Vallecitos School District calls for applicants to fill Forester's seat

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

The Vallecitos School District approved the application process to fill the board seat which had been held by Sally Forester.

A 3-0 board vote Sept. 14 approved the provisional appointment process including the application form. Applications are due by Oct. 1. A separate 3-0 vote Sept. 14 changed the date of the October meeting from Oct. 12 to Oct. 4, and the board is expected to make a decision on the provisional appointment that day.

Forester announced her resignation at the end of the Aug. 10 board meeting. She moved out of the district, which makes her ineligible to serve on the board, and her resignation became effective Aug. 11.

In June 2019, the Vallecitos board transitioned trustee elections from at large to by trustee area. The board members were allowed to keep their at-large seats until the expiration of their terms. Forester's seat is for a term ending in December 2022, so applicants for the provisional appointment must live in the Vallecitos School District but are not required to live in a specific trustee area. If that provisional appointee seeks a full term in the November 2022 election, he or she must live in the trustee area for that seat.

"That created a 60-day timeframe," said Vallecitos School District business manager Linda Miller.

Section 5091 of the California Education Code stipulates that if the vacancy is not filled within 60 days, the County Office of Education superintendent shall call an election to be held within 130 days after the election is ordered, so the seat must be filled by Oct. 10 unless the school district requests a waiver of that deadline. A special meeting can be called to approve the provisional appointment.

The board opted to move its regular meeting rather than to hold a special meeting within the 60-day period and then hold a regular meeting the following week. The board members will have the opportunity to discuss a candidate's application at the Oct. 4 meeting.

The Vallecitos School District currently has two board vacancies. No candidate filed for the Area 5 seat prior to the deadline for the November 2020 election. The school district sought applicants for the Area 5 seat, and Maria Ortiz applied for the vacancy. She was chosen to fill the seat during the October 2020 school board meeting but moved out of Rainbow and submitted her resignation in December 2020. The Seat 5 trustee area is the western part of the district, and an applicant must be a registered voter in that trustee area. Because the term of the seat is from December 2020 to December 2024, the seat will be subject to election for a two-year term in November 2022 although the appointed incumbent may file for that two-year term if he or she desires. The January 2021 board meeting approved the process for the appointment for that seat, although no applications were received.

The waiver is intended for situations such as a lack of applicants rather than for a deadlock in which no applicant receives the necessary board majority to be appointed. Calling an election when no residents previously applied could also create the possibility of no candidates filing for that election. The board's 4-0 vote Feb. 9 authorized the submission of a waiver request to the State Board of Education which will allow the school district to fill that vacant seat by appointment rather than by an election.

The provisional appointment application form for both seats is on the district's website, vallecitossd.net, and interested citizens may also pick up an application form at the school district office or request that a form be sent by United States Postal Service mail. The applicant has the option of submitting the application by U.S. Mail, by fax, by electronic mail, or by hand delivery to the school district.