By Susan Redden

sredden@joplinglobe.com

Some school district patrons in the region will be staying home on April 8, while others will be going to the polls to decide on school district directors’ posts, bond issues and city council seats.

Candidate filing for city and school board offices closed last week in Missouri.

This year, there will be no election for members of the Carl Junction School Board, since three candidates are running for three board vacancies. A state law approved several years ago allows school districts to skip school board elections if there are no contests to decide. The change was designed to allow schools to save money by not having to pay election costs when there is no race on the ballot.

Lisa Knutzen, Claudia Cox and Glenn Coltharp, all board incumbents, are seeking re-election on the Carl Junction board, according to Sandy Latimer.

“This is the second time for us; we didn’t have an election last year,” she said.

Though the change in state law did not extend to cities, residents inside Carl Junction have one City Council office and a tax measure to decide.

In Ward 1, incumbent Barbara Evans is facing challenges from Ron Daniel, Donald Marshall and Julie Alford.

Three other council incumbents are unopposed — Carl Skaggs in Ward 2; Mark Powers in Ward 3; and Dee Lynn Davey in Ward 4.

Carl Junction residents also will be deciding a bond issue to fund construction of a new community building for the city.

If approved, the new building would house Carl Junction City Hall, the local senior center and a community center.

Financing would come by extending a current 23-cent levy for another 20 years, said Maribeth Matney, city clerk.

Members of the Webb City School District won’t have to decide a race for the school board, where incumbents Jeanne Newby, Will Roderique and David Collard are unopposed. But, they will be asked to approve a bond issue that failed earlier.

The $5 million bond issue would finance a new high-school library, new classrooms in the junior high, classroom renovations in the high school and replacing windows at two other schools.