Move the elections
BENTONVILLE — Is it not time to change whatever local or state laws allow school-board elections to occur at a time other than a general election or general-election primary? The turnout in the Sept. 15 school-board elections across the state was pitiful. Please do not blame voter apathy alone for this fact. Unless the election law is changed to prohibit the scheduling of local elections at a time other than a general election, we will continue to see issues vital to our communities decided by a tiny minority.
We had 371 voters in the Bentonville School District, while Rogers had a whopping 140 voters, according to the Sept. 16 edition of The Daily Record. This is shameful for two of the "best" school districts in the state of Arkansas. Pea Ridge has to hold a runoff because no candidate got the required 50 percent plus one vote.
Even Fayetteville had only 10,039 voters out of more than 42,000 eligible voters for the referendum on a new high school. The Daily Record reported that election-board and school officials considered the turnout very high for a school-board election. I guess my expectations are somewhat higher in this time when people are voicing their concerns about government spending, taxation and the like.
Please, let's change the law and give us a chance to settle these local issues during a general election.
Dan Moyer / Bella Vista