CANDIDATES SLOW IN COMING FOR SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS

Six area school districts -- including three in Bollinger County -- saw Christmas break come and go with nary a candidate to file for upcoming school board elections.

Filing for April 7 school board elections began 8 a.m. Dec. 23. Voters across the state will elect candidates to two, three-year terms, and several regional districts will hold special elections to fill unexpired terms.

By early Monday afternoon, no candidates had filed for election in Altenburg, Jackson, Leopold, Meadow Heights, Oran and Zalma school districts. Only four school districts had enough candidates to fill all expired terms.

Incumbents at Nell Holcomb, Kelly, Scott City and Scott County Central schools have already filed for the two, three-year positions available at each school. In addition, appointed board members Mark Freed of Scott County Central and Wayne Petitt of Scott City have also filed for the one-year unexpired terms they currently hold.

The only race to be found in the region was for the Woodland school board, where three candidates announced their intent to vie for two openings during Christmas break.

In all, 21 people have announced candidacies in 20 school districts in Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Mississippi, Scott and Stoddard counties. However, to fill all available positions, at least 43 candidates are needed for the districts.

School board members must be U.S. citizens, at least 24 years old, a Missouri resident and district taxpayer for one year preceding the election.

Potential candidates for school board seats are required to sign a declaration of candidacy when they file for office with the board of education. They must sign a notice of filing, a required financial disclosure statement which states they may be required to release a financial statement.

Candidates must complete forms at district board of education offices before 5 p.m. Jan. 20. Superintendents must submit the notice of election and sample ballot to the county clerks by Jan. 27, the 10th Tuesday prior to the election.