Trustees weigh 'off' and 'on' year elections Trustees weigh 'off' and 'on' year elections (December 17, 2004)

Board grapples with cost cutting vs. ballot limelight
by Teresa C. Brown

The school board trustees struggled Tuesday with their opinions about the district's board election schedule, as they discussed the advantages of being the solo focus in an election vs. the price tag of paying for it.

"The last election cost about $120,000," Superintendent John Casey told the Pleasanton Unified School District trustees. He explained that currently the school district holds elections for trustee seats on "off" years, years that do not coincide with other local, state or national elections.

If PUSD moved its schedule to "on" years, that cost would be shared, Casey said, explaining that if there were two other elections being held at the same time, such as at a national and city level, the cost of the election could be reduced by about one-third.

Using last year's school district election as an example, the district was billed for expenses that included sample ballots in multiple languages and supplies for both absentee and non-absentee voters, which added more than $56,000 to the overall cost.

In that election, Juanita Haugen, Kris Weaver and Steve Pulido were voted to trustee seats. During that election campaign, few of the candidates supported moving it.

If that 2003 cost were shared three ways, Casey said, it could be reduced from $119,996 to about $35,358. Splitting the cost with one other election would bring the expense down to about $53,037.

One of the concerns about changing the schedule to "on" years was the term of service for the trustees. Terms for trustees Pat Kernan and Gloria Fredette are currently set to expire in November 2005. However, those terms would be extended to 2006, Casey said. Likewise, the three remaining board trustees' terms would be extended from 2007 to 2008, he added.

"From a financial standpoint, it's a no-brainer," Weaver said, "But I would have to say that I'm more torn on this issue than anything I have faced since I've been on the board."

Weaver acknowledged that saving money was appealing, but she was also concerned with automatically extending the trustees' terms without public input.

In spite of the low voter turnout, being the only focus on the ballot was also an advantage, Weaver said.

Pulido echoed Weaver's position about having the spotlight on the ballot, but added, "I'm in a conflicted state. There's a lot we can do with that money."

Fredette viewed low turnout differently. Despite education being listed as a top concern in Pleasanton, historically, voter turnout is low, she said. "Democracy works the best when citizens participate," Fredette said. "I think it's a common sense solution."

Haugen told the board that she had held an informal poll at four different recent meetings. "They were really surprised that we had it in an off year," she said. She explained that one group had changed from an off- to an on-year schedule about 10 years ago and reported to her that they did not see a difference in voter turnout. She also reminded the trustees if anyone did not want to extend their commitment by another year, there was a resignation provision available to them.

Kernan agreed with the advantages, citing the money savings and "enhancing voter turnout." He also felt it was important that the board keep the trustees on a staggered election schedule.

Both Kernan and Pulido agreed with Weaver that community input was needed before a decision could be reached.

Background information about the election year change is available in the meeting agenda packet on the district's Web site (www.pleasanton.k12.ca.us).

In other board action, the trustees elected Haugen as board president, replacing Fredette, and named Pulido as clerk. Haugen held the clerk position under Fredette. The president and the clerk positions are yearlong terms.

The next board meeting will be held Jan. 11.

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