The April 5 election isn’t over.
When all the votes in the race for two seats on the Dunklin R-5 Board of Education were counted after the election, Marissa Newman led the four-candidate field with 504 votes.
However, the winner of the second seat still must be decided.
Incumbent John Maddox IV tied with Jarred Engelbach for the second spot, as both received 449 votes in the April election.
A verification board manually recounted the votes in the days after the election and County Clerk Ken Waller said the tie still held up.
“It’s a good thing our process was clean and held up, but it’s not good news for the school district,” he said.
Superintendent Clint Freeman said he met with Maddox and Engelbach on April 8 and the two said they preferred a runoff election to a random method, like a coin flip, to break the tie.
So district residents will be called back to the polls on Tuesday, May 17. to vote for either Maddox or Engelbach.
Newman was sworn in at the board’s April 19 meeting, and Maddox will continue to serve until after the runoff election.
“We’ll hold a board meeting a couple of days after the runoff election, at which time one of the two will be sworn in,” said Matt Lichtenstein, communications director for the district.
He said the board voted 6-0 on April 19 to approve the runoff election, with Maddox abstaining.
Waller said the election will cost the district between $8,000 and $10,000.
To cut costs, only one precinct will be used – the Herculaneum Amvets, 690 Joachim Ave.
If the district had decided to use the three polling places in April, which included Pevely City Hall and Gracelife Chapel (formerly Victory Church), the election would have cost the district $7,000 to $10,000 more, Waller said.
“The problem with this election, with only one thing to decide, is that they’re not sharing the cost with anybody,” Waller said.
Lichtenstein said the Amvets site likely was chosen as the polling place because it would cause the least disruption.
“The Amvets agreed to it, and with all the people coming and going, it seemed like the best place,” he said. “We’re thankful for their assistance.”
Lichtenstein said the money to pay for the election will be drawn from the school district’s general operating fund.
Waller said about eight staff members from his office and six poll workers will be stationed at the Amvets during the day. Regular election hours, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., will be observed for the runoff election.