The deadline to become a candidate for the Philomath School Board is coming up in two weeks and as of Thursday afternoon, just one individual had filed to run for one of the three positions that will appear on the May 20 special election ballot.
School Board members are elected to four-year terms and those who win seats this spring will serve from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2029. Terms expiring in June include those currently held by Rick Wells (Position 1), Joe Dealy (Position 3) and Erin Gudge (Position 4).
According to candidate filings listed by the Benton County Records and Elections Office, Gudge last week filed in an effort to keep her Position 4 seat. Gudge has served on the School Board since 2021 and if she retains the position, she alone would have seniority with Wells and Dealy announcing that they do not intend to run again. Sandi Hering (Position 2) and Ryan Cheeke (Position 5) both joined the board in 2023 with terms that will expire in 2027.
Candidates have until March 20 to file their candidacy.
Although there is often a late surge of candidates in the days leading up to the deadline, there has been a trend in recent years that has shown a lack of interest. It’s something that Philomath Superintendent of Schools Susan Halliday has noticed.
“Volunteerism is kind of falling that way … it’s harder to get volunteers for a lot of things,” Halliday said. “I think for a School Board, there’s the time commitment that people are concerned about. I also think the other thing is that there are a number of people that get on a School Board and they find out that what they thought it was going to be really isn’t what it was.”
Halliday explained — saying that some after getting on the board soon realize that they will not be involved with day-to-day operational decisions.
“They realize that it’s working on the budget and the fiscal responsibility of the district and making sure that we’re being good stewards of our funds … We craft policy to be able to support the work of the district and we hire a superintendent — that’s really the major work of the board,” Halliday said. “That’s a surprise to some people when they come onto the board.”
As for the time commitment, that varies from month-to-month.
“We do one meeting a month, we don’t do two like some of our larger districts,” Halliday said. “Typically, they’re two hours in terms of the length of a meeting. This year, we’ve done more work sessions that might add the equivalent of a second meeting every other month. If we have an executive session, that might be an hour ahead of a board meeting or after a board meeting.”
On Wednesday, board members met for a work session that involves updates to the district’s strategic plan.
“So we’re looking at a yearlong process that could involve some work sessions and some community engagement over the course of the next year,” Halliday said.
In addition, board members serve as liaisons to specific schools and that can take some time depending on the level of engagement. Board members also are automatically included on the Budget Committee, which is a process that is currently ongoing. And a couple of representatives from the board typically sit at the table during negotiations with licensed and classified staff.
Special events are another possibility. For example, the board members traditionally participate in the high school’s graduation ceremony.
If Philomath does not get enough volunteers to fill the positions or if a write-in candidate does not emerge, then the sitting members would appoint individuals to those seats.
“It’s a pretty comparable nonelectoral process in terms of people still having to submit the application and information to the district of their interest and then we make the decisions based on that,” Halliday said.
The last time that the School Board needed to make an appointment occurred in 2022 following the resignation of Anton Grube. The board had four candidates submit applications and ultimately appointed Christopher McMorran to the position. He served until the term’s expiration in 2023.
It is possible that a write-in candidate could win a seat through the May election.
“If there’s somebody that gets the write-in vote on the ballot and wins it and chooses to assume the role, we have to accept that,” Halliday said.
Any appointment that would need to be made would occur after the election results become official. Terms begin with the school district’s new fiscal year on July 1.
Elsewhere in the region, the Corvallis School District has four seats available in the upcoming election and as of Thursday afternoon, there was one candidate for each position.
Other school districts in the area with board seats on the ballot include Monroe (four positions), Greater Albany (three positions), Harrisburg (three positions) and Alsea (one position). As of Thursday, no candidates had filed for any of those 11 positions.
In addition, the Linn-Benton-Lincoln Education Service District has not seen any candidates for its four vacancies — including the zone that serves the Philomath area.
“LBL is zone-based because they want to make sure that they have coverage from each of their county areas,” Halliday said. “They’re looking for somebody from this part of the county.”
School Board candidates must be registered to vote and have lived in the Philomath School District for one year immediately preceding the election. Board members may live anywhere within the district boundaries and will be elected on an at-large basis. Employees of the school district are not eligible.
Candidates must file with the county clerk’s office by either submitting a petition with signatures of registered voters or by declaring a candidacy and paying the $10 filing fee. Benton County publishes information on how to file. Those planning to run will need to file the form, SEL 190. Filing by petition also has a deadline of March 20 and candidates should contact the Benton County Elections Office to determine how many signatures are required.
For those with an interest but would like more information, the Oregon School Boards Association published two free webinars — “How to Run for School Board — The Process” and “Running for School Board — Roles and Responsibilities.”
Two seats will also be up for election on the Philomath Fire and Rescue Board of Directors. Upcoming vacancies will be Position 1 (currently held by Joe Brier) and Position 2 (currently held by Ken Corbin). Both positions have four-year terms.
Corbin has filed to retain the Position 2 seat. No candidates as of Thursday had filed for Position 1.
Candidates must be registered to vote and live in the fire district and have the same filing deadlines as the school board candidates. Local residents interested in running can reach out to Philomath Fire & Rescue at 541-360-0030 or admin@philomathfire.com.
Also on the ballot will be seats on the boards of the Blodget-Summit Rural Fire Protection District (positions 3, 4 and 5) and Hoskins-Kings Valley Rural Fire Protection District (positions 3, 4 and 5). Nobody had filed as candidates for those seats.
The county anticipates mailing ballots to local voters around April 30. The last day to register to vote is April 29. For more information, contact Benton County Elections at 541-766-6756 or https://www.bentoncountyor.gov/).
