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Bentonville board votes unanimously to adopt six-year member terms
Summary
The Bentonville School District Board voted to change trustee terms from four to six years after hearing legal guidance on how to implement the change under recent state law.
The Bentonville School District Board of Education voted unanimously Aug. 19 to adopt six-year terms for board members, after legal staff described a multi-step implementation plan under recent state election law.
District attorney Marshall Nye told the board that state law limits how districts can rebalance staggered terms and that his recommendation was to move to six-year terms “because otherwise half of your board is turning over” and frequent elections would burden the district. "I have universally recommended the districts that they go with 6 year terms," Nye said during the presentation.
The change was presented as a choice between keeping four-year terms or adopting six-year terms. Nye said the law does not provide a direct three-election-cycle path for four-year terms and that the proposed sequencing — including a lot-drawing step — would create a lawful path to the longer terms. He told the board that the Benton County Election Commission has reviewed the plan and Bentonville had submitted it to the state election commission for review.
Board member Willie moved the measure, and Rachel seconded it. Becky called the roll; board members Tatum, Bill, Willie, Jeremy, Rachel and Jennifer each voted yes. "Jennifer? Yes. Motion approved," the clerk announced after the vote.
Nut graf: The vote implements a structural change to how and when trustees face voters. Nye said the six-year option is intended to preserve continuity on the board and to avoid the administrative burden of frequent election cycles, but he also cautioned the board that the specific rebalancing steps required careful handling under state election law.
Board members asked clarifying questions during the presentation about how many seats would be up in each cycle under the recommended rebalance and how the lot-drawing step would be used if needed. Nye and district staff emphasized that the board was deciding only on term length at the meeting; the precise timing sequence would be finalized and communicated after further discussions with election officials.
The item was recorded as action item 6a on the agenda and passed without dissent.
Ending: With the vote, the board directed staff and counsel to continue work with county and state election officials to finalize the implementation plan and to return with any further details if state guidance requires adjustments.
