MOUNT VERNON — This November, two school board members will be elected or re-elected for the Danville and Mount Vernon City school districts. Three positions will need to be filled on the Centerburg, East Knox and Fredericktown school boards and the Governing Board of the Knox County Educational Service Center.
Current board members whose terms expire this year are: ESC — Judy Klavins, Dale Grassbaugh and Nancy Holtrey; Centerburg — Leroy Bumpus, Roger Clark and Ron Ross; Danville — Charles Bratton and Andrea Inverso; East Knox — Craig Campbell, Renee McDaniel and Robert Durbin; Fredericktown — Loretta Ackerman, Arthur Dremann and Betty Weller; and Mount Vernon — Steven Hughes and Ian Watson.
A school board, elected on a nonpartisan ballot, sets educational goals and establishes policy for the school system based upon state laws and community values. Its main job is to employ a superintendent and to hold him or her responsible for managing the schools in accordance with the school board’s policies. Board members do not manage the day-to-day operations of a school district.
Board members make decisions on a wide range of issues, such as hiring and evaluating a superintendent and treasurer, setting district policy, planning student services, goal-setting and long-range planning, developing curriculum, establishing budgets and creating community relations programs.
In order to run for the board, an individual must be a citizen of the United States, at least 18 years old, a resident of the state 30 days preceding the election, a resident of the school district and have been registered to vote for 30 days.
Interested individuals must obtain a petition from the Knox County Board of Elections and record signatures of registered voters in the school district to get on the ballot. Local and exempted village petitions must have 25 signatures. Mount Vernon City Schools candidates will need 75 signatures; ESC hopefuls will need 50 signatures. The signatures should be the signer’s legal signature, as the use of nicknames may cause the signatures to be deemed invalid. Signing an individual’s petition is not an obligation to vote for the individual, and voters may sign more than one individual’s petition.
Aug. 20 at 4 p.m. is the filing deadline for the petitions, and a filing fee of $30 will be charged by the board of elections.
