Losing in this spring's election for the Monmouth-Roseville School District might not mean losing the opportunity to serve.
The board has five open seats in the election: three for four-year terms and two for two-year unexpired terms.
Those who filed to run for the four-year terms are current board members Kevin Killey, Tim Tibbetts, and Anita Sells, along with challenger Nicole Trego. No one filed for the two-year seats.
No matter the result of the four-year race, the intention is for all four to join the school board after election day. Superintendent Ed Fletcher said the board plans to appoint the last place finisher in the four-year term race to one of the two-year terms.
Warren County Clerk Tina Conard said state election law allows that to happen.
“The school board would then would have to appoint them, or somebody, to those two two-year terms that are left empty," said Conard. "And then those people that get appointed to those two positions will be on the ballot in 2017.”
The filing deadline to get on the ballot has passed so the only way for someone to be elected to a two-year term would be by filing for a write-in campaign.
Brent Davis of the Illinois State Board of Elections said it would not take much in this case for a person to win through a write-in campaign.
“If no one else is running for it, all they would have to get is one valid vote to win that seat,” Davis said.
The deadline to file as a write-in candidate is February 5.
