School Board Proposes to Extend Current Terms by One Year

The School Board is proposing to extend their current terms of service by one year. The move will change TUSD School Board elections from odd years to even years. As a result, the next School Board election currently slated for November 2017 will be moved to November 2018.

The stated intent of the change is to comply with Senate Bill 415 and to enhance voter participation by holding the election on a date that coincides with statewide general elections. SB 415 passed the California legislature in 2015 and requires local municipalities and School Districts to consolidate local elections with statewide elections if holding an election on a non-concurrent date has previously resulted in voter turnout for a regularly scheduled election in that political subdivision being at least 25% less than the average voter turnout within the political subdivision for the previous 4 statewide general elections.

Torrance state representative David Hadley, who recently lost his re-election bid to Al Muratsuchi, had opposed SB 415 expressing concern that consolidating city and state elections would mean fewer volunteers and higher costs for the municipal candidates. He was quoted at the time as saying, “This bill would transform the election process and governance of a number of these cities. In many of our cities, it is relatively inexpensive to run for office.”

No information is provided in the TUSD staff report indicating whether turnout for the last School Board election was 25% less than the average turnout for the previous 4 statewide general elections thereby subjecting TUSD to the election consolidation mandated by SB 415. Under SB 415, local entities not meeting the voter participation requirement also have until November 2022 to make the change.

If the measure is approved, it will extend the terms of service for Mrs. Deutsch, Mr. Steffen, and Mr. Wermers to November 2018 instead of the earlier November 2017. The terms of service for Mr. Lee and Mrs. Ragins will also be extended to November 2020 instead of November 2019.

The Board will discuss the matter at tonight’s meeting.