Trustees will discuss cannabis retail in the city at the next board meeting
PASO ROBLES — Board Trustees rejected a bid on the surplus 25-yard swimming pool at the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District on Tuesday, Oct. 25.
The pool, posted for sale on GovDeals.com, received an offer for $25,000. It was placed up for auction after the district changed its plans for the Aquatics Complex to install a different pool. Instead of accepting the current offer, the district will be negotiating with a previous bidder, who is still in California.
Trustees additionally directed staff to reach out again to the community for a local purchaser of the pool. The motion passed unanimously with a 7-0 vote.
A PRJUSD meeting date in December was changed from Tuesday, Dec. 13, to Tuesday, Dec. 6. The change is to comply with Assembly Bill 2449 (2018), which requires newly elected school district and county Board of Education members to meet on the second Friday in December following their election.
Trustee Dorian Baker requested an item be placed on the agenda as a resolution opposing the retail storefront sales of cannabis in the City of Paso Robles. A first reading will be on the Nov. 8 board meeting agenda.
The motion to add the agenda item passed with a 5-0 vote; Lance Gannon and Nathan Williams voted no.
Additionally, trustee Frank Triggs requested to research why the election ballot did not list the Trustee Area 2 candidate Joel Peterson and allow a write-in candidate. Peterson is running unopposed for the District 2 seat.
According to Triggs, two people came forward saying they attempted to file with the San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder as a write-in candidate. Triggs stated that the election law states the candidates had until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 25, to file, but according to the Clerk Recorder Elaina Cano, their agreement with the district is if only one candidate is filed, their name is not placed on the ballot and the single candidate will be appointed to the seat.
Paso Robles Press reached out to Cano for clarification on the situation.
Cano clarified that yes, contests had until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 25, to file as a write-in candidate; however, that’s only if there were more candidates that there were seats (Vote for 1 but there was more than one candidate).
She explained that PRJUSD, Trustee Area 1, 4, and the Partial Term At-Large position are all on the ballot and could have had write-in candidates for those contests, but because Trustee Area 2, only had one seat and one candidate, the contest is not on the ballot, pursuant to Education Code 5326 and 5328.
Education Code 5326:
If, by 5 p.m. on the 83rd day prior to the day fixed for the governing board member election, only one person has been nominated for any elective office to be filled at that election, or no one has been nominated for the office, or in the case of members to be elected from the district at large, the number of candidates for governing board member at large does not exceed the number of offices to be filled at that election, or in the case of members to be nominated by trustee area and elected at large, the number of candidates do not exceed the number required to be elected governing board member at large nominated by that trustee area, or in the case of members to be elected at large in accordance with Sections 5030.5 , 5030.6, and 5030.7, no more than one person has been nominated for each membership position, and a petition signed by 10 percent of the voters or 50 voters, whichever is the smaller number, in the district or trustee area, if elected by trustee area, requesting that a school district election be held for the offices has not been presented to the officer conducting the election, appointment will be made as prescribed by Section 5328.
The provisions of this section and Section 5328 shall also apply to elections for membership on a county board of education.
(Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 48, Sec. 2. Effective May 15, 1996.)
Education Code 5328:
If pursuant to Section 5326 a district election is not held, the qualified person or persons nominated shall be seated at the organizational meeting of the board, or if no person has been nominated or if an insufficient number is nominated, the governing board shall appoint a qualified person or persons, as the case may be, at a meeting prior to the day fixed for the election, and such appointee or appointees shall be seated at the organizational meeting of the board as if elected at a district election.
(Amended by Stats. 1978, Ch. 22.)
There was only one candidate for one seat, therefore that candidate gets appointed pursuant to Ed. Code 5328.
So, according to Cano, Peterson will be appointed to the Trustee Area 2 seat following the election, and there will be no names or write-in options for the PRJUSD Trustee Area 2 seat on the ballots.
The next PRJUSD meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 8, at 6 p.m.
