Governing Board Elections

Any person is eligible to be a Governing Board member, without further qualifications, if the person is 18 years of age or older, a citizen of California, a resident of the school district or, if applicable, the trustee area, a registered voter, and not legally disqualified from holding civil office. Code 35107) Any person who has been convicted of a felony involving the giving, accepting, or offering of a bribe, embezzlement or theft of public funds, extortion, perjury, or conspiracy to commit any such crime, under California law or the law of another state, the United States of America, or another country, is not eligible to be a candidate for office or elected as a Governing Board member except when the person has been granted a pardon in accordance with law. (Education Code 35107; Elections Code 20) A district employee elected to the Governing Board shall resign from district employment before being sworn in or shall have the employment automatically terminated upon being sworn into office. (Education Code 35107) The Governing Board encourages all candidates to become knowledgeable about the role of Governing Board members. The Superintendent or designee shall provide all candidates with information that will enable them to understand the responsibilities and expectations of being a Governing Board member, including information regarding available workshops, seminars, and/or training. The Superintendent or designee shall provide all candidates with the county election official's contact information and general information about school programs, district operations, and Governing Board responsibilities. Recalling a Governing Board Member A Governing Board member may be recalled as permitted by Elections Code 11000. Proponents of a recall are required to serve, file, and publish or post a notice of intention to circulate the recall petition and to comply with other applicable law and formalities and county elections official directives. The petition, pursuant to Elections Code 11041, is required to be in the format provided by the Secretary of State and to include an estimate of the cost of conducting the special election, as determined by the county elections official, in consultation with the district. Within 14 days after the meeting at which the Governing Board receives a certificate of sufficiency of signatures on a recall petition from the county elections official, the Governing Board shall order an election to be held to determine whether the Governing Board member named in the petition shall be recalled. The election shall be held not less than 88, nor more than 125, days after the date that the Governing Board orders the election. However, the election may be conducted within 180 days after the issuance of the Governing Board's order to consolidate the election with a regularly scheduled election. Recall elections shall be conducted in accordance with Elections Code 11381-11386. Consolidation of Elections To reduce costs associated with conducting elections, the Governing Board may consolidate Governing Board elections with the local municipal or statewide primary or general election. Governing Board election procedures shall be conducted in accordance with Elections Code 1302. In addition, if a regularly scheduled Governing Board election held other than on a statewide election date results in a decrease in local voter turnout of 25 percent or more compared to the average local turnout for the previous four statewide general elections, the Governing Board shall take action to consolidate Governing Board elections with statewide elections. (Elections Code 14051, 14052) In order to consolidate elections based on either circumstance described above, the Governing Board shall adopt a resolution and submit it to the County Board of Supervisors for approval not later than 240 days prior to the date of the currently scheduled district election. (Elections Code 10404.5) Whenever a regularly scheduled Governing Board election is changed due to consolidation of elections, the terms of office of incumbent Governing Board members shall be extended to align with the next applicable election. (Elections Code 10404.5) Elections Process and Procedures The district is divided into trustee areas and each trustee area shall be represented by a Governing Board member who resides in and is elected by voters residing within that trustee area. Trustee areas shall be balanced by population as required by state and federal law. Prior to March 1 following the year in which the results of each decennial federal census are released, the Governing Board shall adjust the boundaries of the district's trustee areas based on population figures as validated by the Population Research Unit of the Department of Finance. (Education Code 5019.5) To ensure ongoing compliance with the California Voting Rights Acts, the Governing Board may review the district's Governing Board election method to determine whether any modification is necessary due to changes in the district's population or any of its racial, color, or language minority group composition. The review shall be based on the Superintendent or designee's report to the Governing Board after the release of each decennial federal census. When the district's election method is to be changed, the Governing Board determines that a change is necessary, it shall hold public hearings in accordance with Elections Code 10100 before adopting a resolution at an open meeting specifying the change(s), and shall, in accordance with Education Code 5019, obtain approval from the county committee on school district organization having jurisdiction over the district. The election method or trustee-area boundaries in effect at the beginning of a Governing Board member's term shall be used when any vacancy that occurs during that term is to be filled, even if, during the term, the district has adopted "by-trustee area" election method or trustee area boundaries have been adjusted. Any petition for a special election ordered pursuant to Education Code 5091 shall contain the county election official's estimate of the cost of conducting the special election, expressed on a per-student basis. (Education Code 5091) Campaign Conduct