Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
PIERCETON - Whitko Community School Corp.'s Board of School Trustees has five members representing three districts.
And for voters, that is often confusing come election time.
"It's a little confusing because the entire school district votes for all the open seats, so although there can be one representative elected in the first, second or third, two of those three will have a new member. But the whole corporation votes for each seat. So it's a little confusing in that respect," said Whitko Superintendent Dr. William Worl Tuesday.
"They're really not at-large representatives, but the corporation as a whole can vote for the seats that would be filled. It would be the two members that get the greatest number of votes in the three districts that would be elected to serve a four-year term beginning July 1 of 2002," he said.
"Currently we have a five-member board and that board is broken into two members in District 1 - that is Monroe and Washington townships. District 2 is Jackson/Richland Townships and right now we have one member in that district. And the Cleveland Township District, which includes South Whitley, has two members.
"Presently, the two members that will go off on June 30 are Deborah Collier, whose term will expire on June 30, 2002, and Larry Long whose (term) will also expire on that date. And they represent the Washington/Monroe District and the Cleveland District. So we'll have two seats available. That will leave us, in effect, one board member in each one of the three districts," he said.
"So the election will basically mean there could be two new members elected in any one of the three districts. They cannot be elected in the same district because there is already one member in each district and our policy says that no more than two members can represent any one district of the three districts."
If that's not confusing enough, the next Whitko School Board election - in 2004 - will be a little more confusing for voters.
"Next election we'll have three members off and the same thing applies," Worl said. "There can still be no more than two representatives in a district. We'll have three seats up and, of course, those will be one vacant seat in each one of the three districts at that point in time. So it'll be the greatest number of vote-getters again with - depending on where these two fall out in this election - then that'll determine what the scheme will be for the 2004 election when those three board members go off and we have three open seats."
If a person living within Whitko School Corp. is interested in running for the school board, there are just a few qualifications they need to meet.
"All three districts are available for filing," said Worl. "And, of course, the petitions have to be filed with the clerk of the Circuit Court. That process started (today) and needs to be completed in the clerk's possession by noon on Feb. 22."
Candidate requirements are that they must be an Indiana resident for at least two years and a resident of the school corporation for at least one year. A candidate must be at least 21 years old.
Petitions are available at the school corporation's office in Pierceton or at the Whitley or Kosciusko county clerks' offices.
According to the bylaws of the school board, two nominating petitions must be filed - one at the clerk's office in Kosciusko County and one at the Whitley County clerk's office.
As for pressing issues the Whitko School Board currently faces, Worl said, there doesn't really appear to be any.
"There's no construction. There's no issues in terms of reorganization. Nothing that seems to be right now a major point of controversy in the school corporation," said Worl.
"Our biggest focus is how we get students to achieve at higher levels. That's the focus of not only the school administration and teachers but I think it's the board's focus as well to see that our kids have the best possible climate for learning in that we get the optimum scores as the state begins to push Public Law 221 and the impact of that is felt by every school corporation in the state.
"So that's the main focus, I think right now, is education and how we get kids to achieve at higher levels."
He said they aren't sure what the current interest in the school board election is at this point. The two board members could rerun for election as incumbents.
"As a school superintendent, we sit back and try to facilitate the process but don't get involved in who decides to run and who doesn't. We work with whoever is elected by the public and try to assist with that process to the best we can to make sure people have good information and understand the timelines and they understand the process," he said.
Getting elected to the school board is a four-year commitment not to be taken lightly.
As for the current school board, Worl said, "We've had a good board. We had a board that worked together very well. This current board is obviously five individuals who have different interests but they come together on major issues that have affected the school corporation. We've been very pleased with how the board has supported the administration and teachers. That's a positive and we'd like to see that continue with the new board when it's seated on July 1."
