ELLSWORTH — Last month, voters in 12 communities approved joining a consolidated school district. Now they’ll have to find someone to run it.

Out of a slew of potential candidates involved in RSU planning, just 14 are running for the Regional School Unit 24 Board.

Races are contested in only three towns — Franklin, Sorrento and Waltham. Open seats in Hancock, Lamoine and one of three in Ellsworth have no candidates.

Two candidates submitted nomination papers in Ellsworth, where there are three seats available.

“This is a compressed process,” Union 92 Superintendent Omar Norton said. “There wasn’t much time to get word out anywhere.”

Nomination papers were available at town offices Dec. 17 and were due Jan. 5. This allowed interested citizens just over two weeks to gather signatures and declare their candidacy.

Norton said that despite the lack of candidates for some positions, he has “no doubt that people will band together and have a representative.”

RSU 24 includes the communities of Ellsworth, Union 96 (Franklin, Gouldsboro, Sorrento, Steuben, Sullivan and Winter Harbor) and the Union 92 towns of Eastbrook, Hancock, Lamoine, Mariaville and Waltham.

A 14-member board will govern the RSU. Each community, except for Ellsworth, will be represented by a single board member.

Elections will be held Feb. 12. Most of the candidates are familiar faces.

In Ellsworth, Leigh Guildford is running for a three-year term and Richard Gray is running for a two-year seat. Both are sitting Ellsworth School Committee members. Gray is chairman of the School Committee and of the interim RSU board. There are no candidates for a one-year term in Ellsworth.

In Eastbrook, School Board member Julie Curtis is running unopposed.

School Board member Jenna Shorey and Nancy Glista are running in Franklin.

School Board member Annie Perry is running on the Gouldsboro ballot.

In Mariaville, Randy Bragg is the only candidate.

In Sorrento, School Board members Dori Comer and Janet Wilpan are running.

In Steuben, School Board member Geoff Zentz has declared his candidacy.

Sullivan School Board member Michael Pinkham is on his town’s ballot.

School Board members James Buteau and Charlotte Jordan will vie for Waltham’s seat.

Winter Harbor School Board member Jeff Alley is also running.

Harvey Kelly, assistant to the interim RSU secretary, must confirm that each candidate collected the required 25 to 50 signatures. He will then prepare ballots and deliver them to each town office.

The open seats in Hancock, Lamoine and Ellsworth could be filled with write-in candidates.

Some municipalities may require that candidates declare their willingness to serve in a letter prior to the election, according to Union 96 Superintendent Bill Webster.

If write-in candidates do not fill the positions, the task will be left to municipal officials.

Under the consolidation law, municipal officers can name an interim director until the next election. The RSU board must first meet and then alert town offices of any vacancies.

“As to why some people don’t run, I can only speculate that it might have been that while some people are willing to serve, they didn’t want to take the time to gather 25 signatures, which is more than what many towns typically require,” Webster said.

He said some of those interested might run as write-in candidates.

Board members will serve in staggered one-, two- and three-year terms as required by law. Representatives from each community drew lots at a Dec. 15 meeting to determine term lengths.

With more than 13 years on the Ellsworth School Committee and countless hours invested in RSU planning, Richard Gray said the next logical step seemed to be running for the RSU board.

He said he was surprised that more RSU planners did not run. He said he thinks the board needs experienced members, who will keep the focus on education throughout a complicated process.

“It’s going to be a lot of work,” Gray said. “I can understand how that might scare people off.”