Three positions with the South Clay school board are up for grabs in the upcoming Sept. 9 election. Board members Amy Burkhart, Mike Hildebrand and Troy Mayland have all formally expressed an interest in retaining their positions around the South Clay board table.

Candidates Burkhart, of 3060 490th St., Hildebrand, of 601 Church St., and Mayland, of 509 Church St., are all of Webb. Mayland, a two-term board member, and Burkhart, who was appointed at the beginning of 2008 to fill Tara Drees' position, are both seeking three-year terms. Hildebrand, a one-term board member who will run as a write-in candidate, is seeking a one-year term as an at-large board member.

Voters in the South Clay district may cast their ballots from noon until 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9 at the South Clay school building, 312 Fourth St., Gillett Grove. Voters may register at the precinct on the day of election, but they will need to prove their residency and eligibility, which may be accomplished with a photo ID and proof of residency.

Absentee ballots returned to the Clay County Auditor's office need to either be postmarked by Sept. 8 or hand delivered to the office by 8 p.m. Sept. 9.

The Clay County Board of Supervisors will canvass election results, as well as absentee votes, at 9 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 12.

Burkhart, Hildebrand and Mayland were all offered a number of opportunities to respond to the following questions. The following are the responses received.

Mike Hildebrand

A paperwork error in the filing of his nomination papers would have had Hildebrand and Burkhart running for the same seat on the South Clay ballot, and one board vacancy having no candidates. Hildebrand, whose name will not appear on the Sept. 9 ballot, has chosen to seek re-election for the one-year term as a write-in candidate.

This will allow Burkhart to run unopposed for a three-year term.

Hildebrand is a 43-year-old employed as an airline pilot. He and his wife of 20 years, Tracy Hildebrand, have four children: Megan, 17, Ross, 16, Austin, 11, and Drew, 10.

Q. What is your major motivation for rerunning for this position?

A. Providing excellence in education takes work from the community. Our teachers are on the front lines, but they need support from a dedicated board and the community in general. Being a board member gives me the opportunity to play a role in ensuring that the students in the district are well prepared for the challenges they will face in the future as they move on to higher education and their chosen careers.

Q. How would you describe what you've contributed over your past term in office?

A. Like the rest of the Board, I bring to the table my own unique point of view. All of us have different life experiences to draw upon, and each of us have our opinions. Voicing those opinions allow us to consider other points of view that we may not have considered on our own, and that allows for better discussions and ultimately better solutions to challenges that we face.

Q. If elected again, what would you hope to accomplish during this term in office?

A. I don't have a platform or set agenda with respect to individual accomplishments per se. My goal is to contribute the best that I can to our overall goal of providing a superior education to our students.

Q. As you see it, what major issues within the district need immediate attention? Any suggestions regarding how they could be dealt with?

A. Like many rural areas of the country, we face the reality of declining enrollment and with that, decreased funding. While this is a major issue that we have to deal with, we can't control how many kids live in our district. What we can do is find innovative ways to get the most out of the funding that we do receive to maximize the impact of those dollars.