April 4th Ballot: School Board & Junior College Board
In a little over a week St. Louis voters will return to the polls for the general election — mostly a rubber-stamp of the Democratic nominees selected earlier this month. In addition to propositions that I’ll cover next week, there are two often overlooked nonpartisan races on our ballot (sample): local school board & junior college trustee.
The school board hasn’t been critical for a decade, but that may soon change since the district regained state accreditation:
Many in the education scene are closely watching this particular school board election because the St. Louis elected school board, which has sat by for about a decade with no powers, could regain governance control of the district in the near future.
The elected board was replaced by a three-member appointed board in 2007 after the district lost accreditation. Some expect a transition back to the elected board will happen soon, now that the district proved it’s improving when it was fully accredited by the state last week.
Several education leaders do not wish to part quickly with the appointed board, which has been credited with returning the district to stable ground in terms of leadership, finances and academics. But others argue the district, on democratic principle, needs to be governed locally by an elected board. (Post-Dispatch)
FOR MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION (FOUR-YEAR TERM — VOTE FOR THREE)
- BILL MONROE
- NATALIE VOWELL
- DAVID LEE JACKSON
- DOROTHY ROHDE-COLLINS
- BRIAN P. WALLNER
- JAMES IRA REECE
- SUSAN R. JONES
For more information on the 2017 school board election see Ballotpedia.
There are three candidates for one seat representing much the city on the regional body overseeing the St. Louis Community College system:
Three candidates have filed for the Subdistrict 2 seat. Incumbent Hattie R. Jackson will not seek re-election. The candidates are Pam Ross, Patrick J. Burke and Ciera Lenette Simril. (STLCC)
FOR TRUSTEE FOR SUBDISTRICT 2 OF THE JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT OF ST. LOUIS – ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI (ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE) (SIX-YEAR TERM — VOTE FOR ONE)
- PAM ROSS
- CIERA L. SIMRIL
- PATRICK J. BURKE
Please take the time to research the candidates in the two races before voting in the April 4th general election.
— Steve Patterson