Failure of school board election proposals creates quandary
By: Noelle McGee
Thursday, November 13, 2008
SIDELL – Ron Metzger went to bed on Election Day thinking that a ballot question asking whether voters wanted to change how Jamaica school board members are elected had passed.
It wasn't until this week that Metzger, the board president, learned it had failed; although more people voted "yes," it didn't pass in all seven congressional townships in the school district.
"It's a little disappointing," said Metzger, who supported the change that would have lifted voting restrictions and allowed voters to elect board members at large.
LeRoy school officials were also disappointed to see a similar question fail. They said voting restrictions have made it hard to fill certain seats. As they head into the 2009 consolidated election, they worry whether they'll face that again.
"We have interest," Superintendent Gary Tipsord said. "But they don't all live in the right places. That's made it difficult to fill the board."
Years ago, when the Jamaica and LeRoy districts each were created by the merger of several smaller districts, voting laws were established to ensure equal representation from all areas. In Jamaica, no more than three members from a congressional township may serve on the seven-member board at a time.
In LeRoy, no more than four of the seven members may come from Empire Township, where LeRoy is located. At least three must come from neighboring townships in the district.
But some residents questioned the need for the restrictions, saying the communities have become more unified. And LeRoy school officials say they've struggled to find candidates in the less-populated townships, which have fewer than 10 homes and about 10 students.
In the 2007 board election, Tipsord said, numerous candidates ran for one seat in Empire Township, but no one ran for two in the neighboring ones. The second-highest vote-getter lost because she and the top vote-getter were both from Empire.
"She lost by a single vote," Tipsord said, adding that a man from an outlying township agreed to run as a write-in candidate for one of the other seats, and an incumbent, who didn't run for re-election, agreed to be appointed to the other and serve two years. "We'll have to fill that next year."
LeRoy school officials hoped to hold their first at-large election in April, pretty much ensuring the seats would be filled. But the referendum passed in four townships; tied 3-3 in one; and failed 7-2 and 5-3 in two others.
"In essence, about five votes made the difference," Tipsord said.
Besides the two-year seat, two four-year seats in Empire Township and two four-year seats in the outlying townships will be vacant in April. So far, three people have picked up nominating packets, and they're all from Empire Township.
Jamaica's referendum passed in four townships, tied 1-1 and 5-5 in two others, and failed 6-4 in the one township in Edgar County, Superintendent Mark Janesky said. He said he has yet to appoint a board member due to a lack of candidates.
"But it is getting a little more difficult finding people willing to make the commitment and put in the time it takes to do the job," Metzger said. In the coming election, he added, four members whose seats will be open have decided not to run. Since remaining board members Russ Puzey and Steve Bainbridge are from the same congressional township, which also happens to be the most-populated one in the school district, only one candidate from that township can be seated.
"Hopefully, it will work out. It always seems to," Metzger said, adding the board does not plan to put the question on the ballot again in April. "If there's a lot more interest in the future, we would put it back on again."
LeRoy board members also decided against pursuing the matter further. "It's relevant to the school district," Tipsord said. "But this is the second time the board tried to do it. We don't believe it's going to pass until it becomes a community issue. When it becomes a community issue, then I believe it has a chance to pass."