All school board members will be elected "at large" in the future

The Decorah Community School Board voted on Monday night to change the way school board members are elected. As a result of the recent census, the board needed to enact a change.  They voted for an all "at large" representation. The other option was to have two districts, with two representatives from each district, and one director elected "at large."

The board voted 3-2 to move to the all at large representation for board members.  The compelling arguments included the fact that the positions are often not highly sought after, and the board often misses out on good people who are interested, but may not be in the appropriate district. None of the board members could recall when the rural/city representation had been an issue.  Superintendent Haluska also pointed out that the district does not have other incorporated areas or attendance centers other than Decorah, which makes the district concept much less significant than in other school districts.

There was virtually no public input other than what board members had solicited. Although the vote was 3-2, dissenting votes were not opposed to the plan that was passed. Their support for the district concept was mostly out of the principle for honoring representation by district, but it was also clear that the new plan was likely the most practical. Board members noted confusion in the public regarding the current method of electing board members, and thought the new plan would clearly communicate to the public that everyone would be voting for all board candidates.

The action will be in effect during the next election in September of 2013, when two board members have expiring terms. Then the three other members will have terms expiring in 2015.