Those wishing to run for Oxford school board have until Tuesday, Feb. 8 to file nominating petitions or pay $100 to get on the May 3 ballot.
The seats occupied by Board of Education trustees Anthony Giannola and Lee Barclay are up for election this year. Those wishing to run for these seats must file nominating petitions by 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8 with the Oakland County Elections Division at 1200 N. Telegraph Road in Pontiac.
Nominating petitions can be picked up at either the County Elections Division or at any one of the township halls of the six townships which make up the Oxford school district. Those townships include Oxford, Addison, Brandon, Metamora, Hadley and Dryden townships.
Each candidate must have a minimum of 40 signatures of registered voters or pay $100 in lieu of the signatures.
In the past, school board elections were conducted annually by the district in June. However, new election consolidation laws enacted by the state Legislature last year changed things so townships conduct school elections in either May or November and either annually or in odd-numbered years. In November 2004, the Oxford school board chose May as the district’s annual election month.
Supporters of the election shift say it was designed to save taxpayers both time and money, but Ron Franey, Assistant Superintendent of the Oxford Schools, said the shift will ultimately cost the district more money.
‘We are expecting to see a dramatic increase in the cost of the elections,? Franey said.
Franey said district elections used to be held in only two precincts within the entire district, which consists of 14,148 registered voters spanning six townships.
Oxford Township Clerk Clara Sanderson said the maximum registered voters allowed in a precinct is 2,999 under the new election laws. However, precincts can be combined if the total number of registered voters is no more than 5,000.
Because of the consolidation laws, Franey said the voter precincts could increase to as many as 15 locations throughout the six townships in the district.
This could mean an increase in the district’s financial responsibilities as they relate to paying election workers, something the district did at both of its previous precincts.
Franey said each precinct is now required by the county to be staffed with at least three election workers, instead of just one as formerly required. ‘The county is running it, but we have to pay the bill,? Franey said. ‘The county will bill the township for any costs that it incurs and in turn, the township will bill us.?
‘We don’t know the additional costs yet, we’ll just have to ride out the first year and see,? he said. ‘It will probably end up costing us three to four times more and it’s out of our hands.?
Sanderson said new precinct information cards will be sent out to all registered voters within the school district to help eliminate confusion about where to vote.
The exact number of new precincts within the entire Oxford school district has not been determined by the county yet, according Franey.
As for the added election responsibility falling on the backs of the township election workers, Sanderson said she thinks the consolidation will work out to benefit everybody. ‘We’ve been doing this so long it’s like second nature to us,? Sanderson said. ‘I have a wonderful staff who are very dedicated.