Heather Schaen and Kendra LaCosta, two leaders of the Kennett School Board, are both seeking re-election this year, while Mark Bowden, an award-winning author, is making his first bid to represent Region A on the board.

LaCosta, the current school board president, is seeking her second four-year term on the school board from Region B (New Garden Township). LaCosta has cross-filed, as has Paola Rosas, who is challenging her for the seat.

In Region C, which is comprised of Kennett Township and portions of East Marlborough Township, Schaen is running for a fourth term on the board. She has served as school board president several times during her 12-year tenure on the board. Vicki Gehrt and Bill Brown have also both cross-filed as candidates in Region C, where there are two seats up for election this year.

Bowden is the only candidate who has filed for the Region A (Kennett Square Borough) seat that will be decided in the election this year. Bob Norris currently holds the seat after being appointed to fill a vacancy in 2016.

Bowden is an award-winning journalist and author whose book, “Black Hawk Down,” was a finalist for the National Book Award. The book also served as the basis for an acclaimed film of the same name. Some of Bowden’s other best-selling books include “Killing Pablo,” which detailed the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar, the head of the Colombian Medellin drug cartel; “Guests of the Ayatollah,” an account of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis; and “The Best Game Ever,” the story of the 1958 NFL championship game. Bowden is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a national correspondent for The Atlantic.

“The position offers an opportunity to do something for the community,” Bowden said. He added that his background in education – he’s been a professor for the last 16 years at Loyola University and the University of Delaware -- will give him something to offer to the school board.

“All five of my children were educated in public schools in Chester County,” Bowden said.

The primary election is set for Tuesday, May 16.