Four seats on the Durango School District 9-R Board of Education will be up for election on Nov. 2, and anyone interested in running can begin circulating nominating petitions Aug. 4.
Open seats in District A, District C and District E will be for four-year terms.
The District D seat will be up for only a two-year term.
School board member Andrea Parmenter was appointed to fill a vacant seat in District D, and the two-year term will put the seat back on its normal election rotation – meaning future elections will rotate every two years between three open seats and two open seats.
People interested in running must live in the district in which they run. A map of the districts is available on the 9-R website.
In general, District A covers the west side of the Animas Valley as well as a portion of north Durango. District C covers southern La Plata County. District D covers most of the city of Durango. District E covers the east side of the Animas Valley also with a portion of Durango in the district.
To be eligible to run, candidates also must be registered to vote for at least 12 consecutive months before the election.
Candidates who make the ballot must register with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office and file campaign-finance disclosure documents.
The school district is assembling candidate packets, which include nominating petitions and are expected to be ready for pickup by the end of the week, said Julie Popp, 9-R spokeswoman.
To get on the ballot, a candidate must get 50 valid signatures of voters who live in the school district and turn in their nominating petitions to 9-R by Aug. 27.
The election will be by mail-in ballots, and it will be administered by La Plata County Clerk and Recorder Tiffany Lee.
Besides Parmenter in District D, school board members Erika Brown, representing District A, and Theresa Rodriguez, representing District E, will seek re-election.
School board member Mick Souder, who represents District C, will not seek re-election.
For the Nov. 2 mail-in election, voters who live in Durango School District 9-R will be able to vote for candidates in all four districts, not just for the candidates in the district in which they live.
School board President Kristin Smith and Souder will hold an informational session about the work required on the school board and information about the election from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Aug. 3 at the Durango Joes at 732 E. College Drive.
Brown said working with 9-R’s new superintendent, Karen Cheser, who assumed the position on July 1, and overseeing administration of $114 million in capital construction projects financed by bonds approved by voters in November 2020 makes this a good time for people interested in Durango schools to serve on the Board of Education.
“It’s a super exciting time for the district,” she said.
parmijo@durangoherald.com
