A challenger won one of two seats up for grabs on the Seneca Valley school board, while an incumbent retained the other.

Unofficial results show Republican challenger Thomas Roth garnered 359 votes against Democrat incumbent Ann Reale's 337 in Cranberry Township West 4, Region 5.

In Region 8 in Lancaster and Forward, incumbent Republican Kenneth Brennan received 503 votes against challenger Democrat Thomas Schneider's 439.

Mr. Roth, 49, who owns a sheet metal business, attributes his upset win over Mrs. Reale, 51, a real estate agent, to voters' distaste for taxes, which have increased in each of the last four years.

"They're not happy with what's going on in the district," he said.

Cranberry voters were also unhappy with the school district's recent installation of synthetic turf on the high school football field with a price tag of $640,128.

"People didn't consider that part of education," Mr. Roth said.

In Region 8, both candidates favored balancing spending and education priorities, but their stances on taxes varied. Mr. Brennan, 58, a contractor, told voters he did not want to burden residents with higher taxes, whereas Mr. Schneider, 46, also a contractor, indicated that he would consider moderate increases.

"I'm in favor of responsible spending, not this continued effort to tax whether there's a benefit to schools," Mr. Brennan said.