1. June 7, 2017 School Board Election Changes: Impact on special elections, board training and other critical leadership timelines (and a bit about vacancies) Margaret Buckton

2. Agenda HF 566 School Election Legislation Details
Considerations for Special Elections
Domino Timelines due to November election date
Filling Vacancies
Guidelines and Resources for election responsibilities
Questions

3. HF 566 School and City Elections Combined

4. Current Law Election Dates
Odd Years
Even Years
2017
First Tues in Feb
2018
First Tues Feb
First Tues in April
Last Tues in June
Second Tues in Sept
Second Tues in Sept***
First Tues in Dec
2019
***Regular School Board Election

5. Signed 5/11/17
School Elections HF 566

6. Signed 5/11/17
School Elections HF 566
School Board Elections will coincide with city elections (regular elections for school board members and city council members AND special election dates also now align.)
Nonpartisan election (not with the president or state/federal legislative elections which occur in the even-number year)
Prohibits a special city or school election from coinciding with the general election.
Sets the county auditor of the political subdivision with the greatest valuation as the control county auditor. They will collect all nomination papers and public measures and communicate to other county auditors who are required to cooperate with the control county auditor.

7. School Elections HF 566
Ballot order of offices/candidates and ballot initiatives:
County
City
School district
Community college
Any other political subdivision
Allows a person to be on the ballot as a candidate for a city office and a school board office at the same election.

8. School Elections HF 566
Changes timelines for nomination papers for school board candidates: must be filed with the secretary of the school board not more than 71 days prior not less than 47 days before the election.
Still due by 5:00 PM on the last day for filing.
School secretary office must remain open until 5:00 PM on that final date for filing papers.
Requires objections to nominations from any person with the right to vote for a candidate at least 42 days before the election date (and filed with the secretary of the school board.)

9. AEA Elections HF 566
AEA administrator to publish notice of the election not later than Sept of the odd-numbered year.
Candidate for AEA board must file candidacy with the AEA secretary by Oct. 15 of the odd numbered year.
Mail deadline of Nov. 1 to school board presidents
Ballots must be received at the AEA secretaries office by Nov. 30 to be counted (or postmarked by Nov. 29 and received by the secretary not later than noon on the first Monday following Nov. 30)
AEA organizational meeting is the first regular meeting in December following the school election.
AEA may change the number of directors and corresponding boundaries, completed not later than Sept. 1 of the odd-numbered year.

10. Transitional Provisions
Term of individual elected on Sept. 8, 2015 shall expire Nov. 5, 2019
Term of individual elected on Sept. 12, 2017 shall expire Nov. 2, 2021
AEA terms extended to Nov. 30, 2019 and Nov. 30, 2021.

11. Signed 5/11/17
School Elections HF 566
Costs for the election to schools may actually increase, based on the number of ballots and polling places.
May impact special elections if school districts don’t want to run levies on the November ballot.
May lower the impact of write-in candidates and raise the petition signature threshold for taking an ISL to the voters.
According to the Secretary of State’s Office, in the last four school elections, the voter turnout average was 6.5%. The average voter turnout for city elections in that same time frame was 21.3%.

12. Board Leadership Timelines
Organizational Meeting:
October 2018 Organizational meeting will likely elect a president until the December 2019 organizational meeting.
Annual Meeting Timelines: Annual Settlements

13. School Planning Timelines
Goals and CSIP – C-Plan in the fall: Will precede the school board election but govern the work of the district. (that may happen to some extent now.) How will the district inform new board members of the goals, mission, priorities of the district?
Organizational meeting and orientation of new board members: Cycle will begin in December rather than October. Just around the corner in January is the beginning of the bargaining and budgeting cycles.
Advocacy with the legislature: new school board members will have been “on-the-job” for only a few weeks when the legislative session begins the second Tuesday of January. Consider the timing of Fall legislative forums – do you invite potential new school board candidates? Move the date? Create other options for timing and connection?
Superintendent Contract: Some board policies have timelines for an initial review of the superintendent’s contract and performance toward goals at the 6-month mark. How does the December organizational meeting impact that conversation?

14. School Planning Timelines
Special Election Timing:
First, let’s review the dates. . .

15. Signed 5/11/17
School Elections HF 566

16. Planning for Special Elections
Get close to city council members and understand impact of joint special elections on bond issues, ISL, extension of RPS, PPEL renewal, etc. Both entities are at risk for conflict and confusion, so work together.
Consider carefully the ballot initiative on the November ballot. What do you think the impact will be of greater turnout? Is that helpful? Does it change your process of connecting with likely voters? At least during the transition period for a few years, get lists of likely voters from both regular school and regular city elections, until there’s a history of combined experience.
Voter databases – may have to request both school and city election participation for a couple of years to get real history of likely voters.

