by Jim Boyle
Editor
The filing period for people interested in filling Jane Bunting’s vacant seat on the Elk River Area School Board or one of three at-large seats on the Nov. 8 ballot will open on May 17 and close on May 31.
The election for the election District No. 2 seat that Bunting held includes portions of Elk River and Ramsey and all points south of the Mississippi River in the Elk River Area School District. A special election for that seat will be held during Minnesota’s Aug. 9 primaries.
The three at-large seats to open up on the Elk River Area School Board are currently held by Holly Thompson, Sue Farber and Dan Hunt. If there are seven or more candidates who file for these three seats, they will face off in the Aug. 9 primary to narrow the field of candidates to six for the general election.
If there are, however, six or fewer candidates, they will face each other in the Nov. 8 general election.
Bunting, who was elected to a four-year term in 2014, resigned from her post last month, bringing about the need for a special election. Thompson, Farber and Hunt were elected in 2012 to four-year terms that will expire at the end of this year.
The Elk River Area School District is planning to host three meet-and-greet sessions with Elk River Area School Board members, starting with one at 6:30-8:30 p.m. April 5 in the media center at Rogers High.
The others are at set for 6-7 p.m. April 18 in the community room at Elk River High School and 6:30-7:30 p.m. May 16 in the media center at Westwood Elementary School. It’s the first time the district has planned public meet-and-greets for potential candidates.
Those interested in filing must have maintained residence in the district for 30 days prior to the election, not have been convicted of a crime requiring registration as a predatory offender and be 21 years of age or older upon taking office. There is a $2 filing fee.