Bucks County School Board Races Spotlight Funding, Transparency

Multiple local school-board races in Bucks County and nearby townships are on the Nov. 4 ballot, including Amanda O'Connor (D) vs. Andrew Miller (R) for Central Bucks Region 2 and a four-way contest in Region 3 between Katrina Filitrault, appointed incumbent Daniel Kimicata, Elizabeth Santoro and Roman Szewczuk. Candidates across districts emphasize transparency, fiscal responsibility and prioritizing student supports while managing full-day kindergarten rollout, grade realignment, major capital projects and rising special-education needs. Kimicata, an appointed incumbent and architect, says his construction and planning experience will guide renovations and keep the board focused on education rather than culture-war issues. In Centennial, incumbent Mark Gindhart defended the superintendent hiring process as properly vetted while challenger Krista DiPaolo criticized the board's lack of transparency and exclusion of community concerns. In Bensalem, Kate Pascucci and Leann Hart fault eight years of indecision on middle-school plans that increased costs and say funding pressures and charter/special-education growth are the district's biggest challenges.