With the November elections just over two months away, two school districts within the county will have board positions up for grabs. The deadlines to qualify for both elections are fast approaching, with Newton Municipals deadline coming by the end of this week and the Newton County Schools deadline being next week.
Newton Municipal School Board Election
The deadline for qualifying for the Newton Municipal School District board of education election is Friday, August 30, at 5 p.m. According to Newton County Circuit Clerk Mike Butler, the statute calling for the school board election states that the deadline is set for September 1 at 5 p.m. But, due to that date falling on a Sunday when the office is closed, the deadline actually rolls back to Friday.
To date, Butler says that one incumbent board member has turned in paperwork to qualify for the November election: Jhaddaka Leverett, who represents District 5 in the school district.
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All candidates who are interested in qualifying for a school board position must live within the district that they’re qualifying for, file a Statement of Intent, Affidavit of the Candidate and provide a petition containing the signatures of no less than 50 qualified electors of that district with the Newton County Circuit Clerk.
Butler encourages hopeful qualifiers to not wait until the final day to turn in their 50 signatures.
“Even though you may know them, go to church with them, or talk politics with them, it doesn’t always mean they’re a registered voter,” Butler said. “We’d love for you to give us a couple day window to verify signatures and let you know if you need to get more. That way you’ll have some time to do that.”
Butler and his staff have finalized setting up the board election in their system and they’re ready for November. Beginning this week, residents that live within the school district will be receiving important voter information in their mailboxes that will indicate what school board district they reside in.
“We’re mailing out all new voter registration cards that will indicate what district the voter is in,” said Butler. “Voting locations have not changed. These cards will just inform the voter on which school board district will be representing them.”
*For questions on what district you live in, The Newton County Appeal has attached a pdf file that displays a map of the Newton Municipal Board Districts with this story.
Newton County School District Board Election
In addition of the NMSD board election, two Newton County Schools board positions with Newton will be up for election.
Residents that live within both District C and District D of the Newton County School District will also be electing school board representatives in the upcoming November election. The deadline for qualifying for this election is September 6 at 5 p.m. Currently, both incumbents (Marty McKee-Dist. C and Josh Sander-Dist. D) have filed paperwork to qualify for reelection.
All candidates who are interested in qualifying for a school board position with the Newton County School District also must live within the district that they’re qualifying for, file a Statement of Intent, Affidavit of the Candidate and provide a petition containing the signatures of no less than 50 qualified electors of that district with the Newton County Circuit Clerk.
