Meet Yota Palli, Candidate For Council Rock School Board

UPPER MAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP, PA — A longtime Bucks County resident has announced she is running for Council Rock School Board.

Yota Palli, of Upper Makefield, is running for Council Rock School Board Director to represent Region 8, which includes Upper Makefield Township. Both Palli and Keven Gessner are challenging incumbent Andy Block, who is running for a third term. All three candidates are cross-filing and will appear on Republican and Democratic ballots in the May 18 primary election.

Originally from Greece, Palli says she came to the United States to attend graduate school at the University of Minnesota, where she earned a degrees in mathematics. She later earned her M.B.A. in finance and strategy from the Wharton School of Business.

After finishing school, Palli began working in marketing and business development for Merck Pharmaceuticals before going on to co-found BioCor, a clinical research organization based in Yardley that specializes in oncology trials.

She and her husband, Lukas Makris, have lived in Bucks County since 1995. They moved to Upper Makefield Township in 2003, where they raised their son, Andreas, and their daughter, Christina.

Palli said she left Biocor in 2006 to become active in private investments, joining the Investor Circle in Philadelphia, which provides counsel to early-stage companies that are focusing on social impact challenges.

"I have a special attraction to companies with young women CEOS, and I try to help them out as much as I can," Palli said.

Recently, Palli is turning more of her attention to the Council Rock School District and its financial situation. Her son attended Sol Feinstone Elementary School, which is the district's oldest facility and in need of infrastructure repairs. The school board voted last week to delay renovations on the school for another year, citing budget concerns, while approving renovations for Hillcrest Elementary School, which district officials noted is also in need of work.

Palli said she felt the school board should have found a way to include the Sol Feinstone renovations in the budget.

"I know people have been saying that Council Rock is in trouble, and they can't pay for everything. I do not buy that," Palli said in an interview prior to Thursday's school board vote. "Maybe they need to prioritize and look for different sources of income, or maybe they need to find ways to borrow money and pay it back. It's hard to know until you're really there."

The district is facing an $8 million budget deficit next year even if it raises taxes by 3 percent, Council Rock Business Administration Director Bill Stone said prior to last week's school board vote.

While she generally approves of the job the school board has done during a pandemic, Palli feels the district could benefit from an outside perspective.

"I think it's time for me to contribute to the community and be of service," she said. "We can all benefit by bringing fresh eyes and a new perspective with how we run things."

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