LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lake County superintendent of schools has called for a special June election to fill a Middletown Unified School District Board vacancy after a petition successfully challenged a longtime educator’s provisional appointment to the seat.
Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg said Monday that the Lake County Office of Education has determined that enough valid signatures were submitted by the registered voters of the Middletown Unified School District to require a special election to fill a board seat and to terminate the provisional appointment of Annette Lee.
Lee confirmed to Lake County News that Middletown Unified Superintendent Tim Gill called her Monday morning to tell her the petition had been successful and she was removed from the board.
Lee is the former executive dean of Woodland Community College’s Lake County Campus, a chief business official and holds a doctorate in educational administration. She graduated from district schools and her two children have attended school there as well.
She and Allison Berlogar were appointed to the board on Dec. 1 after the resignation of board members LaTrease Walker, who specifically cited her opposition to COVID-19 mandates, and Thad Owens, who did not give a reason for resigning. The terms for Walker’s and Owens’ seats expire in November, when they are due to go back on the ballot.
Lee was appointed to fill Walker’s seat and Berlogar Owens’ seat.
During the board’s Dec. 15 meeting, Lee had suggested alternative language to a proposed resolution against the state’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates for students and staff because she said she wanted it to be more inclusive of different points of view.
The resolution was held over until the board’s Jan. 18 meeting, during which it was approved in a 3-2 vote, with Larry Allen and Lee voting against it. Allen said at that time that the resolution would not change anything and that such mandates ultimately are not up to the district.
Lee’s proposed changes to that resolution appeared to have led to the challenge to her appointment.
She said no community members have come directly to her to raise any concerns about her appointment.
Under state Education Code, provisional appointments may be challenged with a sufficient number of signatures being submitted to the county superintendent of schools within 30 days of the date of the provisional appointment.
The petition was submitted to the Office of Education on Dec. 30. Proponents listed on the petition are Cobb resident LaTrease Walker, whose seat Lee was appointed to fill, and Hidden Valley Lake residents Austin Pullman and Charles Green.
The Lake County Registrar of Voters Office assisted the Office of Education in validating the signatures.
A requirement of 1.5% of the 6,129 voters registered in the district’s last election was necessary to trigger the special election. That means that 92 valid signatures were required for the petition to be successful.
With the petition being ruled successful, on Monday Falkenberg called a special election to be held on June 7, the same date as the statewide primary.
That means that Middletown Unified’s board will have a vacancy for nearly five months.
The original estimate for the special election to fill the seat was $50,000.
Registrar of Voters Maria Valadez said she derived that estimate based on the costs another school district incurred a few years ago in a special election. She said consolidating the special election with the primary could reduce the costs to Middletown Unified by a half or a third.
On Monday, Falkenberg submitted a packet to the Lake County Board of Supervisors that included his resolution calling the special election on June 7 and requesting the Registrar of Voters Office furnish all election services necessary for the election.
Falkenberg’s resolution estimates that conducting the special election on the date of the primary could save Middletown Unified up to $25,000.
“I will use the full authority of my office to reduce the cost of the special election for the Middletown Unified School District. Any savings can then be used in the classroom to serve our students,” Falkenberg said in a written statement issued by his office.
Valadez said that Falkenberg’s request to her office must be approved by the Board of Supervisors. It’s expected the board will take up that request in the next few weeks.
She said the filing period for candidates for Middletown Unified’s seat would be the same as for other offices coming up for election in June.
Declaration of candidacy forms would need to be filed with Valadez’s office between Feb. 14 and March 11, according to the resolution.
If there are no qualified candidates, filling the seat would again be up to the Middletown Unified board, the resolution explains.
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County schools superintendent calls special election to fill Middletown Unified board seat
- Elizabeth Larson
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