With two weeks left to file for April elections, the Neelyville school board has no candidates. Every other school board in Butler County is looking at a contested race.
Filing opened Dec. 17, with many candidates filing on the first day. The last day to file is Jan. 21. The election will be held April 7.
Neelyville R-IV has three open seats, which are currently held by Dean Fisher, Paul Petty and Shane Eaker.
Nobody has filed for the seats, including the incumbents.
If no one files for the seats by deadline, people can declare as a write-in candidate up to 10 days before the election.
If no write-ins declare, all write-ins would be tallied by the County Clerk’s office, according to Clerk Tonyi Deffendall, but the school district would then be responsible for certifying the results.
Twin Rivers R-X School Board also has three open seats, with a fourth candidate filing earlier this week.
Karen Buttrey will join current board president Billy Watson, former board president Jeff Arnold and citizen Bobby King on the ballot.
The seats are currently held by Watson, David Dugger and Roger Baxter.
With four candidates, the race is now contested, joining Poplar Bluff R-I and Three Rivers College also with four candidates each.
For Poplar Bluff, the open seats are currently held by President John Scott, board member Jerrod Murphy and board member Alana Robertson.
All three incumbents have filed along with former teacher Tim Gaebbler.
Three Rivers College also has three total open seats.
Two seats from sub-district one will be open for six-year terms at TRC. They are currently filled by trustee Eric Schalk and current treasurer Chris Williams. There will also be a seat open in sub-district two for four years, to complete that current term.
Schalk and Williams have both filed for re-election for sub-district one. Citizen Larry Kimbrow has also filed for one of the seats.
Dr. Tim Hager, current chairman, filed for the sub-district two seat, which he currently holds. The seat will also be up for re-election in 2024, when it will return to the normal six-year term.
Anybody still interested in filing with any of the school boards can file at the respective school’s office until Jan. 21, during normal business hours. The Neelyville office will remain open until 5 p.m. on the last day to allow people extra time to file.