All five seats on the Pea Ridge School Board are up for election this year. The filing period opens Feb. 22, 2022. The election is May 24.
An informational meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 25, for anyone interested in serving on the School Board.
Dr. Prothro, Executive Director of the Arkansas School Boards Association, will present: "So you want to be a board member."
He will also answer questions and some of the current board members may be available to share their experiences as well, according to superintendent Keith Martin.
For the first time in its 54-year history as an independent school district, the Pea Ridge School District is divided into zones and the School Board members are to be elected by voters from those zones. The five board members have heretofore been elected at large.
With the release of the 2020 census, it was revealed that the numbers of students from a minority had nearly doubled.
Martin said the 2020 census revealed a 17.2% minority population of the 10,046 total school district population compared to the 2010 numbers of 9.14% minority of a total of 7,990.
Martin presentated the information initially to School Board members at the September board meeting explaining what is required by the board and the timelines by which the steps must be taken.
The law (ACA 6-13-631) requires any board of a community having a combined minority population of more than 10% create zones. The law provides that a school district that attains 10% minority population out of the total population shall elect board members in compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 as amended.
Following the guidelines set by the state, the Board approved a resolution delineating the zones at the Oct. 10 meeting.
"All zoned positions are up for re-election," Martin reiterated, adding that he plans to have an information meeting in the spring to educate members of the public about serving on the School Board.
A map of the zones is available on the school's web site.
School Board members must reside within the school district (which is not the same as the city limits); reside in the zone for which they're voting; and be a registered voter.
Deadlines imposed by the state on the rezoning and election include:
• Feb. 22, 2022^Opening of candidate filing period;
• March 1, 2022^Close of candidate filing period at noon;
• May 24, 2022^Annual school election; and
• June 13, 2022^First meeting of zoned Board of Directors.
Martin said a demographer drew the zones.
Martin said: "Pea Ridge School District will be zoning its School District for School Board representation at the spring 2022 election which will be held May 24, 2022."
"I think we're just at that stage as a community," Jeff Neil, president of the School Board, said. "It's a good thing and it's meant to protect all of our citizens."
"We need to be aware as a community, we may be doing this every 10 years," Neil added.
He said that many more districts will have to have zones than won't.
"I feel like the board is a pretty good reflection of the district already," Neil said. "I don't feel like it will change the dynamics."
Neil said he believes one of the misconceptions about serving on the School Board is that a citizen could gain personally from being on the board.
"The board is the most thankless job in all elected officials as you gain nothing from the board, except the satisfaction of being able to serve the kids," Neil said. "You gain nothing from the board, yet you're dealing with the thing folks hold most near and dear to their hearts."
"I hope that whoever will serve in the future, with the zones, will keep that in mind -- it's about the kids," Neil said.