Residents of the Seneca Valley School District should not delay making their feelings known about whether the current method by which school board members are elected should be changed. But before doing that, there are several considerations that deserve their attention.

Currently, board members are elected under a nine-region plan. The board is considering whether that method should give way to electing all nine board members at-large; by way of a three-region plan; through a combination of the at-large and regional plans; or retain the current plan, albeit with new boundaries for all of the voting districts.

Last month, the Butler County commissioners, acting as the county board of elections, increased the number of polling places in the school district to nine from six and realigned existing voting districts. In response to that, the school board is weighing whether the current nine-region system, which was drawn up seven years ago, should give way to another voting plan that might better serve the district.

The issue is to be discussed at the Nov. 3 board meeting. The possibility exists that the board will make a decision at its Nov. 10 session. According to Matt Hoffman, district solicitor, new districts must be court-approved by December or January. School director seats are not part of this year's elections but will be on next year's ballots.

The school director election issue can be described as local preference, based on the characteristics of individual school systems. None of the plans has been characterized statewide as a plan to be avoided.

What Seneca Valley residents need to do is form a conclusion as to whether electing board members by region limits the potential talent pool that is available to the board.

And, being elected to a school board seat is not like being elected to a seat in the state General Assembly or U.S. Congress, where lawmakers have the ability to bring back money and projects to their individual districts.

That type of thing isn't an issue in school board elections, although there have been instances in this state where regionalism on a board has been the determining factor as to where a new school was built, or how a district's schools were aligned — actions that not always were shown to be correct over time.

But it's good to remember that America was built on the principle of representative government, and that that is the kind of plan that's in effect by way of Seneca Valley's nine-voting-districts arrangement.

The current arrangement hasn't seemed to stifle any worthwhile Seneca Valley pursuit, but district residents are the people to make that judgment.

Whatever plan is adopted probably won't be a basis for changing anything that's taught in district classrooms.

For Seneca Valley as well as other districts, the goal is to elect board members who are dedicated to providing the best education possible to students while also managing their district in the best interests of taxpayers.

That can be achieved under any plan for electing school directors, if school directors make the overall welfare of the district their chief goal and mission.

Seneca Valley residents are familiar with the issues and concerns in their school system. Every two years, they express their opinions at the ballot boxes, like they will do next year when some district school board seats will be up for grabs.

What now is being discussed regarding electing directors is merely an opportunity for residents to make a statement as to whether they think their school board might be improved under some other plan.

District residents should appreciate this opportunity to express their opinion, and those now serving on the board should be interested in hearing what residents have to say.

It's an important issue that will affect the district's future.