This election cycle saw three of Bristol’s six seats on the Bristol Warren Regional School Committee up for grabs, with eight candidates in the hunt. When the dust settled in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Nov. 4, Sarah Bullard, Karen Cabral and Marjorie McBride had taken the top three spots. While there are likely a handful of ballots remaining to be counted — those left in the Town Hall drop box on election day — they are unlikely to impact the final result of this race.

Sarah Bullard

With 3,846 votes, Sarah Bullard was the top vote-getter of the candidates. A mother of four, Ms. Bullard’s professional experience as a Parents as Teachers facilitator and with the Bristol Health Equity Zone underscored for her the learning curve that exists for families attempting to access student support services.

“The process is not as transparent as it could be,” she said. “We could make things easier on these parents, who already have challenges they’re facing.”

Reached on Wednesday morning, Ms. Bullard said, “I’m proud and honored to have earned the votes of so many — it’s a big responsibility that I do not take lightly.” She’s also grateful that the campaign, which was a big challenge complicated by COVID restrictions, is over. “The campaign is done,” she said, “and now the real work can begin.”

Karen Cabral

With 3,739 votes, Karen Cabral finished only 107 votes from Ms. Bullard. A nurse of 25 years in both school and hospital settings, Ms. Cabral believes medical professionals will always bring something important to the table — especially during COVID. But as a nurse, her professional experience has long been advocating for her patients — and she feels that advocating for students is an important part of the School Committee’s role. Like so many of the other candidates this cycle, her campaign stressed the importance of vocational opportunities for students who would like to go into the trades. “I would like to thank the voters of Bristol for giving me the opportunity to serve as a member of the school committee,” Ms. Cabral emailed in a statement on Wednesday morning. “I’m motivated to work together to keep our students safe and healthy while providing them with the best education to prepare them for the future.”

Marjorie McBride

A 20-year school committee veteran, Marjorie McBride captured the third spot, with 2,905 ballots. Running on her record of the district’s steady improvement during her tenure, Ms. McBride campaigned on the opportunity to continue the work of achieving equity among both students and district schools.

“We have finally reached a point where we have a dedicated group of people who believe every child can succeed,” she said in a pre-election interview. Reached Wednesday morning, she mentioned that, like the night before, her first campaign saw her going to bed to one set of results and waking to an electoral win. “At midnight I was thinking, ‘well, it was a great run, I’ll be ok.’ And this morning, I’m just really grateful,” she said.

“I’m excited and ready to get back to work.”

Incumbent member and current School Committee treasurer Brian Bradshaw came in fourth, separated from Ms. McBride by a 114-vote margin. Bristol’s three winning candidates will join the committee along with Warren winners Tara Thibaudeau and Nicky Piper, both newcomers.