There will be a new addition to the Bristol Township School Board.
Shane Bowen, son of Bristol Township Council President Craig Bowen, was elected to serve on the school board for a four-year term Tuesday. Incumbent board members Helen Cini, Stacy Gerlach, Constance Moore and Amanda Geist were all reelected. Jerry Bachman won a special election and fill the two remaining years of his late wife’s term. Bachman and Geist were both appointed to the school board earlier this year to fill vacancies.
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Candidates William Keenan, John Riotto, Kelly Larkin and Angela Dearing did not gain enough votes to fill any of the five seats up for election. All the losing candidates appeared solely on the Republican ballot in a township where the majority of active voters are Democrats.
Bowen, who was listed on both the Democratic and Republicans ballots, has been a constant presence at school board meetings in recent months. He often went up to speak with board members after meetings to ask various questions.
Bowen, Riotto, Larkin and Dearing were all at one point running as the “Tax Relief Team.” By fall, the only Riotto and Larkin remained on the team.
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Bowen will be joining a board that is faced with mounting financial problems as tax revenues decrease and debt increases. He will also have to help steer the district through the opening of three new elementary schools and the closing of nine aging buildings.
