The filing period for three at-large seats on the Concord School Board opens in less than two weeks.

Pamela Walsh, the current school board president, Barbara Higgins and Bob Cotton currently hold the seats — they haven’t said whether they’ll run again and no challengers have stepped forward.

Regardless of who’s on the ballot, this year’s elections will be high stakes and high participation: The board is in the midst of a contentious process of planning and trying to line up funding for a new middle school, meanwhile, a petition by a citizens group may force charter amendments onto the ballot that, if successful in a referendum vote, would shave away some of the board’s power.

The filing period opens Sept. 6 and closes Sept. 16 and filings are made at the district offices on Liberty Street.

Concord school board members have more power than their peers in the state: Autonomous from city council, they get the final say over their own budget, contracts and bonds. With neither a town meeting nor city council oversight, elections are the primary check on the board’s actions. Any registered voter and resident in the Concord School District can run for the district-wide posts this year, and the top three vote-getters in the race will be seated.

Walsh, who was elected president of the board in January, said she’s interested in another term but is still working through family logistics related to childcare.

“I hope to,” she said. “We still have work to do, bringing in a new math curriculum, expanding world language and, of course, working on plans to build a new middle school.”

This is the conclusion of Walsh’s first full term. She was first elected in 2020 to serve the final year of Jennifer Patterson’s term when she moved out of state.

Higgins has been on the board for 12 years. She said she hasn’t decided yet whether she’ll seek a fifth term.

Cotton, rounding out his first term on the board, is also unsure about whether he’ll run again, he said.

No one has publicly announced plans to run against them.

School board members serve a three-year term and are re-elected on a rotating basis. In the other two election cycles, there is one race in each of the three “zones” in the district.

In the last election of at-large members three years ago, Cotton, Higgins and Walsh ran uncontested after a fourth candidate withdrew from the race.

With both the presidential and major state races on the ballot, this year’s school board election is likely to have a high turnout compared to 2021, when less than 15% of registered voters cast ballots citywide. In the 2020 presidential election, participation topped 70%.

The terms of board treasurer Tom Croteau and clerk Patrick Taylor are also expiring. They are not members of the school board, as outlined in state law.

The at-large seats could also appear on the fall ballot alongside amendments to the district’s charter. In opposition to the board’s decision to relocate the middle school to the East Side, a citizens group has proposed giving the voters the final say over where the district puts its schools and whether it can sell large pieces of land. The group has submitted signatures for review to get the amendments on fall ballots.

More information about how to file can be found on the district’s website.

Editor’s note: this story has been updated to correct Bob Cotton’s first name. 

Catherine McLaughlin can be reached at cmclaughlin@cmonitor.com