Bensalem School Director Re-Appointed After Losing Election

BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA —School Director Marc Cohen, who lost his re-election bid in the Nov. 7 general election, won't be leaving the Bensalem Township School Board after all.

At Tuesday's school board meeting, the district honored outgoing board members for their service to students and staff with certificates.

Cohen was among those recognized for his eight years on the board along with Jack W. Meyer, David Nieves, Jr., Coach Sheldon D. Per, and School Board President Eric Price. It was their last meeting as the school board reorganizes next month.

Cohen and Price lost their re-election bids in the Nov. 7 general election, according to unofficial results from the Bucks County Board of Elections.

But Cohen, who had resigned his seat Tuesday, was appointed to fill the vacancy left by Meyer, who is moving to Florida.

"They did take me back," Cohen told Patch Wednesday morning. "They asked me. I did it because of the kids, the administration, the employees, and the parents."

The school board accepted Meyer's resignation unanimously without discussion. It also then unanimously approved Cohen's resignation.

Besides Cohen, two other candidates applied for the school board seat: Joseph Wenzel and Joe Doherty.

Doherty was declared ineligible to serve since he's a district employee, school officials said.

At the meeting, Wenzel said he lived in the township for 25 years, has served as a coach, and is involved in other school activities involving children. He is a construction superintendent with experience in helping with repairs to school facilities.

"We did have an election and the body spoke," Wenzel said. "The events that are happening right now are unsettling to me and that's why I stepped in. I feel the township spoke and there should be a different voice."

Cohen, during his comments to the board, said he served on two terms and has been "one of the greatest achievements of his life."

Cohen was nominated for the vacancy. The board unanimously approved his appointment without discussion. Cohen then took the oath of office.

Former School Director Stephanie Ferrandez and Democrats Karen Winters, Deborah King, and Rebecca Mirra will be joining the school board at next month's meeting.

Ferrandez spoke out during public comments, stating that Cohen's resignation was "no coincidence."

"The timing seems rushed," she said. "This comes less than one week before four new board members will be sworn in. What does it say to our community?"

Ferrandez said after she lost her election in November 2021, she did not seek a vacancy the following month because "I listened to the voters of the community."

She did apply for a later vacancy, figuring as the runner-up in the election, she would be highly considered, but "this board did not find that persuasive."

"I certainly hope this board will not be hypocritical," Ferrandez said. "I would ask everyone to think seriously about the will of the people."

Wenzel provided a comment to Patch about the outcome Wednesday morning.

"The outcome is what I expected," he said. "The board that was in place last night put forth a person the people didn’t want to be in that role. I was there to make it known to the people of Bensalem, that their voice wasn’t heard. I want to be the voice of the people going forward."

Cohen said he is handling the criticism by sticking to his mission of helping those in the district.

Asked if he kept the certificate given to him for his service, Cohen responded: "I did give it back."