Bellevue School District will have three open board seats on November ballot

The Bellevue School Board will have three open positions this year on the November 5 ballot.

The Bellevue School Board will have three positions up for election on the November 5 ballot.

Tuesday night, board member Michael Murphy said he will resign from the board effective May 8. Board member Paul Mills has said he won’t run for re-election. The third seat that will be on the ballot is held by Chris Marks, who has said she intends to file for re-election.

School board directors represent geographical districts. Marks represents District 3 (west-central Bellevue), Murphy represents District 4 (east-central Bellevue) and Mills represents District 5 (south Bellevue).

The school board will fill Murphy’s seat by appointing an interim director to serve until after the November general election. It will accept applications for the interim position and interview candidates in a public meeting.

Bellevue residents who are interested in learning more about serving on the board have several opportunities in the upcoming weeks.

A candidate information session will be held from 6:30-8 p.m. April 18 in the Baker Room at the Wilburton Instructional Service Center, 12241 Main Street. Board members not running for office will provide an overview of what it means to be a school board member, answer questions and provide informational materials for prospective candidates.

Prospective candidates unable to attend the Bellevue Candidate Information Session can contact the Superintendent’s office at 425-456-4172 to make an appointment with a current board member to ask questions and learn more.

The one-week filing period for any of the seats is May 13-17.

The King County Elections Department will hold candidate workshops on April 25 and April 27 for those interested in running for office. The workshops provide information about filing for office, submitting voter pamphlet information, campaign sign regulations and public disclosure information.

The April 25 workshop will from 2-4 p.m. and the April 27 workshop from 10 a.m. to noon. Both will be at the King County Elections office, 919 SW Grady Way, Renton. Those who plan to attend must RSVP via email to

election.operations@kingcounty.gov. Workshops will be cancelled if enrollment is low.

More information is available at http://www.kingcounty.gov/elections/candidatefiling.aspx and clicking on “2013 Candidate Workshop.