As of press time, Sallisaw, Vian, Muldrow, Brushy, and Liberty School Boards announced that people interested in being a candidate for school board positions may file at the Sequoyah County Election Board from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 6 through 8.
A run-off election will be held April 5 if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the votes. Polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Vian and Sallisaw Schools each have one seat up for election. Seat No. 5, which is held by Dr. C. Patrick Sullivan, is up for election at Vian Schools. Seat No. 5, which has a five-year term of office and is currently held by Bill Orendorff, is up for election at Sallisaw Schools.
The No. 3 seat, which has a three-year office term, is up for election at Liberty School. Brushy Elementary School has two posts up for election, including No. 1, which has a one-year term of office, and No. 3, which has a three-year term of office.
The Muldrow School Board approved a resolution calling for their annual school election at their October meeting. There will be three board positions up for election on Muldrow's board, including seat No. 5, which is a five-year term, seat No. 4, which is a four-year term, and seat No. 2, which is a two-year term.
Roland School will vote on calling for an election at their regular school board meeting Thursday, according to their agenda.
Qualifications
The schools announced the qualifications of candidates to be a school board member.
To be eligible for any school board, a person must have resided in the district for at least six months preceding the first day of the filing period, and have been a registered voter with the county election board at an address located within the geographical boundaries of the district for six months preceding the first day of the filing period.
Also to be eligible, a candidate must have a high school diploma or certificate of high school equivalency. A person who has been convicted in Oklahoma or any other state of a misdemeanor involving embezzlement or a felony or who has entered a plea of guilty or no contest to a misdemeanor involving embezzlement or a felony is not eligible to be a board candidate for a period of 15 years following completion of his or her sentence or during the pending of an appeal.
A person can not be a candidate if he or she is currently employed by the school district or is related within the second degree to any other member of the school board or to any employee of the school district. Relatives in the second degree include a candidate's spouse, child, parent, grandchild, grandparent, brother, sister, spouse's child, spouse's grandchild, spouse's brother, spouse's sister, spouse's grandparent, grandchild's spouse, parent's spouse, and child's spouse.
Candidates must affirm that upon being elected, within 15 months of election, they will complete at least 12 hours of instruction on education issues, including school finance, Oklahoma education laws, and ethics, duties, and responsibilities of school board members.
