Incumbent school board members Pepper Evans, Michelle King and Amanda Santos have earned enough votes in the November school board election to keep their seats on the Lawrence Township Public Schools Board of Education.
King was the top vote-getter with 5,495 votes, followed by Santos with 5,404 votes. Evans received 5,299 votes. The term is for three years.
Challengers Thomas Figueira received 2,847 votes, Amy Gregory got 2,727 votes. Carlos Raziel Rodriguez earned 2,220 votes and Nathanael Gregory received 2,089 votes.
The unofficial tallies include ballots cast Nov. 8, plus early voting, vote by mail and provisional ballots, said Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello. It does not include write-in votes.
Sollami Covello said the results will not be official until she has certified them to the Division of Elections within the Department of State, which is expected to occur by Nov. 26.
Evans has served on the school board since 2011, and King has served since 2016. Santos was appointed last year to fill out an unexpired term, and decided to run for a full, three-year term.
Speaking on behalf of herself and her running mates, Evans thanked Lawrence Township voters for supporting the slate of candidates in the Nov. 8 school board election. Evans, King and Santos ran together on a slate.
“Michelle King is a lifelong educator who works with the educators of tomorrow, giving her cutting-edge insights,” Evans said.
“Amanda Santos represents the future of our board with her children in our schools, a passion for the arts and incredible positive energy,” Evans said.
“Together, I am confident that all children will feel welcome and flourish in our schools,” Evans said.
