Andy asks: > Are Minneapolis School Board members elected by ward/district?
No. But given disparities in income, the move to community schools, etc., maybe some should be. I know the DFL tries to balance endorsees geographically; perhaps it should be instituted in big "quadrant" districts with some at-large, a la the park board. Thoughts? > Is the reason for a shortened term? Yes, a good reason! There used to be one odd-year election cycle (1999 was the last election-year) in which the mayor/council/park seats were not up, so the school board was the only thing on the ballot. Turnout was miserable by anyone's standard. So the school board folks shifted the cycle by installed some one-time-only three-year terms (members elected in 1998 incumbents served three years that were up in 2001, now the 1999 class is getting theirs in 2002). >From here on out, the school board members will be elected either during an even-year when some combo of legislature/governor/U.S. Senate races will bring people out (2002, 2006, 2010) or the in the year that the council & mayor are elected (2001, 2005, 2009 - although this may change if Phyllis Kahn's bill passes - how IS that doing?). Whoever thought of this deserves a big round of applause! David Brauer King Field - Ward 10 _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
