Published: November 28, 2008 10:23 pm            

Filing starts Monday for local school board seats

EDMOND — Anyone interested in running for Board of Education offices in Oklahoma County school districts must file Declarations of Candidacy from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday at the Oklahoma County Election Board office.

The Board of Education positions at stake will be filled at the Annual School Election on Feb. 10.

If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the total votes cast in this election, the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes will meet in Annual School Runoff Elections on April 7.

Filing will be open for the Edmond school board office 4 seat, a 5-year term, and the Deer Creek school board office 4 seat, also a 5-year term.

In Logan County, Guthrie school board offices 2 and 6 are open. Both are 4-year terms. Also up for election is Francis Tuttle CareerTech 21 Board Member, Office 4 for a five-year term.

The election district for Edmond School Board Office No. 4 begins at the intersection of 15th Street and Boulevard; west to half a mile west of Portland; south to half a mile south of 33rd Street/164th Street; west to half a mile west of Meridian; south to half a mile south of Memorial Road; east to Boulevard/Eastern; and north to 15th Street, the beginning point.

The seat is currently held by George Cohlmia, who already has announced plans to file for re-election.

In the Edmond School District, candidates file by election district. Any candidate, otherwise eligible, must be registered the requisite length of time at an address within the geographical boundaries of the applicable election district within the school district. The law prohibits a person from holding two public offices unless a position is specifically exempted by statute.

Qualifications for candidates running for the Edmond Office 4 include:

• The individual must have resided in the district for at least six months and been a voter registered with the county Election Board at an address within the boundaries of the district;

• The individual must have been awarded a high school diploma or certificate of high school equivalency;

• The individual must not have been convicted of a misdemeanor involving embezzlement or a felony;

• The individual cannot be currently employed by the school district governed by the board of education;

• Candidates must affirm that, upon being elected as a member of the Board of Education, within 15 months of the election the individual will complete at least 12 hours of instruction on education issues.

Candidate filing packets are now available at the Oklahoma County Election Board office at 4201 N. Lincoln Blvd. in Oklahoma City. For more information, call 713-1515. Candidates in Logan County may apply at the Logan County Election Board office. For more information, call 282-1900.

        

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