Election 2025: Bernie Sousa For Hatboro-Horsham School Board

Candidates running in the Nov. 4 general election are providing background about themselves and their positions on the issues to voters in these profiles, which will run in Patch individually for each candidate.

HATBORO / HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA — Bernie Sousa is running for a seat on the Hatboro-Horsham School Board in the Nov. 4 general election.

Sousa, a Republican, is among eight candidates seeking five seats on the school board, which represents Hatboro and Horsham Township.

Several school board members did not seek re-election, and one, Erin Whalen, is running for Horsham Township Council.

The candidates are Republicans Jimmy Zuniga, Bernie Sousa, Eric Tilghman, Anthony Spangler, and Eric Grier. They face Democratic newcomers Madison Peace, Ashley R. Pierson, Katherine Kahn, Robert Jarvis, and School Board President Jennifer Wilson.

Biographical Information

• Name: Bernie Sousa
• Age: 48
• Town of Residence: Horsham Township
• Position sought: Hatboro-Horsham School Board
• Are you an incumbent? No
• What Towns Does Your Position Cover? Hatboro Borough and Horsham Township
• Party Affiliation: Republican
• Family: Wife, three children
• Education: B.S in Public Relations, Double Minor in Business and Psychology
• Occupation: Medical Device Industry

Candidate Questions

1. How do you feel about the school district's recent tax hikes?

Fiscal responsibility — There is no reason for residents, specifically seniors without children, to continue to receive a tax hike in this township given the substantial development and increase in new homes within the area.

Where there is taxpayer money, there is always waste, fraud, and abuse. We need to be sure that we are vetting proposals, negotiating from a position of strength, while eliminating the blatant abuse of non residents from outside the area utilizing our school system and resources.

2. What educational background do you bring to the position?

I've been in healthcare for almost 25 years and have seen first-hand what happens when you're reactionary instead of proactively getting ahead of a problem. Innovation, problem solving, and long term strategy are keys to any position in the business world, but none more so when it directly impacts our children.

I bring a strong business acumen, sound and balanced decision-making, and an entrepreneurial background to this position, having bought and sold several businesses over the years. Negotiating is one of my strengths and I can promise you I will make sure we're getting the most out of our taxpayer money for the township if elected.

3. What are the biggest challenges facing the school district in the future?

The quality of education is in steep decline — when my wife and I moved here in 2010, the Hatboro-Horsham School District was ranked in the Top 50 in the state, it's now at 200. Teachers need more resources, higher pay, and to be removed from the biased political affiliation of a teachers union that rules through coercion, threats, and intimidation of its own members.

Schools need to return to places of learning and development, not battlegrounds for political ideology. If we put a focus on real world skills along with a solid core curriculum, we give all of our students a fantastic opportunity for success.