Seneca Valley’s school board will see one newcomer, after a Democratic candidate beat a Republican for the board’s Region 4 seat in the general election Tuesday, Nov. 4, and the school board president defended his seat from a write-in candidate.

Travis Savitt-Kraft, the Democratic candidate, came out on top in the region, which covers Cranberry Township West 4 and West 6 and is currently represented by Fred Peterson. Savitt-Kraft defeated Mark Ruston, the Republican nominee.

Meanwhile, school board President Eric DiTullio was able to hold off a write-in candidate who received some support from local Republican leadership.

Savitt-Kraft received 1,143 votes, 56.9% of the vote, according to unofficial election results from the summary report posted by the Butler County Bureau of Elections.

Meanwhile, Ruston received 858 votes, or 42.7% of the vote.

Savitt-Kraft is a full-time mathematics teacher and department chair at Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh.

“I’ve already had people texting me, reaching out to say congrats. The idea of pulling out ahead after such a long and exciting race, I’m just thrilled I now get to serve my community,” Savitt-Kraft said.

He is replacing Peterson, who is retiring from the seat at the end of the year.

After his election victory Tuesday night, Savitt-Kraft said he felt fulfilled by his campaign, having knocked on doors at over 1,300 houses and reached out to voters regardless of how they vote.

“I’ve worked for 17 years as a teacher and to move even further past that onto a greater scale, I cannot wait to serve my community and our children,” Savitt-Kraft said. “I hope that I can be as great as a servant as I’ve felt Fred Peterson was.

“I hope I can come close to filling his shoes and represent my constituents regardless of how they voted.”

DiTullio received 1,155 votes from Region 8 voters, about 55.7%, election night results showed.

The unofficial night-of results indicated 918 write-in votes were cast in Region 8, or 44.2%. Though the names attached to the write-in votes aren’t immediately available, it appears DiTullio managed to hold off a write-in challenge from Cindy Kneiss, who received some support from Republican Party leaders in recent weeks.

DiTullio, a Lancaster Township resident, is an industrial estimator for an international engineering and consulting company. He is a registered Republican and was cross-filed on the ballot.

He has served on the school board since 2009 and has served as either president or vice president for 10 of the past 11 years.

Kneiss recently launched a write-in campaign with a focus on opposition to Seneca Valley’s $165 million renovation proposal of the intermediate high school.