It turns out the Fountain Hills Unified School District Governing Board will need to hold an election this fall after all.

Last week, it was reported that three individuals had collected signatures and turned in their election packets to run for the local school board, including incumbents Judith Rutkowski and Wendy Barnard, as well as newcomer Nadya Jenkins. Current board president, Edith Stock, has decided not to run for another term on the board. With only three candidates and three seats opening, an election would not need to be held.

But while the regular submission deadline to run for the school board was Aug. 8, the deadline for write-in candidates was Wednesday, Aug. 22.

With resident Bob Shelstrom coming in just under the wire, there are now four candidates for the three seats, meaning the FHUSD governing board will now be included as part of the Nov. 6 election.

Mail-in ballots are expected to be sent out starting Oct. 10, with information on polling locations to be provided at a later date. Those candidates who are elected to the board will begin their four-year term on January 1, 2019. They will join continuing board members, Jill Reed and Dr. C.T. Wright.

Candidates will be invited to introduce themselves in an upcoming issue of The Times, with a Q&A series planned to run for several weeks following.