CJUSD Board Elections Not To Be Delayed

Colton school board rescinds vote to change election years
Michael J. Sorba, Staff Writer
Posted: 08/26/2009 05:10:08 PM PDT

COLTON - The Colton Joint Unified School District Board of Education has rescinded a vote it made in June to move district school board elections from even to odd-numbered years.

The decision means the next school board election will take place when it was scheduled in November 2010 instead of moving to November 2011.

"After we got the new figures from the county, it was a no-brainer for us to not spend more money to do the same thing," said board member Mel Albiso.

The decision to rescind the vote came after the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters office sent a letter to the district that provided an estimate of how much it would cost to move the election from 2010 to 2011.

A 2010 election would cost about $51,000. A 2011 election would cost around $155,000, the letter stated. Registrar of Voters Kari Verjil sent similar letters to the Rialto Unified School

District and San Bernardino County Board of Education, which were also considering election-year swaps.

"I wanted the districts to be informed that there would likely not be a savings by switching to the odd year," Verjil said.

Odd-year elections are more expensive because of fewer jurisdictions to share costs to hire poll workers and set up polling places. Districts would also be required to mail out costly change of election notices, Verjil has said.

Albiso said he wasn't aware delaying the election one year would add to its cost. The district is
planning to cut about $12.5 million from its 2010-11 operating budget due to education cuts at the state level, said district spokeswoman Katie Orloff.

Albiso reasoned moving the election to November 2011 would defer its cost to the 2011-12 fiscal year, a time when the district won't be burdened with such a drastic budget setback. "The point was to delay an expenditure to save money for a while, not to triple an expenditure," Albiso said.

On June 25, Albiso and board members Marge Mendoza-Ware, Frank Ibarra and David Zamora voted to switch elections to odd-numbered years, while board members Robert Armenta Jr. and Patricia Haro voted against the change. Board member Kent Taylor was absent from the vote.
On Aug. 20 the board voted unanimously to rescind the original vote and conduct the election in Nov. 2010.

"From the very beginning, common sense is that it would have been a significant increase," Armenta said. "I was pleased when the Registrar of Voters released those figures, not only for our district, but for other districts that were considering the change."

Albiso sounds like Whimpy in Popyee, I'll have a hamburger today and pay you tomarrow... and then the next day he does the same thing. Or was there a political reason to delay the election... say perhaps the Naming of a High School, or increased problems within the CJUSD? The citizens should not be delayed in their voting for School Board Members or Council Members and that is that. Thank you Mr. Armenta and the Registar of Voters to putting a hault to this folly.