All candidates, including current Governing Board members running as incumbents, shall abide by local, county, state, and federal requirements regarding campaign donations, funding, and expenditures. A Governing Board member shall not expend, and a candidate shall not accept, any public money for the purpose of seeking elective office. However, the district may establish a dedicated fund for those seeking election to the Governing Board, provided that the funds are available to all candidates who are qualified pursuant to Education Code 35107 without regard to incumbency or political preference. (Government Code 85300) In order to help protect the public's trust in the electoral process as well as the public's confidence in the Governing Board and district, the Governing Board encourages all candidates to sign and adhere to the principles in the Code of Fair Campaign Practices pursuant to Elections Code 20440. Statement of Qualifications On the 125th day prior to the day fixed for the general district election, the Governing Board secretary or their designee shall deliver a notice, bearing the secretary's signature and district seal, to the county elections official describing both of the following: (Elections Code 10509) 1. The elective offices of the district to be filled at the general election and which offices, if any, are for the balance of an unexpired term 2. Whether the district or the candidate is to pay for the publication of a statement of qualifications pursuant to Elections Code 13307 Candidates for the Governing Board may submit a candidate statement to the elections official for inclusion in the voter's pamphlet. Candidate statements shall be limited to no more than 200 words. (Elections Code 13307) When the elections official allows for the electronic distribution of candidate statements, a candidate for the Governing Board may, in addition to or instead of submitting a candidate statement for inclusion in the mailed voter's pamphlet, prepare and submit a candidate statement for electronic distribution. The district shall assume no part of the cost of printing, handling, translating, mailing, or electronically distributing candidate statements filed pursuant to Elections Code 13307. As a condition of having candidate statements included in the hard copy and/or electronic voter's pamphlet, the district may require candidates to pay their estimated pro rata share of these costs to the district in advance pursuant to Elections Code 13307. Tie Votes in Board Member Elections Whenever a tie makes it impossible to determine which of two or more candidates has been elected to the Governing Board, the Governing Board shall immediately notify the candidates who received the tie votes of the time and place where the candidates or their representatives should appear before the Governing Board. The Governing Board at that time shall determine the winner by lot. (Education Code 5016) Legal Reference: State Description CA Constitution Article 2, Section 2 Voters; qualifications CA Constitution Article 7, Section 7 Conflicting offices CA Constitution Article 7, Section 8 Disqualification from office Ed. Code 1006 Prohibition against school district employees serving on county board of education Ed. Code 35107 School district employees Ed. Code 35177 Campaign expenditures or contributions Ed. Code 35239 Compensation of governing board member of districts with less than 70 ADA Ed. Code 5000-5033 Election of school district board members Ed. Code 5091 Vacancies; petition for special election Ed. Code 5220-5231 Elections Ed. Code 5300-5304 General provisions (; conduct of elections) Ed. Code 5320-5329 Order and call of elections Ed. Code 5340-5345 Consolidation of elections Ed. Code 5360-5363 Election notice Ed. Code 5380 Compensation (of; election officer) Ed. Code 5390 Qualifications of voters Ed. Code 5420-5426 Cost of elections Ed. Code 5440-5442 Miscellaneous provisions Ed. Code 7054 Use of district property; campaign purposes Elec. Code 10010 District boundaries Elec. Code 10400-10418 Consolidation of elections Elec. Code 10509 Notice of election by secretary Elec. Code 10600-10604 School district elections Elec. Code 11000 Recall of officers Elec. Code 1302 Local elections; school district election Elec. Code 13307 Candidate's statement Elec. Code 13308 Candidate's statement contents Elec. Code 13309 Candidate's statement; indigence Elec. Code 14025-14032 California Voting Rights Act Elec. Code 14050-14057 California Voter Participation Rights Act Elec. Code 20 Public office eligibility Elec. Code 20440 Code of Fair Campaign Practices Elec. Code 2201 Grounds for cancellation Elec. Code 4000-4008 Elections conducted wholly by mail Gov. Code 1021 Conviction of crime Gov. Code 1097 Illegal participation in public contract Gov. Code 12940 Unlawful discriminatory employment practices Gov. Code 1770 Vacancy of office Gov. Code 81000-91014 Political Reform Act of 1974 Pen. Code 424 Embezzlement and falsification of accounts by public officers Pen. Code 661 Removal for neglect or violation of official duty Pen. Code 68 Bribes Pen. Code 74 Acceptance of gratuity Federal Description 52 USC 10301-10508 Voting Rights Act Management Resources Description Attorney General Opinion 105 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 182 (2022) Attorney General Opinion 69 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 290 (1986) Attorney General Opinion 81 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 98 (1998) Attorney General Opinion 83 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 181 (2000) Attorney General Opinion 85 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 49 (2002) CSBA Publication Legal Alert on the Impact of Senate Bill No. 415 on School Board Elections, January 2017 Court Decision Dusch v. Davis (1967) 387 U.S. 112 Court Decision Randall v. Sorrell (2006) 126 S.Ct. 2479 Court Decision Rey v. Madera Unified School District (2012) 203 Cal. App. 4th 1223 Court Decision Sanchez v. City of Modesto (2006) 145 Cal. App. 4th 660 Website CSBA District and County Office of Education Legal Services Website Institute for Local Government Website Fair Political Practices Commission Website California Secretary of State's Office Website CSBA