Voters in 4 Central Illinois counties to consider how school board elections are held
HEYWORTH — A number of voters in Illinois — including Piatt, McLean, Douglas and Moultrie counties in Central Illinois — are being asked how candidates for their local school board districts should be elected.
As early voting continues through Monday until Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5, voters will be deciding if their school board districts should elected at-large instead of from congressional townships.
Kara Kienzler, associate executive director of communications at the Illinois Association of School Boards, said the main difference between school board members elected at-large versus by congressional townships comes down to who the board member is elected to represent — the entire district, or a portion of it, similar to wards.
Some school districts prefer congressional townships, as they may see better representation from the various communities within the district, while others see value in at-large elections, allowing for a larger pool of candidates — it just depends on what the district needs, Kienzler said.
According to state law, if a school board does not have enough candidates running for election in a district with congressional townships and needs to appoint individuals to the vacant seats, then the school board must submit a referendum asking voters if they should switch to an at-large system in the next general election.
Voters in the following 11 school districts will be deciding whether they should elect school board members at-large:
"Schools are very important to residents. (Residents) want good, strong schools, and I think it's important for them to vote in a way that they think best represents the needs of the school district," said DeLand-Weldon Superintendent Michael Tresnak. "We cherish the voice of our residents."
Tresnak said two seats were not filled in his district's last school board election due to a lack candidates, and this required the district to place the referendum question on the ballot to see whether residents would approve electing candidates at-large instead of from townships.
If approved, the function of the school board would not change, Tresnak said, but every school board member would be up for immediate reelection, with members being split four and three, so they would be reelected either in two years or four years.
Tresnak said there are a lot of questions for voters to consider in regards to how they want to see their school board members elected, and what the best way is to represent the district.
"There are advantage and disadvantage of both," said Sullivan Superintendent Ted Walk. "It's important for the voters to express their opinion and whether they feel it will be better served by having the ability to choose from all seven seats from anywhere in the entire school district ... or have a system in place that guarantees some representation from multiple different townships."
Walk said deciding by townships does allow for more diverse members to come from across the district, but it also limits others who may want to be board members in a township where there are already incumbent candidates and would likely retain that position in a reelection.
At-large elections allow for more individuals to participate in the election, Walk said, but could lead to multiple people from the same area of a district winning, because it would be based on the number of votes candidates receive.
In Sullivan's last school board election, the district only had one position unaccounted for that had to be filled through an appointment. But if elections were done at-large, Walk said, that position could have been filled by another candidate.
"Normally, I feel like there's an easy answer," Walk said. "What it comes down to is what do you feel like is going to make for a better operation of the school board — having more regions represented, or having the ability to take just the highest vote-getters?"
Heyworth Board of Education President Kelli Rewerts said in an email, in the last election they had a seat go unfilled because some townships did not have candidates file petitions — but in her opinion, it is very important to have representation from all areas of a district.
"I have an appreciation for having a diverse board from across the congressional townships in our district rather than having seven board members from the same area of town," Rewerts said in the email. "At times there is much value in having residents from the rural areas of our district, as many times there is a different perspective from those that live outside the village of Heyworth."
Rewerts added that people often think of voting in the presidential election and other congressional elections, because that is what they hear most about, but it is important to vote in all elections.
"These less-heard-of seats to be filled are the ones that can impact our local residents in a more direct way," she said.
Residents have until Monday, Nov. 4, to vote early, and polls for the general election will be open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5. The law says voters who are in line when the polls close can still cast ballots.
Contact Mateusz Janik at (309) 820-3234. Follow Mateusz on Love Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
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