Persons who plan to run for a position on either the District 65 or District 202 school board must file their nomination paperwork between Dec. 15 and 22. Candidates are required, among other things, to submit a petition signed by at least 50 registered voters residing within the district. Some experts suggest gathering many more signatures than the number needed in case the petitions are challenged.

School Board candidates will no longer file nomination papers with the School Board Secretary, but with the Cook County Clerk’s office. The Clerk will accept filings at its office at 69 W. Washington St., Chicago. Additional locations will be posted on the Clerk’s website in late November.

There are three seats on each School Board, which will be filled by either an incumbent or a person new to the Board. On the District 65 Board, the terms of Katie Bailey, Omar Brown and Richard Rykhus are expiring. On the District 202 Board, the terms of Johathan Baum, Mark Metz and Scott Rochelle are expiring.

The elections are scheduled for April 7, 2015.

For more information on the requirements and for sample forms, the Cook County Clerk’s office suggests that candidates review the 2015 Candidate’s Guide available on the Cook County Clerk’s website, www.cookcountyclerk.com, or the State Board of Elections’ website, www.elections.il.gov.

The Evanston Community Foundation’s Leadership Evanston program presents the Public Service Challenge (PSC), a non-partisan one day workshop created to provide practical information on campaigning and holding office in Evanston. The workshop takes place Dec. 6 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Joseph E. Hill Education Center, 1500 McDaniel Ave. The workshop fee is $30 and includes lunch. Some scholarships are available.

Other civic organizations partnering in the PSC include ETHS Parents Engaged, Evanston/Skokie PTA Council, League of Women Voters Evanston, Latino Resources, and the Evanston Chamber of Commerce.

The PSC brings together a variety of experts and leaders to share their knowledge on the local election process and topics such as nominating petitions, organizing campaign committees, legal requirements for public office, fund-raising, election laws, school district budgets and the relationship between elected officials and administrative leadership.