Nomination papers available for new school board members

RANGELEY — Nomination papers for seats on the new regional school unit Board of Directors are now available, Rangeley Town Clerk Ethna Thompson said Tuesday.

The town has five seats on what will be a 10-member board, Superintendent Brian Foster said. The original plan was for a 13-member board, but after Rangeley Plantation and Lincoln Plantation voted their opposition to the reorganization plan earlier this month, the board numbers were adjusted, Foster said.

Election of the new school board will come before voters on Jan. 19; the deadline for the nomination papers, available at the Town Office, is Dec. 4, Thompson said. Of the five seats, one is for one year, two are for two years and two will serve for three years.

The nomination papers require at least 25 signatures and no more than 100, she said.

Once voters elect the new board, those names will be sent to the state board for certification. Foster anticipates the new board could hold its first meeting by the beginning of March.

The Union 37 board will overlap with the new board for a few months before disbanding at the end of June. Foster expects a lot of the same school board members will run for the new board.

The other five seats on the board will be filled by representatives from Dallas, Sandy River and Rangeley plantations.

The Rangeley Town Office is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday; nomination papers can be picked up and returned during those hours, Thompson said.

abryant@sunjournal.com