A tight race for the final spot on November’s general election ballot has three incumbent school board members and two newcomers leading the way in Lehighton Area School District based on unofficial results Tuesday night.

Six candidates battled for five available four-year terms with Zac Hunter and Sean Gleaves joining incumbents Heather Neff, April Walker and Jeremy Glaush as the top vote-getters on both the Republican and Democrat tickets.

On the Republican ticket, Neff lead the way with 1,094 votes followed by Walker with 1,030, Hunter with 816, Glaush with 806 and Gleaves with 777. Falling just short was Walter Zlomsowitch, who only ran on the Republican ticket and tallied 746 votes. There were 220 Republican write-in votes that will be tallied later this week.

On the Democrat ticket, Neff garnered 623 votes, followed by Walker with 569, Hunter with 526, Gleaves with 477 and Glaush with 474. There were 188 write-in votes cast by Democrats.

Neff, Walker and Glaush were all appointed to the board in recent years following resignations of prior directors.

Zlomsowitch, meanwhile, had a board seat and resigned in June 2022 following the hiring of Dr. Christina Fish as superintendent. At the time, Zlomsowitch said he felt his “time and opinions were wasted.”

Neff is the stepmother of three Lehighton graduates and mother of a current fourth-grade student.

“I am proud of the strengths and achievements of our school and am aware of the concerns and suggestions of parents, educators, and community members alike.,” she said in the lead up to the election. “I am committed to supporting our district’s teachers and staff to ensure that our students receive the highest quality education.”

Walker was appointed to the board in December 2021. During her interview in front of other directors at the time, she said the district should lean on teachers, including retired educators, for their take on the topics.

“I believe we need to get back to teaching the objective truth and not a narrative or version of the truth that leaves out vital information,” she added.

At that same December 2021, the board appointed Glaush to fill a vacancy. An Ironton Telephone Co. employee, Glaush said he wants his children to have a positive school experience.

“I had concerns for years hearing that the district was being poorly run and that student safety was a concern,” he said leading up to Tuesday. “I never actually knew how bad things were until I saw them for myself. From day one, the board hit the ground running and together have done some amazing things.”

Incumbent Richard Beltz appears to have won a two-year term, tallying 637 votes from Democrats and 868 votes from Republicans. His only challenger was Zlomsowitch on the Republican side, who fell short with 565 votes.