CONSIDER SERVING RIVER BEND SCHOOL DISTRICT AS A BOARD MEMBER:
INFORMATION PERTAINING TO THE UPCOMING APRIL 4, 2023, SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION PROCESS
Nominating petition forms for the April 4, 2023, School Board election in River Bend C.U.S.D. #2 will be available September 20, 2022, at the Whiteside County Clerk’s Office and the River Bend CUSD #2 District Office. You may pick up packets at the District Office, but all forms and information is actually processed through the Whiteside County Clerk’s Office at the Courthouse in Morrison.
A School Board candidate’s petition must be filed in the County Clerk’s Office no earlier than 8:30 a.m., on Monday, December 12, 2022, and no later than 5:00 p.m., Monday, December 19, 2022.
Candidates’ names will appear on the election ballot in the order in which their nominating papers are received at the County Clerk’s Office.
Four seats on the seven-member Board of Education will be filled at the April 4th election. Candidates elected will serve four-year terms expiring in April, 2027. In relationship to the law which states that no more than three (3) persons from any township can hold seats on the Board of Education at a given time, two (2) persons could be elected from Fulton Township, and/or two (2) persons could be elected from Albany Township, and/or two (2) persons could be elected from Garden Plain Township, and/or three (3) persons could be elected from Ustick Township, and/or three (3) persons could be elected from Union Grove Township, or a combination of the preceding listed openings that equal four Board seats.
To be eligible to serve, a School Board Member must be, on the date of election, a citizen of the Untied States, at least 18 years old, a registered voter, and a resident of the State of Illinois and the school district for at least one year immediately preceding the election.
Elections are nonpartisan and Board candidates do not indicate a political party affiliation. Candidates should be aware of financial conflict-of-interest limitations set forth in state law.
Nominating papers may be filed by the candidate in person, by mail or by an agent. They consist of the following:
- Nominating petitions signed by at least 50 voters residing within the district. Petitions must be securely bound together with pages numbered consecutively, and each page must carry the notarized signature of the petition circulator.
- Statement of candidacy, which includes a request that the candidate’s name be placed on the official ballot, the address of the candidate, the office sought, and a statement that the candidate is qualified for the office and has filed (or will file before the close of the petition filing period) a statement of economic interests as required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act.
- A receipt from the county clerk showing that the candidate has filed the statement of economic interest as noted above.
- A loyalty oath, which is optional. A candidate may choose to file it or not.
Further information on becoming a candidate in the April 4th board election may be obtained by contacting any River Bend Board of Education Member or Dana Nelson, County Clerk, (815-772-5189) or the River Bend District Office (815-589-2711).
For more information about the nature and duties of serving on a School Board, contact the Illinois Association of School Boards: IASB, 2921 Baker Drive, Springfield, Illinois 62703. You can also visit their website at https://www.iasb.com/about-us/publications/pamphlets-and-tools/about-school-boards to view “What is a school board and what does it do?”
