More than 1,900 write-in votes were cast Tuesday night in the race for Pleasant Valley school board. If the votes are valid, it could knock out a board member and a challenger for the board.

While the name is not reported until the write-ins are certified, Dr. Lawrence Kahn, a retired chiropractor, ran on an “Education not Indoctrination” platform.

His statement on social media said his decision “to run for school board comes after repeated discouraging occurrences and conversations with concerned citizens.”

The man who calls himself a conservative Republican launched the write-in campaign about a month ago with frequent videos and posts. He got out in the community and had supporters at the polls to talk to residents.

“If 10 people call 10 people and they call 10 people, this Tuesday we can have a landslide election,” he posted on Facebook last week.

Another post said, “People are asking why I am a write-in instead of being on the ballot. I didn’t realize how screwed up things were until about a month ago. That is why I jumped in so late, but it is never too late for change. Parents need to be heard.”

Four positions were open on the board, which has drawn repeated criticism from the community over problems with virtual school last year, masks and many other issues. The district is slated to hire its third superintendent in as many years on Thursday night. Superintendent David Piperato left in October 2019 to become superintendent at Easton Area School District.

Dr. Lee Lesisko was promoted to the position in April 2020 and abruptly retired this past June, just before graduation.

The agenda for Thursday includes a resolution to hire Dr. James Konrad from Washington County.

There has been a high turnover of other administrators as well.

Based on unofficial votes Tuesday night, incumbent Donna Yozwiak, currently serving as school board president, had just 989 votes.

Newcomer Michael Galler of Saylorsburg, who was on the Republican ticket, was the lead vote-getter, with 2,931 votes.

Galler, a Gulf War veteran and district resident for the past 26 years, had two children attend PVSD and was on the district’s comprehensive planning committee as the parent rep and worked closely with the special education component.

Melanie Zipp of Brodheadsville, a senior director of quality operations for a multinational pharmaceutical packaging company, garnered 2,067 votes.

Incumbent Laura Jecker held onto the fourth spot, with 2,046 votes. She will be serving her second term, having been elected in 2017.