Marie Panec will return to the Oak Park Unified School District Board of Education for a third term after garnering the most votes in the Nov. 2 general election.

Panec was one of four candidates vying for three seats on the school board. She received 2,014 votes, or 30.5 percent.

Newcomers Allen Rosen and Mary Pallant came in second and third in the race. Rosen claimed 1,884 votes, or 28.5 percent. Pallant won 1,487 votes, or 22.5 percent.

Sepidah Yeoh lost her bid for a seat on the panel, but still collected 1,192 votes, or 18 percent of the total.

“I’m delighted to be able to serve the residents of Oak Park for the next four years,” Panec said following her victory. “We have superior schools in Oak Park, and I’m committed to working with staff, teachers and the residents to make sure that remains.”

Panec said she wanted to let all the residents who voted for her know that she was thankful for their continued support.

Rosen said he was excited about his new post with the board of education, and pledged to improve communication between the school district and the community.

“There is a lot of misinforma- tion about the issues that the school district is facing,” Rosen said. He praised past school board members for being so focused on issues and finding solutions to the many vexing problems facing local schools, but said that the panel needed to find new ways to communicate with its constituents.

Pallant reiterated her concerns about the school budget, which has been hit hard because of a weak state economy. She said other issues must also be considered.

“My primary goal is to continue making Oak Park a district of choice, keeping it strong in academics and a positive influence in the community,” Pallant said.

She added that the district faces the challenge of declining enrollment because of an aging population. When the housing industry improves, more young families will have the chance to move into Oak Park to revive enrollment, she said.

“There’s a fine line between how to attract students to keep the district growing and to keep the small community atmosphere, which makes Oak Park Unified one of the greatest school districts in the California,” Pallant said.

Three seats on the school board panel opened this year with the announcement that longtime board members Cindy Vinson and Mary Rees would not seek another term.

Voter turnout in Ventura County was about 50 percent. The county has 532,000 eligible voters, with 79.7 percent registered to vote in this year’s election. In Oak Park, 6,600 voters went to the polls.