GOVERNOR Ralph DLG Torres on Friday signed into law Senate Bill 22-26 which requires a special election to fill a vacancy on the Board of Education.
Authored by Senate Vice President Justo S. Quitugua, S.B. 22-26 is now Public Law 22-4.
It states that “upon a vacancy on the board caused by the death, resignation, or removal of an elected member, the governor shall appoint the candidate who received the next highest number of votes in the same election and district where the former board member was elected regardless of the time remaining in the term of office. If no candidate is interested in filling the vacancy or no person is certified as a candidate during a general election, a vacancy on the Board of Education shall be filled by a special election.”
The new law requires the Commonwealth Election Commission to hold a special election within 30 days after a vacancy on the board is declared or the general election results are certified if no person is certified as a candidate during the general elections.
P.L. 22-4 also requires elected BOE members employed by the Public School System to resign from their employment upon certification that they are duly elected as a member of the board by the election commission.
As for an appointed teacher representative to the BOE, the new law states that if he or she is not able to serve the complete term, or resigns, the education commissioner shall submit the name of the second candidate in the last runoff election to the governor to appoint as the new teacher representative to complete the remaining period of the term.
Prior to the passage of the measure, Attorney General Edward Manibusan noted that “the Constitution requires that all five members shall be elected at large in a non-partisan basis.”
“To be properly seated on the board, all five members must have received the approval of the electorate in a general election. A court could determine that holding special elections to fill a vacant board seat is the alternative that mirrors the intent of the drafters of the Article XV, and not the appointment and confirmation process,” he said.
Justo S. Quitugua
