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School board to re-examine the need for zones

Worksession planned for within a month or two
The Crook County School Board is planning to revisit board zones in a worksession during the next month or sometime later this winter.
   "It hasn't actually been scheduled, but it'll probably be part of a worksession probably (during) the next month or so," said board Vice-Chairman Mark Severson.
   He added that, "it's not at the top of the priority list."
   "We have facilities to work on for a possible bond, and also a succession plan as well," Severson said. "We have quite a few big areas to cover, so it's not right at the top of the list."
   Board members briefly discussed the zones at their Jan. 14 meeting, and said they need to eventually take another look at the designations.
   As Severson pointed out Monday afternoon, there are several pros and cons with board zones.
   "There's the belief that having zones actually restricts candidates from running for the school board when there's a vacancy or an election," Severson said.
   He added that without the zones, "it would allow candidates to run for a position county wide if it were not for a restricted zone."
   "Pros for zones would be that representatives of sections of the county would be assured. It would allow the views of an area of the county to always be heard," the vice-chairman continued.
   "If there weren't zones, that possibly would mean that a majority of the candidates could be from one area of the county and leaving out other ones," he noted.
   Board member Sandy DeMaris is the sole, at- large member of the board. Steve Caraway, who has served on the board the longest, represents Zone 1, which is the northwest area of Crook County. Fellow board member Riley Stock represents residents in Zone 2, which encompasses the northeast area of Crook County. Board Chairman Jeff Landaker represents Zone 3, which takes in Paulina and the southeast area of the county.
   Severson represents Zone 4, which is the Powell Butte area that comes down to Meadow Lakes and Crestview.