School board filing period begins

Candidates can begin filing for open seats on their local school board, but changes in Iowa law may affect how long they stay in office.

The state moved away from holding school board elections annually following legislation passed in the 2008 session. Under the new law, school board elections will be held only in Septembers of odd-numbered years.

As part of the transition, elected school board candidates will serve four-year terms, instead of three years, beginning with the 2009 election cycle. The 2010 school board elections have been eliminated.

The change also makes the 2008 election a transition year for school boards who will want to stagger the terms of its members and to get into compliance with the odd-year election calendar.

Candidates on the 2008 ballot will run for either a one-year or a three- year term.

In Spencer, the terms of Dean Mechler and Les Zobrist are set to expire. The upcoming terms for their seats would end in 2011 and then transition to a four-year rotation.

Also, the board term of Barb Van Wyk will end in 2009, instead of 2010. The Van Wyk family intends to leave the area for mission work in Botswana, Africa.

In other area school districts:

* Brad Phelps is the District 2 member on the Clay Central-Everly School Board. His seat is set to expire in 2008. Candidates for the District 2 seat will be campaigning for a one-year term. The seat will then transition to the four-year rotation starting with the 2009 school board election.

The District 1 seat held by Gary Klett and the District 3 seat held by Sue Brugman were set to expire in 2010. They will remain in office until 2011 as part of the transition.

* Okoboji School Board members Mark Hale and Chris Stein have terms set to expire in 2008. Winners in September will hold the office until 2011. The seats will then switch to four-year terms.

Dee Wermerson's term was set to expire in 2010. Her seat will expire a year early to fit the four-year cycle starting in 2009.

* Ruthven-Ayrshire board members Jill Williamson and Dave Forey have terms set to expire this fall. Candidates seeking their seats will remain in office until 2011.

Dan Geelan's term was set to expire in 2010. His term was shortened a year to fit the 2009 rotation.

* Jeannette Hasley was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Sioux Central School Board. Her seat is up for election in the 2008 election cycle as a result. Candidates for the office will be campaigning for a three-year term on the Sioux Central Board.

The terms of Todd Herrig and Kevin Lindquist were set to expire in 2010, but have been extended a year, to 2011.

Nomination papers can be obtained from the school board secretary or the county auditor's office. The first day to file papers was Monday. Candidacy papers must be filed by 5 p.m. July 31.

Candidates need to obtain nomination signatures from 1 percent of the eligible electors of the district or 50 eligible electors, whichever is less. Nomination petitions also must contain at least 10 signatures.

County auditors routinely encourage candidates to gather at least a few more signatures than they need, in case a few of the signatures are deemed ineligible.