Image is modified from a map produced by the GIS/ Graphics Division of the ACC Planning Dept and provided by the ACC Board of Elections office.

• Non-partisan election for 4-year term (2006, 2010, 2014, ...)
• Five board seats (districts 1, 3, 5, 7, 9) will be up for election in November 2006.  The other four seats (districts 2, 4, 6, 8) will be up for election in November 2008.  Our elections are non-partisan, meaning that we do not run as Republicans or Democrats.  So, there will not be any school board elections in the primaries.

• Determine annual budget.
• Make policy for the school district.
• Approve all hiring of certified personnel (teachers, principals).
• Conduct student disciplinary hearings.
• Manage the property of the school district (buildings, land, busses).

• Legally, I think the only requirement is that you must be a registered voter.  It is desirable for candidates to have an interest in public education and some prior experience with our school system.

• We have our own budget that is separate from the ACC budget.  Our budget is about $98 million.  About 40% of it comes from the state.  A tiny amount comes from the federal government.  The rest comes from local property taxes.  We do receive additional money in the form of grants from the federal government, but that money is not considered part of our budget because we cannot decide how to spend it.

• Attending meetings – about 10 hours per month
• Preparing for meetings – about 3 hours per month
• Attending functions at schools and in the community – about 2 hours per month
• Talking to constituents/responding to email – about an hour a month
• Every board member gets $3600 a year, except the President, who gets $5400 a year.

• Change in graduation policy (cannot participate in graduation ceremony unless you earn a diploma)
• Wellness policy (required by the federal government–includes PE, healthy food at breakfast and lunch)
• Volunteer policy (would have required all volunteers to have a criminal background check – has not passed yet)
• Fourth Street Elementary improvement (did not make adequate yearly progress for several years in a row)
• New site for Rutland Academy

• To some extent, all of the issues we work on affect ACC.  We work with the ACC commission on big issues, such as the redesign of Baxter Street near Alps and Clarke Middle and on the new Rutland Academy.  The staff in the school district and the county work together regularly.

• Although we are elected by districts, we serve the entire county once elected. We do not lobby for the schools in our districts.
• We manage a large budget that involves everything from milk for lunches, to teacher salaries, to school busses.
• There have been significant cuts in state and federal support for education in recent years.
• No Child Left Behind is about more than academics (such as the Wellness Policy).