Board votes to move next election to match up with nearest Statewide election
The Twin Rivers Unified School District (TRUSD) elections were originally set up on a cycle that would have required the district to hold a special election each time the community voted on the trustees, costing the district hundreds of thousands in extra election fees. The first election facing the district was scheduled for November 2011.
Interested in preserving precious resources, the board asked for a fiscal, legal, and operational analysis of their election options. On March 11, 2010, the board reviewed four possible options.
One option would have been to have the election a year earlier, in November 2010. Unfortunately, this option wouldn’t have been legal under California Elections Code and would have opened the district up for potential litigation and wasted legal costs.
Another option would have been to have the election as scheduled in November 2011. This would have meant an additional (approximately) $400,000 in elections costs. A third option for an election in November 2012 was legal and would have saved the $400,000, but would have pushed the election later by a full year.
After hearing from about a dozen community members on the topic, the majority of which advocated for a later election, the board made their decision.
Trustees voted to consolidate the elections currently scheduled for a special election in November 2011 to a general election in June 2012. The move will save nearly $400,000 in general funds. It also creates an ongoing June election cycle that better aligns with the school and fiscal calendar and provides a natural transition period for newly elected board members.
Jean-Paul Prentice, volunteer community member of the district’s budget advisory committee, spoke at the meeting, saying, “There is one measure and one measure only, for the performance and decisions of this board. And that is, does it benefit the children of the Twin Rivers Unified School District?” Prentice advocated for the June 2012 election date to save the almost $400,000 while avoiding potential litigation.
Board President Michelle Rivas urges members of the Twin Rivers community to get involved before 2012. “There are so many options for getting involved at a school site or providing your opinion to our district through an advisory group or at a board meeting,” said Rivas. “You don’t have to wait until the next election to tell us how we’re doing and what we can do better. We are always open to suggestions from our community.”
The proposal to create TRUSD was approved in November 2007 and the trustees took control of area schools in July 2008. TRUSD serves 27,000 students in 54 schools in Northern Sacramento.