities.

Fellow Democrat Alana Hardison wants the board to proactively serve the district's diverse population, saying, "translating information into multiple languages, hiring diverse teachers and staff, and asking the public what they need from the district are ways in which we can build a cohesive community."

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