Amanda Caruso of Wilton stands with her children June 1 at Bass Park in Wilton. Caruso was elected Tuesday to the Regional School Unit 9 board of directors. From left are Maggie, Caroline, Danny and Emma Caruso. Brian Ponce/Franklin Journal

WILTON — Amanda Caruso was elected Tuesday to the Regional School Unit 9 board of directors with 196 votes to Louise Hiltz’s 87.

Selectpersons Keith Swett and Chairperson David Leavitt were reelected with no opposition.

Caruso takes the seat of Irv Faunce, who did not seek reelection.

“Thank you to everyone for their remarkable support,” Caruso said following the election. “I can’t wait to get to work. I have a lot to learn.”

Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Caruso moved to Wilton with her husband and four children during the pandemic in 2020. Since then, she has been involved in the Western Maine Play Museum and the Tyngtown Club, a 200-year-old philanthropic women’s club in Wilton.

“We were looking for a small town,” Caruso said. “We were looking for a rural community. Just a slower pace of life, and a community where things don’t feel so anonymous, and we can really get involved and contribute.”

With three of her children attending school and the youngest starting kindergarten in the fall, Caruso volunteers once a month for the RSU 9 food pantry at W.G. Mallett School in Farmington to help families in need.