Filing begins June 13 for Iowa City school board special election

IOWA CITY - Aspiring Iowa City school board members have little more than two weeks to gather the 50 signatures needed to be placed on a July 19 special election ballot.

Carrie Nierling, Johnson County deputy auditor of elections, said the clock on the special election officially starts Monday, when the board's deadline to appoint a member has passed.

The school board unanimously agreed at a Tuesday meeting not to fill Tom Yates' vacant seat by appointment, following clarification from the state that an appointed member would have to stand for election on Nov. 8, not during the next school board election in September 2017.

By not appointing a member, the board dodged what would have been a costly and complicated special school board election alongside the November general election.

The July election is expected to cost between $15,000 and $17,000, according to school board President Chris Lynch.

The school board member elected during the July 19 special election is to fulfill the rest of Yates' term, which expires in September 2019.

Here is a timeline of how events are to unfold leading up the special election day:

- June 12 - The last day the school board can appoint a board member as it will then be 30 days after Yates' resignation. Lynch said at Tuesday's meeting the board has no plans to meet again before June 12.

- June 13 - Potential candidates can officially begin the process of adding their names to the special election ballot. To be eligible, Nierling said candidates must collect 50 signatures from Iowa City school district residents. Those petitions are to be available at the school district office, 1725 North Dodge St., and on the Secretary of State's website.

- June 24, 5 p.m. - Petitions must be submitted to the school board secretary by this date and time, Nierling said.

- Week of July 4 - Early voting begins.

- July 19: On the day of the special election, Iowa City's 10 school precinct polling places open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can find your polling place on the Johnson County Auditor's website. Voters in the school district's 7th precinct are to vote at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, 2301 East Court St., Nierling said, though that change is not yet reflected on the website.

The state's clarification - which swayed many board members and came only six hours before the board met to discuss an appointment - explained the technicalities of when an appointee would need to stand for election.

The letter from the Iowa Secretary of State's office said a law that went into effect on July 1, 2015, requires the appointee to stand for election during 'the very next election regardless of if the political subdivisions are compatible.”

A technical change to that rule, which will allow appointees to wait to stand for election until the next school board election, takes effect on July 1, 2016 - 19 days after the Iowa City school board's deadline.

According to the letter, school board members across the state who were appointed between July 30, 2015, and June 30, 2016, will have to go on the general election ballot. About 30 school districts have made appointments during that period, according to the letter.

Had the Iowa City school board gone forward with an appointment, Lynch said holding a school board election in November would have cost the district about $75,000.