With five school board seats opening up in the district’s May election, one group in the community wants to make sure potential candidates are informed.
The Lake Orion Community Schools Involved Citizens (LOCSIC) will hold a meeting, dubbed School Board Elections 101, at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 9, at the Orion Township Library.
Speakers include Joe Rozell of the Oakland County Clerk’s Office, Linda Myers and Joyce Phelps of the Michigan Education Association Government Affairs office, and Penny Shults, Orion Township Clerk.
“We had 12 candidates apply for the first opening, then five for the second, said Denise Mitchell, one of LOCSIC’s founding members, referring to vacancies created earlier this year with the departure of board president Bill Walters and, later, Trustee Tina Peterson. “We’ll have five positions up for reelection in May and our group would like to have the same caliber of people who stepped up in hopes of replacing Bill Walters and Tina Peterson.?
The regular terms of Board Vice President Janet Wolverton, Secretary Tiffany Weber-Phillips, and Trustee Bob Gritzinger will come up for reelection in May, as will seats currently occupied by Trustee Kelly Weaver, appointed by the board to replace Walters, and Trustee Steven Drakos, appointed to replace Peterson. It wasn’t clear whether all five would seek reelection.
President Mary Jo Burchart and Treasurer Jim Weidman are both serving terms that end in 2013.
Discussion topics at Thursday’s meeting, Mitchell said, will include school board election dates, costs, and candidate requirements, as well as opportunities and challenges associated with school board campaigns and victories, and the roles and responsibilities of a school board member.
For more information, call Denise Mitchell at 248-410-8574.