Let the candidate call begin.

With four seats on the Lawrence school board up for election April 5 — and three incumbents saying they have no plans to run — there is plenty of opportunity for newcomers. You just need to commit to a four-year term on an elected group that oversees a district of more than 10,000 students, about 900 teachers and an ever-so-tight budget that continues to get squeezed.

To become a candidate for the unpaid job, you must:

• Live in the district.

• Turn in filing papers by noon Jan. 25 at the Douglas County clerk’s office.

• Turn in petitions signed by at least 6,721 registered voters — or pay a $5 filing fee.

Jaime Shew, county clerk, doesn’t expect anyone to gather all of those signatures. If you’re thinking of running, check out these two pieces of advice from Shew:

• Show up early, at least 15 minutes before noon on the 25th. “We will have people call us at 1 or 2 (p.m.), saying, ‘Oh, hey, can I come down and file?’ No. That’s by state statute. I can’t bend that rule.”

• Be ready to pay. “I don’t take debit cards. Just checks and cash.”

Marlene Merrill, who is completing her first term on the board, plans to file in early January. The other three incumbents whose seats are up for election — Mary Loveland, Rich Minder and Scott Morgan — say they don’t plan to run, although both Minder and Morgan haven’t completely dismissed the notion.

Know of anyone thinking about making a run? Or know someone who would be a good candidate? Let me know: mfagan@ljworld.com

If 13 candidates file by noon Jan. 25, there would be a primary election March 1. If not, the general election is April 5. Winners will take their seats July 1.

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Winter break is fast approaching, and teachers will get a bit of a respite from all the grading and planning and organizing and everything else that goes into their days (and nights and days and nights and weekends)…

Anyone with a few kind words to say about their teachers, or administrators, or classroom volunteers or anyone else out there in the educational world, drop me an e-mail and let me know about their good works.

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In case anyone’s wondering about future meetings of the Elementary School Facility Vision Task Force, here’s the schedule: 7 p.m. Jan. 3 and 17 at district headquarters, 110 McDonald Drive.

The task force has until the end of January to forward its recommendations to the school board. The board had voted in March to create the group, at the same time the board had approved $4.6 million in cuts to the district’s budget.

The task force, which met for the first time June 21, is tasked with recommending “a community vision and plan for the school district’s elementary facilities that reflect the varied community and educational values and given the restraints of current and anticipated district resources.”

During their research and deliberations, task force members have focused both on operations and the schools themselves. A draft of what they’ve come up with so far will be up for review again Jan. 3, with wrap-up work set for Jan. 17.

— Is there something you’d like to see in First Bell? Let me know: mfagan@ljworld.com.