22 seats to open for school boards

Webinar will offer tips for potential volunteers

Residents who are curious about serving on a school district governing board can have some of their questions answered during a live webinar Wednesday.

The live webinar is hosted by the Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA), a nonprofit organization that supports school boards statewide, said Yuma County Superintendent of Schools Tom Tyree.

“They have lawyers that work as policy advisers that work for them whose responsibility is to interpret (changes in state law),” Tyree said. The ASBA also provides seminars, conferences and regional meetings for board members.

The 2018 election cycle will see at least two members from every school district in Yuma County “rotate out,” Tyree said, with the exception of the Gadsden School District. Gadsden will have three seats open up for election.

Those who were appointed to fill vacated seats of retiring board members will also have to run for re-election (if they so choose), Tyree said, as is the case in Yuma Elementary School District One. All in all, there are 22 seats opening up in the November general election.

Those who “tune in” to the ASBA webinar March 29 may ask questions of the moderator. The webinar is being recorded so that it may be viewed by those who may not be available during the live stream. To get to the webinar, viewers can go to the ASBA’s website or click on the link (http://azsba.org/events/ thinking-of-running-for-schoolboard/). The webinar will run from 6 to 7 p.m. that Wednesday and is free.

A second webinar from the

ASBA will be offered free April 15, and it covers what one must do to get on the ballot, Tyree said. Locally, the superintendent’s office will offer a panel discussion facilitated by the ASBA at 7 p.m. May 1 at the Arizona Western Schoening Conference Center.

“In addition to this forum, anybody that wants to run for an office can come to our office and our staff will answer their questions and guide them through it,” he said.

One thing people might be curious about is what it takes to be a good board member, Tyree noted.

“A good board member should ask good questions. It’s OK not to know everything,” he said.

Board members should also avail themselves of available training either through the ASBA or seeking out prior or current board members or the administrators of their respective school district, Tyree said.

“There is a learning curve there that I think we all have to go through,” he said. “That’s why we value the people who serve on governing boards for a while, we value their experience.”

School boards have direct oversight over school districts, Tyree explained, and new members should understand how the board functions.

“Being able to work as a team or cohesively with your fellow board members I think is important also. Once again, that doesn’t mean necessarily that you have to agree with everything that the rest of the board decides upon or believes, but in the end wants the board makes the decision. I think it’s the responsibility of each of the board members to support the decision of the majority.”

Tyree urged those who intend to run to wait to garner any support, as all the

proper steps must be followed, or a candidate’s petitions could be ruled invalid by the county elections office.

“We’re there to help them every step of the way. We want the process to be as friendly as possible,” he said. “We want people to be successful and we want people to feel comfortable about running.”