Published: May 15, 2008 12:15 pm         

CCS clarifies board election

Staff Report

The CCS Board of Education has decided to stick with its original procedure for determining which of the three candidates in the upcoming election will receive one of the two three-year terms on the board.

There are three seats open on the board. Two are the seats currently held by Mark Rathbun, who is not running, and Tony Scalici, who is seeking another term.

The third seat is for one year, to complete the unexpired term of Jean Schifano, who resigned because she was moving out of the district. In April, school officials and the school website stated that the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes will each serve threeyear terms. The one-year seat would go to the candidate with the lowest number of votes.

But during last week’s board of education meeting, there was some confusion about the procedure that would be used for awarding the three-year terms.

In response to a question from board president Mark Rathbun, school Superintendent McPhail indicated that one of the three-year terms would go to Scalici because he would not be able to immediately fill the seat vacated by Schifano, as his current term will not expire until the end of June.

Following the meeting, District Clerk Darlene Bennett said the school was researching the correct procedure for determining which candidates would receive the three-year terms.

In an email from McPhail on Tuesday, the board sought to clarify the procedure.

``There are two three-year terms and one one-year term up for election with three candidates on the ballot. The two candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be elected to the three-year terms. The candidate receiving the lowest number of votes will take the one-year term,’’ the email stated. The candidates will be listed on the ballot in the following order determined by a drawing: Anthony Scalici, David Borgstrom, and Theresa Russo.

The school board election and budget vote is next Tuesday, May 20, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Sterling Auditorium at the middle/ high school.