Nine candidates are vying for four positions on the United South Central School Board, which is heading toward a busy term.

According to Corey Olson, the current school board clerk, four seats are available on the board. One is a two-year term and the others will last four years.

Competition is tight for the latter seat, with seven candidates in the race, according to Rick Herman, principal of both the high school and elementary school. Two people are running for the two-year office. The board is comprised of six seats.

Running for the four-year term are Jay Christianson, Kari L. Jacobson, Ron Korn, Christina L. Olson, Nancy Lynn Ulrich, Kelly D. Wassenberg, and Christie Anne Wetzel. Mark S. Dundas and Dani Jo Ninke-Greaver are running for the two-year term.

The school board will be facing a number of important issues next year, according to Julie Stevermer, chair of the board. She said that one of them is a &uot;long-range maintenance plan for the district.&uot; The board will have to work on maintaining enrollment and unifying the district, which does not have precincts.

&uot;We opted out of having precincts. USC stands for a united school and we did not want to be territorial.&uot;

This issue is related to a topic that Herman said would be largely discussed. He said that the board will have to work on &uot;keeping lines of communication open.&uot;

He described small towns as rumor mills and said that the board will need to work to make sure that reliable information is spread.

The school’s facilities was mentioned by all four officials. Currently USC school district has two buildings, one in Wells and one in Kiester. The Wells building contains students in kindergarten through fourth grade and ninth through 12th. The building in Kiester holds grades five through eight.

Olson said the buildings are over 80 years old and that officials &uot;have not done a lot with either site.&uot; The school board may discuss the possibility of one location for all students and staff.

The candidates have attended a question-and-answer forum and officials agree that they look strong.

Olson said that at the forum the candidates were answering questions with the interests of the students in mind.

&uot;I think we’ve got some good candidates,&uot; Herman said.

Also during the Nov. 4 elections, citizens will vote on an operating levy. According to Olson, the district would like to raise $300 per student. There are 900 students in the district.

Herman said the extra money will go to items such as textbooks and technology.

(Contact Benjamin Dipman at ben.dipman@albertleatribune.com or 379-3439.)