September school elections concern some, hailed by others

School board elections have for decades been held on the third Tuesday of September but for almost as long some Arkansans have complained that the annual elections need to move to November to generate more interest. That could be changing because of a new state law but election officials say that is easier said then done.

The annual election season for board members is underway for the annual election on Sept. 15. Prospective board members can file as candidates between June 30 and July 7, by getting 20 signatures of qualified voters on a petition. Petitions are now available at the county clerk’s office or at the school district administration office. Prospective candidates could begin circulating their petitions on June 7.

SCHOOL ELECTION OPTIONS
The General Assembly during its regular session this year adopted a Senate bill that has become Act 1281 stating that school elections can be held in September or on the “first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each year.”

“It’s an option,” said Sen. Jane English, R-North Little Rock, the bill’s author.

School boards may decide if they want to hold their election in September or November, starting in 2016. But not so fast, said Jennifer Price, the Washington County Election Commission coordinator, who along with other county election officials from western Arkansas met to discuss issues of mutual concern, including Act 1281.

The reasoning behind the act, English said, has been the lack of interest in school elections when so much state money is spent on education.

“It has bothered me immensely,” English said in a recent telephone interview.

Sen. Uvalde Lindsey, D-Fayetteville, said, “I understand the argument. Low turnout, older folks don’t vote unless there is a question to raise the millage. I have always believed school board elections should be held in September because the boundaries are distinctly different.”

POLITICAL BOUNDARY PROBLEMS
School districts, by state law, are separate political subdivisions which don’t follow the same boundary lines as cities and counties in Arkansas. In Washington County, for example, the southern boundary of the Springdale School District is within the Fayetteville city limits. A portion of eastern Farmington is within the boundaries of the Fayetteville School District. Similar situations exist across the state.

There are instances where school district boundaries cross county lines, especially in rural areas of the state, Price said.

Those two issues and others set up logistical problems if school elections were moved to November to coincide with statewide general elections. Two immediate issues are:
• The Arkansas Constitution and state laws prohibit any other issues other than school election issues to be on the school ballots.
• State law requires each polling site or a school district’s annual school election is to be located within the school district.

State law requires voters must approve the school millage rate annually. The millage question is on the school ballot every year. The only time the law allows an election other than in September is to hold a special election to vote on a millage increase. The law allows only one millage question in a 12-month period so a special millage election in May would cancel the vote in September.

“There are other parts of the law that are called into question,” Price said. One of those questions is that the new law doesn’t specify what entity can change the election, although presumably that falls within the purview of the individual school board.

Another is that school elections are to be held every year while statewide general elections are held every two years.

“There needs to be consistency,” Price said.

ENGAGING VOTERS
School officials agree September elections should continue because the candidates for school board seats and the voters who cast ballots are generally informed about school issues. School elections could get lost in the shuffle if moved to November. Such a move also could give rise to more partisan politics on school boards.

“November elections do bring out more people,” said Travis Riggs, president of the Bentonville School Board who is in his 12th year of board service.

But, he added, in September, some voters “are informed and make an effort to be informed.” There would be more uninformed decisions made in November, Riggs said.

The business community in Fort Smith typically doesn’t get involved in school elections, rather taking its message to all school board members, said Sam Sicard, president of the First National Bank of For Smith.

“We need students in high school or college to have the ability to work, to know how to identify problems and find solutions collaboratively,” Sicard said. “Skills are sometimes lacking because we don’t have a work like environment in our schools. It’s important to try to replicate a working environment so students are working on problems in a collaborative way.”

That’s a message for individuals running for school board seats as well as those already serving on school boards, Sicard said.

“That’s our goal,” he added.

Fort Smith School Superintendent Benny Gooden said September is “the perfect time” for school elections.

“There’s a level of interest, of engagement from voters who care about schools. Schools have just started,” Gooden said. “The chances of breaking through and getting your name out there in November is pretty remote.”

School board elections are traditionally nonpartisan, Gooden said.

“We shouldn’t mess with what already works.”