The Bemidji Area School Board is changing their chair election process.

The topic was a cause of tension back in January when board positions were being established. Previously, long-standing policy stated the board chair required at least two years’ experience on the board in order to serve as chair. During Monday’s meeting, the board voted to rescind the policy in favor of a standard election process, as recommended by the Minnesota School Boards Association.

“Currently, there is no – for next year, no board member would be eligible under our current process, so we wanted to make either an addendum to that policy or to remove it,” explained Bemidji Area Schools Superintendent Jeremy Olson. “We discussed rescinding that and going with the MSBA’s process similar to how we conduct all the other positions of the school board.”

This change will mean that next year’s school board will see the election of a new chair under the new process.

By — Justin Othoudt