After opening for just one month, candidate filing is officially closed for the Subdistrict 2 seat on the Special School District (SSD) of St. Louis County’s Board of Education. The Subdistrict 2 seat represents the Affton, Bayless, Hancock Place and Mehlville school districts.

The candidates up for election are Bob McKitrick and incumbent Dan Cuneo.

Based on geographical area and student population, SSD divides St. Louis County into seven subdistricts for representation on its Board of Education. SSD board members are elected by the SSD Governing Council, a 22-member “oversight board” made up of one Board of Education member from each of St. Louis County’s 22 public school districts. Jeannete Schoenberg of Affton, Jeff Preisack of Bayless, Garrett Mees of Hancock Place and Patrick McKelvey of Mehlville are council members.

The council attempted to elect a new director for Subdistrict 2 at its March 2 meeting, but it could not due to a lack of a quorum; it did not have the majority of the Governing Council — which requires a majority of councilmembers and a majority of the represented county population — present for the vote.

McKitrick and Cuneo were the only candidates up for election on March 2, and they will be the only candidates up for election at the Governing Council’s June 1 meeting. Both candidates are residents of the Mehlville School District.

McKitrick is a social studies teacher at Parkway North High School, serving as both a Social Studies Department Chair and a Student Council sponsor for over 20 years. He has held leadership and advisory roles with the Missouri Advisory Council for Certification of Educators, the Parkway’s National Education Association (NEA) Executive Board and the Missouri NEA Board of Directors. He has also served on the Mehlville School District Communication Action Committee and is a recipient of the Pillar of Parkway Award.

Cuneo is the incumbent representative for Subdistrict 2, having served on the SSD Board of Education since 2001. He currently holds the title of vice president, but has previously served as president and director of the board. His professional career includes work as a court psychologist, a psychological consultant and a senior public service administrator with the Illinois Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities. He has served on numerous boards and advisory bodies.