Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Who will run and who wonít run. It is such questions that will face current members of the ISD 831 School Board and district residents who may want to serve on the board this month.

The 14-day filing period for school opened Tuesday, July 5 and continues through Tuesday, July 19.

The annual school board election is set Tuesday, Nov. 8, but this year, under new state law, a primary election for the school may be necessary.

In May, the ISD 831 board voted to establish the official dates for filing affidavits of candidacy. The July 5-19 filing period is earlier than in past school board election years.

According to the new state law, a primary election on Tuesday, Sept. 13 will be required if the number of candidates filing for open seats is more than twice the number of open seats.

Hereís the local election scenario.

For the 2005 Forest Lake vote, three school board seats will be up for election. With three seats up for a vote, if seven candidates file during the July 5-19 time frame, a primary election would be required in September.

The primary election would determine the finalists for the Nov. 8 ballot. The final ballot would carry a limit of twice the number of open school board seats. In Forest Lakeís case for 2005, that would mean six candidates would move on to the Nov. 8 ballot.

In ISD 831 this year, the seats now held by board members Dean Barr, Jody Krebs and Karen Morehead will be up for election.

The new terms are for four years each and take effect on Jan. 1, 2006.

Krebs is completing her first four-year term on the board while Barr and Morehead are both long-term board members.

The school board has also voted to move forward with a fall excess operating levy request to voters in November. The final structure for the levy request is yet to be formed.

The board is also likely to ask district residents to renew the existing operating levy that is on the books and has two years remaining for support of the general fund operation.

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Forest Lake Times
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Forest Lake, MN 55025
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