NORTHFIELD — After a few weeks of sorting out write-in votes and tracking down winners to accept their election, results are finally in for the Pioneer Valley Regional School District’s School Committee election, which saw six seats on the ballot between Bernardston, Leyden and Northfield.

In the end, though, only four of those seats were filled, as Leyden and Bernardston both have one vacancy remaining. Pioneer holds its School Committee election during the biennial state election every even numbered year, as is stipulated in the 1991 district agreement, which is in the process of being amended.

Ahead of the election, only three candidates had thrown their hats in the ring. Incumbents Stephen Martin of Northfield and Michele Giarusso, Leyden’s town coordinator, are returning for four-year terms, while Leyden resident Stephanie Arroyo claimed a four-year seat with 22 write-in votes among the three towns. The incumbents were reelected with vote totals of 2,410 and 2,389 for Martin and Giarusso, respectively.

Northfield resident Melissa Osborne was elected to a two-year term with seven write-in votes. Osborne has two children in the district, one at Northfield Elementary School and one at Pioneer. She is also a director of nursing at a non-profit long-term care and rehabilitation facility, where she supervises 40 staff members.

As a School Committee member, Osborne said she wants to address turnover, behavioral support for students and school safety.

“It’s a small community, lots of parents talk, and I felt like I needed to be part of a solution and better understand the issues and solutions,” Osborne wrote in an email. “Families deserve transparency about the issues and concerns in order to make the most informed decisions around voting and policies. I hope to ask the difficult questions, listen to and respect different opinions, provide different perspectives and encourage an evidence-based approach to decisions.”

Attempts to contact Arroyo for comment was unsuccessful by press time.

In the run-up to the election, the two incumbents said they were running again to continue the initiatives they’ve taken on in recent years, such as involving the community in more decision-making and ensuring the district’s financial rebound continues.

“Collaboration has not always been the case in the past, especially when it came to school closures. We do not all have to agree on everything, but having respect for each other’s opinion is so important,” Giarusso said previously. “I think this is the only way our small rural towns can support what needs to be done in looking at the future. There may be a lot of difficult decisions to be made and the only way to do this is to be collaborative.”

“During our meetings we get to see students of all ages enjoying their learning and sharing their creations. I especially love the larger community coming together to view the solar eclipse, work on the beautiful high school grounds, cheer for teams and attend music events,” Martin said earlier this month. “These are all wonderful reminders of why public education is so important. I would be grateful to be part of Pioneer’s continued momentum and its deserved ‘small, but mighty’ reputation.”

Residents to fill the two vacant seats — a two-year term in Leyden and a two-year unexpired term in Bernardston — will need to be appointed by the moderator of the respective town until the next district election, according to the district agreement.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.