Two-year term on School Board not on Nov. ballot
Trustees are still uncertain how the board seat formerly held by Tom Kinoshita will be filled.
Kinoshita resigned March 15 with two years remaining in the term. After his resignation, the remaining trustees voted to fill his position by election in November, when three other seats would be up for grabs, as Board President George Panos and Trustees Del Foster and Jan Masuda said they would not seek re-election.
Six candidates have filed for the three open seats with four-year terms: Mike Davenport, Julia Hover-Smoot, Harlan Warthen, Peter Mandel, Bob Griesinger and Kathy Sullivan.
The wrinkle occurred when no one filed for the two-year term by the filing deadline. Because none of the incumbents in the four year seats filed for re-election, the deadline for filing was extended another five days. But district officials, and many community members, erroneously assumed that the filing deadline for Kinoshita’s seat would also be extended.
When the deadline for that seat came, Aug. 6, no candidates had filed.
But because the vacancy already existed, there was no incumbent so the filing period could not be extended.
And now, the seat will not be on the ballot, so there is no possibility for a write-in candidate, according to Alma Roses from the Registrar of Voters office.
Trustees now must decide what to do about the open seat. In a letter from the County Office of Education, responding to questions from Superintendent Carolyn McKennan about the district’s options, Porter Sexton wrote that until the election, there is no vacancy because trustees voted to fill the seat in the November election.
Therefore, Sexton wrote, trustees have 60 days after the election to fill the seat.
They could make an appointnent or schedule a costly special election.
During their Aug. 23 meeting, trustees discussed the possibility of appointing the fourth highest vote-getter in the election to Kinoshita’s seat.
“My recommendation would be that this board consider appointing (the runner-up),” Masuda said. “The first step is to find out if we can, and the second step is to review the previous (appointment) process.”
Trustees may be able to appoint a candidate before the November election, or they can do nothing and let the new board make the decision after they are seated in December.
“We’re not taking any action now,” Panos said in the Aug. 23 meeting. The board directed district staff to seek legal counsel to determine if the current board could mandate the appointment of the runner-up in the November election.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. She can be reached by e-mail at md****@mo*************.com or phoning (408) 779-4106 Ext. 202
