Norwin: School board race to continue with 10 candidates in fall

All 10 candidates seeking five open seats on the Norwin School Board won party nominations Tuesday and will continue their campaigns in the fall.

With all 32 precincts reporting, Lynda Funk, 60, of North Huntingdon; Tammy Moreno, 46 of Irwin; Thomas Ryan 47, of North Huntingdon; Robert Weisensee, 59, of North Huntingdon and Robert Wayman, 69, of Irwin; secured Republican nominations.

Funk received 13.7% of the Republican vote; Ryan 13.4%; Moreno 13.1%; Weisensee, 12.5% and Wayman, 12.3% in the Republican primary.

Bill Bojalad, 54, Tim Kotch Sr., 66, Heath Shrum, 54, Matt Thomas, 48, and Nina Totin, 31, all of North Huntingdon, were the top five vote getters in the Democratic primary.

Kotch Sr. received 17.5% of the vote; Shrum 17.1%; Totin 16.7%; Thomas 16.6% and Bojalad, 16% to top the Democratic ballot.

Nine of the 10 candidates cross-filed and ran as both Democrats and Republicans. Totin appeared only on the Democratic ballot.

Results are unofficial until certified by the county elections board.

Wayman is the lone incumbent seeking reelection this year. Four other school board members did not run to retain their seats.

Wayman is part of a Norwin4Change slate of Republican candidates, along with Funk, Moreno, Ryan, and Weisensee that is seeking to take control of the politically charged nine-member board. They have sided with the current minority faction on the school board that supported book bans and removal of CNN for classrooms. The group also has been critical of the district administration.

The We aRe Norwin slate, including Democrats Kotch, Thomas and Shrum, along with Republicans Bojalad and Totin, ran on a platform to remove cultural issues from school board control.