Petitions Begin Circulating for Seats on Area School Boards

Residents interested in running for their local school boards have a one-stop shop to pick up all the information they need.

Administrative centers for Elementary Districts 90, 91 and 97 and Oak Park and River Forest High School currently have packets that will provide forms and other pertinent information.

Petitions are currently circulating for all school board races. The election will be be on April 9, 2013.

All terms are four years.

Here's a rundown district by district of locations, hours and the number of seats that will expire in April 2013.

River Forest District 90

For residents of River Forest, the administrative office of District 90 will be open from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays at 7776 Lake St. Four terms will expire: Patrick Meyer, David Latham, Roman Ebert, JuliAnn Geldner. Call 708-771-8282 for more information.

Forest Park District 91

Forest Park residents can pick up packets from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays at the Elementary District 91 administrative office, 424 Des Plaines Ave. Four terms will expire: Mary Turek, Lois L. Bugajsky, MaryWin Connor and Joan White. Call 708-366-5700 for more information.

Oak Park Elementary District 97

The administrative office at District 97 will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays at 970 Madison St. Three terms expire: Peter Barber, Jim Gates and Amy Felton. For more information, email board secretary Sheryl Marinier, (smarinier@op97.org) or call the administrative office at 708-524-3000.

Oak Park and River Forest High School

Packets are available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays in the superintendent's office, 201 N. Scoville. Four terms will expire: Terry Finnegan, Amy Leafe McCormack, Valerie Fisher and Dietra Millard. Call 708-383-0700 for more information.

Petitions can be filed from Dec. 17 to Dec. 24 in the administrative office of the respective school district.

To be eligible, a school board member must be, on the date of the April 9 election, a citizen of the United States, a registered voter, at least 18 years old, a resident of the State of Illinois and the school district for at least one year immediately preceding the election.

Elections are non-partisan and board candidates are not required to indicate a political party affiliation.

For more information, prospective candidates can access the website of the Illinois Association of School Boards or the State Board of Elections.