Area School Board elections September 10

Voters in the Allamakee Community and Eastern Allamakee Community School Districts will be joining those statewide in going to the voting polls for the Tuesday, September 10 School Election. Area voters will not only be seeking to elect leadership to their respective School Boards, but also voting to continue a funding levy labeled Public Measure Z on each particular ballot in support of Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC).

PUBLIC MEASURE Z
NICC will have its 20-1/4 cent levy up for renewal as Public Measure Z on this year's school board election ballot. This 20-1/4 cent levy has been in effect since 1966 when community colleges were created. It is not a new levy and the amount has not changed in its nearly 50 years of existence. Voters in the college’s district last approved this levy in 2003.
The 20-1/4 cent levy is derived from the taxable valuation on property. For example, if a homeowner's taxable valuation of a house is $100,000, that homeowner is supporting NICC at $20.25 per year through this levy.
Iowa community colleges are authorized by Iowa Code to ask voters in their districts to approve a levy for up to 10 years to help fund equipment and technology purchases, library acquisitions, utilities payments and maintenance. For more information about the levy, visit www.nicc.edu.

SCHOOL BOARD SEATS
Both the Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) and Eastern Allamakee Community School District (EACSD) have two seats each on their respective Boards of Directors up for election this fall. Most of those seats in each school district have current board members seeking re-election, while others have no current candidate declared.
In the ACSD, both Scott Melcher, District #1 Director, and Allan Rissman, District At-Large Director, are seeking re-election to those seats. Melcher was first elected to the Board in 2006 and is seeking his third term in the Director District #1 position, while Rissman was elected to the Board in 2008 and is seeking to continue his representation as holder of the District At-Large seat.
EACSD voters will be asked to re-elect Heather Schulte to another board term in a realigned District #3, while a District At-Large position created by that recent realignment of the Board and its representative districts currently has no declared candidate and could be filled by a write-in candidate in the September 10 election. The At-Large vacancy has been created by the term expiration of long-time board member Sue Stirn, who is not seeking re-election to the position.

NICC DIRECTOR
In addition to local school board representation, the local seat on the NICC Board of Directors is also up for re-election. Kathy Gunderson of Postville is running unopposed in seeking voter approval for another term as the Director of NICC District #2, which encompasses the South Winneshiek, Turkey Valley, Allamakee, Eastern Allamakee and Postville school districts. Gunderson was first elected to the Board in 2009.

POLLING SITES
Polling sites will be open from 12 noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday, September 10, with absentee voting available at the Allamakee County Auditor's Office through 11 a.m. Tuesday, September 10. EACSD voters will vote at either the Kerndt Brothers Savings Bank Community Center in Lansing or at the New Albin Community Center. Polling sites for ACSD voters include St. Mary's Church in Dorchester, the NICC Center in Waukon, Waterville City Hall, and the Harpers Ferry Community Center.