Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Six seats open on School Board, three carry full four-year terms

Six of the seven positions on the Gurdon School Board are up for election this year, but only three of those are full four-year terms.

Gurdon Superintendent Bobby Smithson said three of the positions are currently filled by people who were appointed to the seats. By law, a person can only be appointed to a seat for a single year, and the seat then comes up for election again the following year. This continues until someone runs for the seat.

Smithson said three of the current board members have been appointed. All three have formerly run for a seat, and all three have agreed to reappointment when their seats came up for election.

The situation, according to Smithson, is "unique," but within the limits of the law. Smithson said each board member serving those positions has experience on the school board.

Zones 8, 9, 10, 12, 13 and 14 are all up for election. Zones 8, 10 and 12 are the four-year terms that are up for regular election.

Zone 8 is currently held by David Williams. Zone 10 is held by Billy Tarpley and Zone 12 is held by the current school board president Jesse Runyan.

Of the unexpired terms, Zone 9, held by David Hunter, has three years remaining. Zone 13, held by Mark smith has two more years. Zone 14, held by Brad Clark, has three years left to this term.

Smithson said for about three years, there has been a lack of people willing to run for the office in the regular election. However, each of the board members has agreed to be reappointed when no one else sought the seats, Smithson said.

"They always tell you, I don't want to run,'" Smithson said of the incumbents. "But they always agree to another one-year appointment."

He said he isn't sure what has prompted the situation unless it's simply a desire to not commit to a four-year term on the board. The fact that no one else seeks the vacant seats seems to indicate satisfaction with the current makeup of the board, Smithson said.

By law, a person must announce their intention to run for a position on the school board by collecting signatures and turning the petition in to the county clerk. If no one runs for a seat, the school board declares that the seat is vacant and then appoints someone to the position. If the person who held the seat were not willing or able to serve for another year, the school board would have the task of searching for another person in that zone to fill the seat. If no candidates were found, the responsibility would fall to the Clark County Quorum Court to fill the vacancy.

According to information from the Clark County Clerk's office, anyone who wants to seek an office on the school board can begin circulating a petition now. The petition calls for 25 signatures of registered voters in the same zone as the person who is running for the board. The petition must be turned in by Aug. 9 to the county clerk.

Write-in candidates must announce their intention to seek a seat on the school board by Aug. 12. The deadline to register to vote in the school election is Aug. 23.

Early voting for the school election will begin Sept. 7 in the county clerk's office and the election will be Sept. 21.

Candidates are required to file statements of financial interest by Sept. 7, and write-in candidates are required to file the financial interest forms by Sept. 13. Final contributions reports are due by Oct. 21.

The next meeting of the Gurdon School Board is scheduled for July 20. Smithson said board members would still have time following that meeting to gather names for the petitions and to announce candidacy. He said the upcoming election will be among the items discussed during that meeting. School board meetings are held at 7 p.m. at the Cabe Student Center on the high school campus.

Smithson said some additional hiring and the possibilities of raises for teachers will also be on the board's agenda.