…You cancel it, of course. And that’s just what metro Denver’s Cherry Creek School District as well as Littleton Public Schools have done. So has tiny Peetz Plateau School District RE-5, near the Nebraska border in Logan County. Reports The Villager newspaper, which covers the southern reaches of the metro area:

The boards of education for both Cherry Creek Schools and Littleton Public Schools voted last week to cancel their November ballots and declare the candidates – mostly incumbents – as winners by acclamation, saving more than $100,000 in taxpayer money.

Colorado law only allows such action when the number of candidates is equal to the number of available positions.

And in Peetz (population 227), there are actually fewer candidates than openings, reports the Sterling Journal-Advocate:

… only two candidates turned in nomination petitions for two of the three open seats.

Board President Brad Segelke will keep his seat on the board for another four years and Greg Nienhuser, who was appointed to the board earlier this year, will retain his seat for a four-year term.

With no nomination petitions turned in for the seat held by Jeff Long, the district is now seeking letters of interest from individuals who would like to fill the seat for a two-year term starting in November.

Kudos to those boards for their cost-consciousness, but you have to wonder why there’s not enough interest in those districts to stir at least some competition. Granted, there’s going to be a limited pool of prospective candidates for any public office in a community as small as Peetz. Well, what about the sprawling, suburban Cherry Creek and Littleton districts – among the state’s largest? No takers?