Elections for eight contested school board races set for Tuesday

SPRINGDALE -- Some Fayetteville voters are eligible to participate in back-to-back elections.

Early voting for the annual school election began last Tuesday, the same day of the election for the city's anti-discrimination ordinance. The special city election drew 14,593 voters to the polls.

Candidates

School board races and the candidates running in Benton and Washington county school districts.

Bentonville, Zone 1

Eowyn Francis Moore

Rebecca Powers*

Decatur, Zone 4

Darleen Holly

Loyd Smith*

Farmington, Position 3

Wade Cash

Tony Parsley*

Fayetteville, Zone 2

Jeanne Champagne

Phil Jones

Robert Maranto

Gentry, Position 3

Clarence Kreger*

Nikki Rayburn-Still

Prairie Grove, Position 5

Mark Beaver

Casie Ruland

Rogers, Zone 5

Paige Sultemeier

Dulce Aguirre

West Fork, Position 3

Kelley Oliver

Deborah Harnish*

  • denotes incumbent

Source: Staff report

Where do I vote?

Benton County voters must go the polling site for the precinct where they reside. In some areas, only portions of precincts can vote. For questions, call the county clerk’s offices: (479) 271-1013 for Benton County and (479) 444-1711 in Washington County.

BENTON COUNTY

Bentonville School Board Zone 1

Bella Vista Christian Church, 103 Riordan Road, Bella Vista

Precincts 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 60, 65, 66 and 72

Decatur School Board Zone 4

Decatur Municipal Building, 310 Maple St., Decatur

Precinct 4

Gentry School Board Zone 3

Gentry Methodist Church, 102 W. First St., Gentry

Precincts 6, 7 and 15

Rogers School Board Zone 5

Rogers Christian Church, 2421 W. Oak St., Rogers

Precincts 18, 38, 39, 40, 43, 56, 68, 70 and 71

*

WASHINGTON COUNTY

Voters in Fayetteville, Farmington, Prairie Grove and West Fork may cast votes at any polling site. Voters will be asked for identification, but they are not required to show it. Voters will be asked for their name, address and date of birth.

Polling sites

Farmington Baptist Church, 49 W. Main St., Farmington

Baldwin Church of Christ, 4399 Huntsville Road, Fayetteville

Buckner Baptist Church, 2748 Wyman Road, Fayetteville

First United Presbyterian Church, 695 E. Calvin St., Fayetteville

Yvonne Richardson Center, 240 E. Rock St., Fayetteville

Prairie Grove Christian Church, 611 Wayne Villines Road, Prairie Grove

West Fork Community Center, 222 Weber St., West Fork

*

The following precincts will decide contested races, with some precincts divided into more than one school district:

Fayetteville School Board Zone 2

Elkins and Elkins-House District; Fayetteville precincts 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 21, 25 and 29; Prairie Township 2 and Prairie Township 5; and Richland

Farmington School Board, Position 3

Center, Center-House District and Center 2; Farmington 1 and 2 and Farmington-Senate District; Fayetteville precincts 20, 27, 32, 43, 46 and 48; Harmon; Litteral; and Marrs Hill

Prairie Grove School Board, Position 3

Boston; Cane Hill; Center and Center 2; Cove Creek; Farmington 2 and Farmington-Senate District; Harmon; Litteral; Marrs Hill; Prairie Grove City, House District and Senate District; Prairie Grove Township and Senate District; Rheas Mill; Starr Hill; Valley and Valley-House District; and Wedington.

West Fork School Board, Position 3

Cove Creek and Cove Creek-Senate District; Crawford; Greenland Township; Lees Creek; Reed; Valley, Valley-House District and Valley-Senate District; West Fork City 1 and 2; West Fork Township and West Fork-House District; and Winslow Township

Source: Benton County and Washington County officials

The annual school election is this Tuesday. Fayetteville is among eight districts in Benton and Washington counties with school board races.

Polls will open at 7:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Voting in Benton County will be by precinct. In Washington County, voters can cast ballots at any polling site.

The last chance to vote early is from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday. In Benton County, early voting is available at Benton County clerk's offices at 215 E. Central Ave., Suite 217, in Bentonville; 1428 W. Walnut St. in Rogers; and 707 S. Lincoln St. in Siloam Springs. In Washington County, early voting is available at the Washington County clerk's office, 280 N. College Ave. in Fayetteville.

In Benton County, 226 residents had voted early in school elections as of Friday, including 123 voting in a contested race for Zone 5 on the Rogers School Board and 30 for a contested race for Zone 1 on the Bentonville School Board, said Dana Caler, county elections administrator.

In Washington County, 95 residents had voted early in school elections by Friday, including 68 voting in the contested race for Zone 2 on the Fayetteville School Board, Deputy County Clerk Jamie Reynolds said.

Residents of Zone 2 of the Fayetteville School District are choosing among three candidates: Jeanne Champagne, Phil Jones and Bob Maranto. Incumbent Bryn Bagwell did not run for re-election. If necessary, a runoff election will take place Oct. 6.

Among the other largest districts in Northwest Arkansas, Bentonville and Rogers also have contested races.

Eowyn Francis Moore is challenging Rebecca Powers for the Zone 1 seat in Bentonville. More than 7,500 voters are eligible to vote.

Paige Sultemeier and Dulce Aguirre are competing for the Zone 5 seat in Rogers, hoping to replace Jerry Carmichael, who decided not to pursue re-election after 16 years on the board. Zone 5 has more 10,700 eligible voters.

The two incumbents up for re-election to the Springdale School were the only ones to file as candidates: Mike Luttrell and Danny Dotson. In school districts without contested School Board races, the annual school election is done by early and absentee voting only.

Voters in Decatur, Gentry, Farmington, Prairie Grove and West Fork also will settle contested races.

Voters also will vote on millages, as required by state law. Millages stay the same regardless of whether they pass or fail at the polls. No school districts have proposed changing millages in this month's elections.

Zone 2 of the Fayetteville School District has 12,850 eligible voters, of which 11,349 were eligible to vote in the city election, said Jennifer Price, Washington County election coordinator.

Last Tuesday, the day of the Fayetteville city election and the first day of early voting for School Board, 24 residents of Zone 2 cast early ballots for the three-way School Board race, said Washington County Clerk Becky Lewallen.

The two elections in Fayetteville could not take place on the same day under state law, Price said.

With some exceptions, special elections, such as the vote on the anti-discrimination ordinance, can take place in almost any month, but must be on the second Tuesday of the month, according to state law. State law sets the date for annual school elections for millages and school board members on the third Tuesday in September, according to state law.

The overlap in elections in Fayetteville likely would have little impact on voter turnout because the early voting site for School Board was different from polling sites used for the city election, said Janine Parry, a professor of political science at the University of Arkansas.

Frequent elections are a concern for political scientists who often advocate for fewer elections and voting on fewer offices as a way to increase voter participation, Parry said. Voters have the option of participating in an average of four to six elections per year.

"The more elections a country has per year the lower the average turnout at those elections," Parry said.

School board elections done by zone involve voters from small geographic units, Parry said. Coupled with low turnout, local school board races can be decided by a few hundred voters.

NW News on 09/13/2015

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