San Francisco Unified School District and County Office of Education
Board Rule and Procedure 9223
Filling Vacancies
This Rule and Procedure applies to the San Francisco Unified School District and the County Office of Education.
Vacancies on the Board of Education shall be filled by the Mayor of the City of San Francisco pursuant to the provisions of the San Francisco City Charter. (San Francisco City Charter sections 13.101.5; 14.103, 15.105)
Events Causing a Vacancy
A vacancy on the Board of Education may occur for any of the following events:
- The death of an incumbent. (Government Code 1770)
- The adjudication pursuant to a quo warranto proceeding declaring that an incumbent is physically or mentally incapacitated due to disease, illness, or accident and that there is reasonable cause to believe that the incumbent will not be able to perform the duties of his/her office for the remainder of his/her term. (Government Code 1770)
- A Board member’s resignation. (Government Code 1770)
A vacancy resulting from resignation occurs when the written resignation is filed with the County Superintendent of Schools having jurisdiction over the district, except where a deferred effective date is specified in the resignation so filed, in which case the resignation shall become operative on that date. A Board member may not defer the effective date of his/her resignation for more than 60 days after he/she files the resignation with the County Superintendent. (Education Code 5090, 5091)
Upon being filed with the County Superintendent, a written resignation, whether specifying a deferred effective date or otherwise, shall be irrevocable. (Education Code 5090)
- A Board member’s removal from office, including recall. (Elections Code 11384; Government Code 1770)
- A Board member’s ceasing to be a resident of the district. (Government Code 1770)
- A Board member’s absence from the state beyond the period allowed by law without the permission required by law. (Government Code 1770)No Board member shall be absent from the state for more than 60 days, except in any of the following situations: (Government Code 1064)
- Upon business of the school district with the approval of the Board
- With the consent of the Board for an additional period not to exceed a total absence of 90 days
- For federal military deployment not to exceed six months as a member of the armed forces of the United States or the California National Guard
If the absence of the Board member for this purpose exceeds six months, the Board may approve an additional six-month absence upon a showing that there is a reasonable expectation that the member will return within the second six-month period, and the Board may appoint an interim member to serve in his/her absence. If two or more members of the Board are absent by reason of these circumstances, and those absences result in the inability to establish a quorum at a regular meeting, the Board may immediately appoint one or more interim members as necessary to enable the Board to conduct business and discharge its responsibilities.
- In the case of illness or other urgent necessity, and upon a proper showing thereof, the time limited for absence from the state may be extended by the Board for an additional period not to exceed 30 days.
(cf. 9250 – Remuneration, Reimbursement and Other Benefits)
- A Board member’s ceasing to discharge the duties of his/her office for the period of three consecutive months, except when prevented by sickness or when absent from the state with the permission required by law. (Government Code 1770)
- A Board member’s conviction of a felony or any offense involving a violation of his/her official duties or conviction of a designated crime resulting in a forfeiture of office. (Government Code 1770, 3000-3003)
- A Board member’s refusal or neglect to file his/her required oath or bond within the time prescribed. (Government Code 1770)
(cf. 9224 – Oath or Affirmation)
- The decision of a competent tribunal declaring void a Board member’s election or appointment. (Government Code 1770)
- The making of an order vacating a Board member’s office or declaring the office vacant when the officer fails to furnish an additional or supplemental bond. (Government Code 1770)
- A Board member’s commitment to a hospital or sanitarium as a drug addict, dipsomaniac, inebriate, or stimulant addict by a court of competent jurisdiction, in which case the office shall not be deemed vacant until the order of commitment has become final. (Government Code 1770)
- A failure to elect when either no candidate or an insufficient number of candidates have filed to run for a Board seat(s). (Education Code 5090, 5326, 5328)
Legal Reference:
SAN FRANCISCO CITY CHARTER
8.100 Unified School District
13.100 City and County Elections
13.101 Terms of Elective Office
13.101.5 Vacancies
14.103 Recall
15.105 Suspension and Removal
EDUCATION CODE
5000-5033 Elections
5090-5095 Vacancies
5200-5208 Districts governed by boards of education
5300-5304 Elections
5320-5329 Order and call of election
5340-5345 Consolidation of elections
5360-5363 Election notice
5420-5426 Cost of elections
5440-5442 Miscellaneous provisions, elections
35107 Eligibility of board members
35178 Resignation with deferred effective date
ELECTIONS CODE
10600-10604 School district elections
11381-11386 Candidates for recall
GOVERNMENT CODE
1064 Absence from state
1770 Vacancies: definition
3000-3002 Forfeiture of office
3060-3075 Removal other than by impeachment
6061 One time notice
54950-54963 The Ralph M. Brown Act
PENAL CODE
88 Bribery, forfeiture from office
UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 18
704 Military medals or decorations
ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINIONS
58 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 888 (1975)
Management Resources:
CSBA PUBLICATIONS
Filling a Board Vacancy, rev. January 2008
WEB SITES
CSBA: http://www.csba.org
California State Attorney General’s Office, Quo Warranto Applications: http://caag.state.ca.us/opinions/quo.htm
Please note that compare references, or “cf”, refer to CSBA model policies and do not necessarily indicate that the San Francisco Unified School District has adopted the referenced policy.