School co-op makes for tricky ballots

WILTON – Elections will be a little confusing this year for voters in Wilton and Lyndeborough contemplating a new combined school board.

“It seems a little weird,” Superintendent Trevor Ebel said in explaining why two of Lyndeborough’s four members will be on the Wilton ballot as well.

New articles of agreement were adopted last year when the three school districts (Wilton and Lyndeborough elementary and Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative middle and high schools) were combined into one K-12 cooperative. The articles call for a nine-member school board, with five from Wilton and four from Lyndeborough.

That configuration preserves the current ratio of three Wilton and two Lyndeborough members at the present middle-high school.

However, the courts have previously ruled that, under the one man-one vote concept, Lyndeborough doesn’t have enough residents to qualify for four members. Under that ruling, the board would consist of seven from Wilton and two from Lyndeborough, which is not acceptable to either town.

The solution is to elect two Lyndeborough members “at large,” by putting the race on the Wilton ballot. The candidates will be Lyndeborough residents.

The terms of office will be staggered at the outset, with members elected for one, two or three years. In following elections, all terms will be for three years.

“This is a work in progress. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out,” Evel said.

The filing period closes Jan. 29. All filing is done at the SAU 63 office in Summit Executive Park on Route 31.