The Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Education has begun accepting applications for a vacant seat on the seven-member body. The successful applicant will be provisionally appointed by the existing board members after the application deadline of Aug. 20 has passed, in a public meeting where all eligible applicants will be interviewed by the trustees.
The vacancy is for the Trustee Area 3 seat on the board. Trustee Terri Eves Kndsen, who was elected to the MHUSD TA 3 seat in 2022, announced her resignation earlier this month.
At a July 9 special meeting, the MHUSD board voted 5-2 to make a provisional appointment to replace Knudsen, instead of opting for a special election for a new trustee to serve the remainder of Knudsen’s term.
Those interested in applying to serve on the TA 3 seat can pick up applications at the MHUSD office or fill them out online at the district’s website, mhusd.org. The district office is located at 15600 Concord Circle, Morgan Hill.
Applications are due by 5pm Aug. 20, according to district staff. On Aug. 27, the MHUSD board will interview all eligible candidates in a public session and consider appointing a provisional applicant from among those interviewed.
To be eligible to serve on the TA 3 seat, applicants must be a resident of the trustee area; age 18 or older; a citizen of the state of California; a registered voter; not an employee of MHUSD; and not otherwise disqualified from holding public office, district staff said.
To find out what trustee area you live in, visit the district’s website at mhusd.org.
If the board appoints a new trustee from among the applicants, that appointee will serve provisionally for 30 days. Within 30 days of the appointment, voters in Trustee Area 3 have the right to petition for a special election, district staff said at the July 9 meeting. If that petition is successful, the board’s appointment would be struck down and a special election (March 2025) for the seat would take place instead.
If there is no such viable petition, the appointee will serve the remainder of Knudsen’s term. Whether the new trustee is appointed or selected by the voters, they would face reelection in the November 2026 general election.
I am confident that the current MHUSD Trustees will select the best applicant for the position. They prudently called for an election to conserve the District’s limited education funds. At the last Board meeting the District reported that the SCC Registrar of Voters quoted the price for a Special Election at between $500,000 to $2 million dollars. And the election costs would come out of the general fund, which is overwhelmingly used to pay teachers and other personnel salaries. The District is facing a budget crisis due to lagging state revenue which funds the schools and the skyrocketing cost of everything. It seems crazy that anyone would want to force the District to pay possibly up to $2 million dollars for a forced special election.