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Two members of Merced County school boards will be voted in -- not by citizens, but by the boards themselves.
An extended deadline has passed to file paperwork for the Nov. 3 elections, and the Le Grand Elementary and Plainsburg districts are still left with more openings than candidates.
Dolores Clinton, a member of the Le Grand board for 28 years, said she was unsure how the board would handle making an appointment.
Clinton is running unopposed in the election.
"We just found out, really. Hopefully, some people who want to be on the board will step up," Clinton said. "There's a lot of good qualified people in the community."
Clinton said the low interest could be due to a new, district-based voting system for the school board.
In Plainsburg, Board President Jim Bright Jr. said the district fielded a very small pool of potential candidates, possibly causing the opening.
"We only really have 40-50 parents to pull from," Bright said. "I know I've tried personally -- and so have other board members -- to talk people into joining us on the board."
Bright was appointed to his position three years ago and said he was confident the district would appoint another member without any roadblocks.
Stacey Cotter, Merced County assistant registrar of voters, said the boards can make their appointments any time, either before or after the election.
Interest in school board elections this year has been tepid. While a lack of candidates extended the filing deadline in some districts, 15 others have just one candidate, leaving the races all but decided.
For example, the Merced River Union Elementary School District board will stay the same, with all three incumbents running uncontested.
The ballot situation now is substantially better than it was last week, when 17 races were wide open.
Twenty-eight people filed to run for election in the last two days of the original filing period.
Countywide, four people joined the race during an extended filing period. They including Sheila Whitley and Kelly C. Fincher, who are both on the ballot in uncontested races for seats on the Atwater Elementary School District board.
Both women filed on Aug. 12, the last day of the extended deadline.
"I had several educators in Atwater who contacted me and asked me to run," said Whitley, who is a teacher at Merced High School and president of the Merced Union High School District Teachers Association. "I felt like it was time."
Two other candidates -- Mary Ann Navarro and C. Dale Wilson -- both filed for the third seat on that board on Aug. 7, creating the only race in that district.
Tighter races are shaping up in Hilmar, McSwain and Merced River-Snelling.
McSwain and Merced River each have four more candidates than open seats. In Hilmar, which is divided into voting districts, the candidates in two seats are running uncontested. In a third district there are six candidates for two board positions.
A total of 60 school board seats are up for election Nov. 3.
Reporter Danielle Gaines can be reached at (209) 385-2407 or dgaines@mercedsun-star.com.
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