Ballots won’t list four unopposed

The names of the four unopposed candidates for election to four open seats on the Little Rock and North Little Rock school boards won’t be listed on the Nov. 8 school/ general election ballots.

The elections of Greg Adams and Joyce Wesley to the Little Rock School Board, and Dorothy “Dot” Williams and Valerie Phaup McLean to the North Little Rock School Board, will be taken care of when at least one voter marks the ballot oval indicating support of all unopposed candidates, Pulaski County Election Coordinator Amanda Dickens said last week.

In contrast, the Nov. 8 election ballots in Pulaski County Special School District’s Zone 5 will list the two candidates vying for the seat that represents a part of Maumelle. Voters in the zone will choose between Lindsey Gustafson and Wendy Potter. Gustafson was appointed to the board last year by her board colleagues to fill a vacancy created by a resignation.

The process of electing unopposed candidates to school board positions varies from year to year depending on whether the annual school board election is held in conjunction with a preferential primary/general election or not.

School board terms, which are up to five years, are unpaid.

Each of the three school districts will include on the school/general election ballots their current millage rates. None of the districts are seeking a change in their property tax rates but are required by the Arkansas Constitution to present those tax rates to voters annually. Even if a majority of voters oppose the existing millage rates, the rates are not changed.