RISON - The Cleveland County School Board voted Monday night to go with sixyear terms for school board members starting with the 2026 school elections.Superintendent Davy King told the board during its regular monthly meeting Monday night that Act 503, approved by the state legislature and signed into law by Gov. Sarah Sanders this year, requires school boards to decide between four- and sixyear terms. The bill also requires an equal number of positions be filled with each school election, which will be held during the spring preferential primary election.In addition, the law also requires, as much as possible, an equal number of positions be elected each year.The Cleveland County School Board consists of seven seats representing seven zones within the district. Based on the requirements of Act 503, King said the board members whose terms would expire in 2025, 2026 or 2027 will be up for election in the March 2026 school election. He said that includes Zones 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7.Once those five seats are decided next year, King said the board will draw to determine the term lengths for each seat in order to stagger the terms for future elections. In other words, some school board members could end up with a two-year term, four-year term or six-year term. King explained that at least two positions would be elected each school election with a third seat added once in every three-election cycle.The Cleveland County School Board voted earlier to move its 2025 school election from the spring primary election to the November general election. However, under the new law, the November 2025 school election can only be used for deciding a millage request, not for electing school board members. The Zone 6 seat, currently represented by Tony White, was up for election this year. School board president Harrell Wilson told the board he felt the six-year terms would work best for creating an almost equal number of seats up for election each year. ...
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