Method of Electing Trustees of the Capistrano Unified School District (June 2010)
From Ballotpedia
A ballot proposition about the Method of Electing Trustees of the San Juan Capistrano School District will be on the June 8, 2010 ballot in Orange County for voters in the Capistrano Unified School District.[1]
If the ballot measure is approved, the way that the seven trustees of the school board are elected will change. Currently, each trustee must come from one of the seven districts, but is voted on at-large. This proposal will change that so that only the voters who live in a specific district can vote on the candidates from that district.
The Orange County Committee on School District Organization voted 8-1 on September 30, 2009 to put the measure on the June 2010 ballot.[1]
There are about 220,000 registered voters in the Capistrano Unified School District. It will cost the school district about $403,000 to $496,000 to hold the election on June 8, 2010.[1]
Supporters of change
Those who support the change are largely drawn from the ranks of district residents who are critics of the district's "reform" movement.
In the wake of the 2008 recall of trustees Sheila Benecke and Marlene Draper, most of the board's 7 trustees are part of the reform movement.[1]
The primary reason given for supporting the change is the high cost of running an at-large campaign under the current system. Judi Heidel of San Clemente said, "We want to elect board members that may not be able to afford the astronomical cost of running a campaign … and choose to run for this board out of truly altruistic motives."
Erin Kutnick of San Juan Capistrano, a leader of the movement for changing the method of election, said, "The reason we are proposing a by-trustee (election method) is because our district is so large. If our district had 10,000 students, we wouldn't be proposing this. By breaking it down, (the voters) can get a chance to know (the candidates)."
Lawsuit to delay election
The Capistrano Unified school board has retained Phillip Greer, an attorney who specializes in election law, to try to postpone the election from June 2010 to November 2010. The election will cost about $480,000 less if held in November than in June, according to the board.[2]
The school board voted to spend up to $25,000 in legal fees to try to delay the election. Greer, the attorney they have retained, charges $350/hour.[3]
Eric Kutnick, who led the effort to collect the signatures to put the measure on the ballot, responded to this turn of events, saying, "This new attempt to fight the will of your constituents through expensive legal action demonstrates that you are not acting in the best interests of the people. In fact, you are actually working against them."[3]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Orange County Register, "Capistrano trustees lose bid to delay costly vote on election rules", September 30, 2009
- ↑ Orange County Register, "Capistrano district hires attorney to delay election date", October 27, 2009
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Orange County Register, "Capo trustees to spend $25,000 to fight election date", November 10, 2009
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