A slate of conservative candidates swept the election for Knoch School District’s four open school board seats in the general election Tuesday, Nov. 4, according to unofficial election results reported in Butler County Bureau of Elections summary reports.

Candidates Matt Bartlett, Lorie Musloe, Jake Weidner and incumbent board member Anthony Infante were elected to Knoch’s school board after campaigning together as conservatives.

The four candidates beat out Jeff Beckstead, an independent candidate who has been critical of the current school board’s action such as joining litigation against the Pennsylvania Human Rights Commission over regulations around sex discrimination.

According to the unofficial election results, Bartlett led the way with 3,647 votes, or 22.6% of the vote. Musloe followed up with 3,518 votes, or 21.8% of the vote, while Weidner got a seat with 3,255 votes, or 20.1% of the vote.

In fourth place was Infante, with 3,095 votes, or 19.1% of the vote.

Beckstead received 2,578 votes, or 15.9% of the vote.

The four conservative candidates were all endorsed by the Butler County Republican Committee of Pennsylvania, according to its website.

All four had cross-filed and moved to the November ballot on both the Republican and Democratic tickets.

Infante was running for a second term and has served on the board since 2021. He is the president of Knoch’s football boosters and has been a volunteer junior varsity baseball coach for nearly a decade. He is a small-business owner.

Musloe said she has resided in Knoch School District for 20 years and has two sons in the district. Her background includes working for nonprofits and in fundraising.

Bartlett is a Knoch parent with two children attending the district. His background is in information technology consulting and he has worked with school districts and their technology directors in his role.

Weidner said he previously served in the Navy and has a background in pharmaceuticals manufacturing, corporate information technology, project management and financial management.

The school district serves families in Penn, Jefferson, Winfield, Clinton and Buffalo townships and Saxonburg.