Signs of the Times

Bison Blinds

It’s election time in Luther.

Two important elections will send voters to the polls – the School Board Election on February 14, and the Town Board Election in April. Each election, in its own way, will help chart a course for the future of our growing community. For than a year, The Luther Register has covered most of the school board and town board meetings. A search on this website under categories such as Education, Town or Community will help voters become familiar with the issues.

Two candidates are vying for the school board seat currently held by Board President Matt Mohr. He is seeking a second-five year term and is being challenged by Tony Rumpl, a highway patrolman and active parent at the school district. A third candidate, Gerald McCauley is not actively campaigning.

Rumpl’s signs started appearing across the vast school district this week. Voters in three counties elect school board leaders for the Luther School District that has less than 800 students. While the majority of voters are in Oklahoma County, there’s a wedge of voters in southern Logan County and western Lincoln County.

Mohr told The Luther Register he does not intend to post any signs, “too much financially” he sent via text.

At the school board election just a year ago, 386 voters cast a ballot. Steve Broudy won that open seat over one challenger after the incumbent school board member suddenly resigned calling the district “hostile” in his resignation letter.

Aaron Bachofer’s resignation came just a few weeks after school district voters dramatically rejected a $32 million bond project in October 2015. With 735 voters turning out for that election, 85% voted “no.” It was also during that time that the board was coming to grips with its grim financial picture – considering layoffs and other budget trimming measures that have since taken effect. Mohr took over as president from Bachofer and has led the school board since then.

Just a year before Broudy’s election, the 2015 school board election brought just 194 voters to the polls, with Ray Stanfield easily taking his seat. When Mohr first ran five years ago, he drew no opponents and joined the board with no election. A look at voting data, perhaps reflects that citizens are becoming more involved in our community. Still, last year’s school board election was a bit more lively.

You can read about Matt Mohr’s service here. 

You can read about Tony Rumpl here. 

Meantime, the district has officially begun its search for a new superintendent following the December 2016 resignation of Dr. Sheldon Buxton who will leave the district at the end of June. Inquiries for the position are advertised on the website of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association. 

In just one more week, filing begins for those interested in running for Luther Town Board. Those filing dates are Feb. 6 – 8, 2017, at the Oklahoma County Election Board.