From Staff Reports
The annual school board election season is beginning.
Pea Ridge School Board seats up for election in September:
• Position 3: Jeffrey Neil, expires 2018
• Position 5: Ann Cato, expires 2020
Important dates
June 7-July 7 — Circulate petitions
(Petition forms are available at any of the County Clerk’s office locations and on the Benton County Clerk’s website at www.co.benton.ar.us… and at School Administration office)
June 30-noon, July 7 — File petitions
July 8 — Draw for ballot position
July 13 — File statement of financial interest
Sept. 8 — Early voting begins
Sept. 15 — Election
Any person desiring to be a candidate for a position on a school district’s Board of Directors must:
• Be a qualified voter
• Be a resident of the district
• File a petition containing at least 20 signatures of qualified registered voters of the district or file a Notice of Write-In Candidacy with the County Clerk
• Complete and file an Affidavit of Eligibility in person at the County Clerk’s Office
• Complete and file a Political Practices Pledge in person at the County Clerk’s Office
Benton County Clerk’s Office, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday
Pea Ridge School Board Members:
• Ann Cato, president, term expires 2015
• Jenny Wood, vice-president, term expires 2016
• Sandy Button, secretary, term expires 2017
• Jeff Neil, term expires 2018
• John Dye, term expires 2019
Pea Ridge has two positions on which to vote.
Jeff Neil, appointed by the current School Board on March 16 to fill a vacancy created when former School Board member Braxton Hurst moved out of the district, said he will run for the seat which expires in 2018.
Ann Cato, current board president, said she will resign effective June 25 because she is moving out of the district. Cato's seat expires this year; she is not seeking re-election.
Each of the five Pea Ridge School Board seats rotate, with one board member facing election every year.
This week marks the start, for those interested in running for school board, of circulating petitions to do so. Candidates may file their petitions between June 30 and July 7. Elections will be held Sept. 15.
Board candidates must file petitions with at least 20 signatures from registered voters within the school district they represent to appear on ballots. They must be qualified voters and live in the district for which they're running.
Those interested in running for a position should contact the county clerk for more information and to obtain petition forms.
The runoff is Oct. 6.
When Neil was appointed, he was one of eight applicants who filed to be appointed to the seat.
General News on 06/10/2015