Published: May 07, 2008 10:50 am         

Middlebury voters opt for elected school board

MIDDLEBURY, Ind. — They voted to vote.

Voters in the Middlebury Community Schools district went to the polls Tuesday overwhelmingly in favor of having an elected school board. Middlebury’s had been one of the few school corporations in Indiana to have an appointed group.

The referendum had three options for voters — two proposals for an elected board and one for keeping an appointed board. Of the 4,611 total votes cast, 3,741 were for an elected body. Only 870 voters — around 19 percent — favored the status quo.

Proponents of an elected board got the issue on the ballot by gathering enough signatures in support.

The top vote-getter Tuesday was “Option 1,” a elected plan approved — ironically — by the appointed school board. Board members didn’t endorse Option 1, however. According to school officials, the idea was to give voters a legal option.

Petitioners wanting an elected board had their own plan, but originally it didn’t comply with state statute. But the problems with their “Option 2” were fixed prior to the referendum.

“I think it will probably change the dynamics of the school board and the school corporation as a whole,” school board president Delores Merrick said Tuesday, latter adding, “I think people will see a change in the way the school corporation is run, and I don’t think it will be a positive change.”

According to Merrick, there are at least a couple of current school board members who won’t run in a political campaign. Merrick herself said won’t run.

“I don’t see it as a political position,” she said. “Politics shouldn’t play a role in educating our children.”

Controversy over the high school building project played a role in the referendum. Merrick said that for the people motivated to get the school board issue on the ballot, “I think (the building project) was probably the push they needed.”

However, Merrick also said, “I think it’s good that the public got out and voted and got the chance to say what they felt.”

“I’m really pleased,” said Michael O’Reilly, who pushed for an elected board. He’d hoped voters would pick Option 2, but said Tuesday that Option 1 is “fine with me.” O’Reilly said he’s happy people will now have a choice and be able to participate.

“Apparently, we were on the right track,” he said. O’Reilly also said he doesn’t aspire to run for a school board seat.

The building project and tax issues were probably the main issues for voters who wanted an elected board, O’Reilly said..

O’Reilly had been concerned that two ballot choices for an elected board would split the vote. Potentially, Option 3 could have won out even if more voters wanted some form of elected board.

That didn’t happen Tuesday, but O’Reilly feels changes need to be made.

“The Legislature needs to change that so it’s more fair to the citizenry,” he said.

Under the winning Option 1, a candidate must be at least 21 years old, have lived in the school corporation for three years and lived in his or her respective district for one year immediately prior to the election. The first election will take place this November.

Option 2, the petitioners’ plan, called for candidates to be age least 18 years old and residents of their districts for one year prior to the election.

O’Reilly feels Option 1’s three-year residency requirement is too long.

“But I can live with it,” he said of Option 1.

Middlebury’s is a five-person school board. One member will be elected from the town of Middlebury, one from Middlebury Township outside the corporate town limits, two from Jefferson Township and one from York Township. Members will serve four-year terms that begin on July 1 after the expiration of the incumbent’s term.