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School board election filings begin

Alexandria Gonzalez , The Park Record

This story was updated late Friday afternoon to reflect late filings.

The filing window for running for local school board seats opened Friday, March 14, at 8 a.m., and while there were some familiar faces filing for re-election, others were making the decision to run for the first time.

Jule Eihausen was at the County Clerk’s Office Friday morning to file the paperwork necessary to run for the Park City School District Board of Education’s Precinct 5 seat, currently held by Michael Boyle. Boyle decided not to run for re-election this year, leaving the race open for new hopefuls.

"I have been an active volunteer in the school district for almost 10 years, including participating in Parent Teacher Organizations and school community councils," she said. "As a board member, there are three things I will focus on."

Those include a balanced budget to make sure the board is spending money where the community wants to be spending money, reducing class sizes and improving community and school board communication.

Eihausen said she believes issues like the Dual Immersion program and lack of communication between the board and parents in the district have created rifts she intends to repair if elected.

Precinct 4 incumbent Charles Cunningham has yet to confirm whether or not he will run for re-election, but should he choose to, he will have at least one opponent, J.J. Ehlers.

Ehlers filed the paperwork to run for the Precinct 4 seat after participating in Parent Teacher Organizations and school community councils like Eihausen. He plans to focus on several issues should he be elected into office.

"I want to make a difference in the community, and I feel like this is one way that can be done," he said. "I think we need to take a look at how technology has affected our classrooms and look at the long-term effect of those programs."

He agrees with Eihausen that class sizes in the district need to be looked at and reduced, and he plans to work with the board to fix that problem if he is elected.

Neighboring Districts

Steve Hardman, South Summit School District’s Precinct 4 incumbent, told The Park Record on Friday, March 7, that he had decided to run for re-election. He was at the County Clerk’s Office bright and early Friday morning to follow through on that decision.

Precinct 5 incumbent Matt Flinders has yet to confirm whether or not he will run for re-election, and as of Friday afternoon, no one had filed to run for his seat.

In the North Summit School District, Board of Education Precinct 5 incumbent Vern Williams also filed at the County Clerk’s office to run for re-election. He has yet to see an opponent as no one has filed to run against him.

However, should Precinct 4 incumbent Michael Calderwood confirm plans to run for re-election, he will have an opponent: Kevin Orgill. Late Friday afternoon, Orgill filed the necessary paperwork to run for the Precinct 4 seat.

Those looking to run for a seat on the Park City, South Summit or North Summit School District’s Board of Education have until Thursday, March 20, at 5 p.m. to file at the County Clerk’s Office. Candidates must reside in the precinct they would like to represent and pay a $50 filing fee.


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