Elected board would be paid

By By Leada Gore, Hartselle Enquirer
If Hartselle voters OK a change in the way the school board is selected, it will clear the way for its members to be paid but won’t allow for staggered terms.
Hartselle City Council approved the wording on a bill that will pave the way for a referendum to change from an appointed to elected school board. The bill was drafted by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, and will be introduced when the Legislature convenes in January.
If the legislature approves the bill, the referendum will be held in 2010, either with the June primary or November general election. It will be a separate referendum from the state and local races on either of those ballots.
If Hartselle voters OK the switch, the first school board election will be in 2012.
The legislation would allow board members to receive $100 per month for their service. School board members currently serve without compensation. To help cover that cost, the board would switch to a state auditor over a private firm.
School board members currently serve four-year staggered terms. That will change, too, if members are elected.
Mayor Dwight Tankersley said several council members wanted to see the board set on a staggered system, eliminating the possibility of starting over every four years with new members. However, that change would only take place, members said, if the council could be set up on the same staggered schedule.
Tankersley said that would require a statewide amendment that would impact all cities of Hartselle’s classification, a virtual impossibility.
County school boards, such as Morgan County’s, are allowed to have staggered terms.