AT A GLANCE
AT A GLANCE
Registration Deadline
The last day to register to vote for the Sept. 21 school election is Aug. 23. Early voting will take place from Sept. 14-20, at the Washington County Courthouse.
Source: Washington County Clerk’s Office
SPRINGDALE — Two newcomers are taking on an incumbent to land a seat on the Springdale School Board.
Incumbent Mike Luttrell and challengers Heather D. Crossland and Edge Nowlin are vying for the at-large Position 1 seat in the Sept. 21 school election. Whoever is elected will serve a five-year term.
Voters in the school district will also decide if property taxes will increase 2.4 mills to build a new middle school, junior high, an athletic complex at Springdale Har-Ber High School and renovate the Springdale High School stadium.
Lutrell, 42, served on the board from 2002 to 2007. He was appointed to the at-large position in 2008 after Doug Sprouse resigned to become mayor.
He works as vice president of Walker Brothers Insurance in Springdale.
Luttrell said serving on the school board has been very rewarding and that he wants to continue serving the community.
“I’ve enjoyed working with a progressive school district,” he said.
He and his wife, Debbie, have two children who attend Springdale schools.
Luttrell said he supports the millage increase.
Crossland, 31, has been a stay-at-home mother for 12 years and has three children who attend Springdale public schools. Her husband, Leroy Crossland, owns Superior Restoration, a remodeling business.
“The reason I want to run for school board is I want to keep people of Springdale informed on everything that’s going on in the Springdale schools,” she said. “I feel as though we need an everyday person.”
She wants more information before developing a firm opinion on the millage request. Her initial thoughts were it may be a bad time to burden the taxpayers considering the economy.
Nowlin, 67, is a retired employee of IBM who lives in Tontitown, according to his daughter, Sarah Charette. Five of his six children graduated from Springdale School High School.
Charette said Nowlin was out of town. Attempts to call him were unsuccessful.
The only other Springdale position up for election was Danny Dotson’s Zone 5 seat. Dotson, the board president, filed for re-election Friday and is unopposed.
Other unopposed candidates in Washington County include: Justin Eichmann, Fayetteville Zone 3; William Dick, Prairie Grove Position 2; Beth Everett, Prairie Grove Position 5; Todd Bohannan, Greenland Zone 1; James Miller, Greenland Zone 3; Patrick Anderson, Greenland Zone 4; Terry Reed, Greenland Zone 6; John Collins, Greenland Zone 7; and Deborah Harnish, West Fork, Position 3.
A four-person race developed in Greenland Zone 2. The candidates are Keith Lawson, Lonnie Meadows, Paula Schoonover and Daniel Lee Stout Jr.
Dennis Caudle, a former school board member, and Daniel Marzoni II, a retired teacher, will compete for the Greenland Zone 5 seat.
This is the first school board election for Greenland since 2007. The Arkansas Department of Education took over the district in 2008 because of recurring financial problems. The district since has recovered and local control will be returned after the election.
In Elkins, Laren Vaught drew an opponent, Cody N. Keller, in her bid to retain her seat on the Elkins School Board.
Bill Bush filed to challenge incumbent Jim Ayers for the Lincoln School Board Position 3 seat.
Incumbent Herbert Dorman will be challenged by Tom Parsley for the Position 3 seat on the Farmington School Board.
Howard Hamilton is not seeking re-election for Fayetteville Zone 2 and a three-way race has formed among Bryn Bagwell, Helen Garst and Jeanie Hill. Hill has run for the board before and lost.
Voters in Fayetteville will also be voting on a millage request. The district wants an additional 2.75 mills for a high school construction project.
Rose Ann Pearce contributed to this report.