The three-day filing period for offices in school districts across Oklahoma concluded last Wednesday, Dec. 9.
The number of those seeking these school board offices in Lincoln County totals 15. In Pottawatomie County a total of 22 candidates filed for office.
There are 14 public school districts in Pottawatomie County in addition to the Gordon Cooper Technolgy Center that covers both Pottawatomie and Lincoln Counties and about eight other counties.
Lincoln County has nine public school districts.
Four races developed for offices in Lincoln County and five developed in Pottawatomie County.
In one district in Pottawatomie County, no one filed for the office that was up for election.
I’d be mighty curious to know in how many districts in Oklahoma no one showed up to file.
In Wanette, as I understand it, that Board of Education will be required to appoint someone to fill the position until the next Board of Education election next year. That seat will then be open for an unexpired term.
What that equates to is in December a year from now during the filing period there will be two seats in the Wanette district up for election like there was in the Meeker School last week.
One will be for a full term, the other an unexpired term.
By the way, congratulations to those who did file seeking these offices who cared enough to step up and to those who won without opposition. Good luck to those in contests.
Some might say that it’s a shame there is no more interest shown than there is.
I prefer to describe it differently.
To me, it’s apathy and it indicates such a lack of interest in caring about our children’s education today that people aren’t willing to step up and serve on these public school boards.
I’d like to believe that the overwhelming majority of people are so completely satisfied about the level of education students are receiving today they feel there is no reason for them to serve on local school boards.
But I have trouble really thinking that because of the complaining I hear from so many people about education in general.
What so many people either don’t understand or don’t care is that at the local level is where a person can make the most difference. That’s where they can help make the hard decisions that impact and shape the future of students the most.
Not at any other level can a person have that kind of voice and have the input he or she should want to have about local education.
I hope people who might see this will give that consideration the next time school filing times comes around and that’s a year from now.
One would have thought in 2020 there would have been greater interest.