17. Planning for Special Elections
Petition signatures based on participation:
ISL if continued by board resolution, can be challenged by petition within 28 days. Must be signed by the greater of 100 or 30% of those voting in the last regular school election (Iowa Code ) and returned within 28 days
Challenge a board appointment to fill a vacancy, must be signed by the greater of 100 or 30% of those voting in the last regular school election (279.6) and returned within 14 days
Discontinue Educational Improvement Program of Library Tax: both at the greater of or 30% of those voting in the last regular school election (Iowa Code 257)
Citizen petition to provide free textbooks (discontinue fees) must be signed by the greater of 100 or 10% of those voting in the last regular school election. (Iowa Code 301)
Bond Issue petition must include signatures of 25% of those voting in the last election of school officials (Iowa Code 296.2)
Power of electors (Iowa Code 278.2) petition of citizens to call any action they are allowed to call requires not less than 100 nor more than 30% of those voting in last regular school election, whichever is greater.

18. Does Turnout Matter?
Caveats: More names/longer ballot doesn’t necessarily mean more voters will vote for all offices. For example, judge retention typically has fewer votes than those cast for governor.
Media coverage and public forums of city, county and school will now all happen at the same time. Could provide for more meaningful coverage or less attention paid to each office.
Write-in candidates are less likely to be successful with a larger voter turnout.

19. © Iowa School Finance Information Services, 2015
Board Member Vacancies

20. Board Member Vacancies
Reasons for vacancy
Death
Move out of the district
Elected to higher office
Failure to properly qualify as Board member
Resignation
Convicted of Felony

21. From Secretary of State Vacancy Guidance:
A vacancy can only be filled after it actually occurs. A governing body may publish notice of its intention to appoint or its intention to call a special election before the vacancy actually occurs, but appointments cannot be made and special election dates cannot be set until after the vacancy occurs.
Exception: If a school board member announces a resignation to take effect at the beginning of the next term for school officials in that district and the announcement is made at least 45 days before the upcoming school election, that school board member’s seat may appear on the ballot at the regular school election as “To Fill Vacancy.” There are no other elective offices with similar statutory provisions. [§279.6 (2)]

22. Board Member Vacancies – Appointment Iowa Code § 279.6
Appointment must be made within 30 days of vacancy or when vacancy is known (the latter of those two)
Board must publish notice in the paper of intent to fill the vacancy by appointment, including right of the public to file a petition requesting a special election. The board may appointment after the vacancy occurs or after the notice is published, whichever is later. (HF 658 enacted in Session) Note: § is specific to school publications and does not set a timeframe within which the publication must occur.
If no petition comes forward, appointed board member serves until next regular school election or an intervening special school election of the district.

23. Board Member Vacancies – Appointment Iowa Code § 279.6
If a petition comes forward within 14 days:
Requires the greater of 100 signatures or 30% of those voting in the last regular school election to be valid
If next regular school election is within 180 days, the appointment is temporary and the name goes on the regular school election ballot (no special election is required.)
If the next regular school election is more than 180 days away, the appointment is temporary, and the school board calls for a special election to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term. See for additional details of the special election.

24. Board Member Vacancies – Appointment Iowa Code § 279.6
If the board is reduced to below a quorum, the board secretary calls for the special election and if there is no board secretary, the AEA administrator calls for the special election.
The Board vote to approve the appointment is public.
Can have written ballots/slips of paper, and when the count is read, the Board member's name and vote are recorded in minutes.
Newly appointed Board member shall take the oath of office within 10 days of being appointed. * emergency exception
Newly appointed Board member of elected office shall hold the office until a successor is elected, is qualified and takes the oath of office pursuant to Iowa Code *

25. Board Member Vacancies – Special Election
Iowa Code § 279.7: If the board doesn’t appoint within 30 days, the Board shall have special election to fill the vacancy. Requirements:
Secretary calls for special election to elect Board member for vacant spot.
County commissioner of elections posts notice of election.
Election shall be held between 60 and 70 days after the vacancy occurred.
Nomination petitions for special election shall be filed no later than 25 days before the election date.
Filed pursuant to Iowa Code §

26. Iowa Code 69.12 defines pending election: HF 2272 enacted in 2016 Session
Appointee is on the ballot at the next election: “pending election” means any election at which there will be on the ballot either the office in which the vacancy exists, or any other office to be filled or any public question to be decided by the voters of the same political subdivision in which the vacancy exists. (If you have a PPEL or RPS ballot initiative, that would trigger the vote to replace the appointed board member) Secretary of State advised districts that vacancies had to go on the general election ballot (presidential or state legislative election) as the next pending election. HF 2273 narrowed that interpretation, defining the next election as an intervening special school election.

27. Process to Appoint Take applicants from community
Local Options: 
Take applicants from community
Recruit a retired board member with experience
Recruit a candidate that came in second
Consider whether the individual appointed may or may not want to run for the seat in the next school board election.
REMEMBER: Perceptions matter!
Remember, Board vote to appoint is public (no secret ballot)
It's OK to have written ballots/slips of paper, but when the count is read, the board member's name and vote are recorded in minutes.

28. Oath of Office following Special Election
Newly elected Board member shall take the oath of office within 10 days of being appointed.
Newly elected Board member shall hold the office until the remainder of the unexpired term and until a successor is elected/appointed and takes the oath of office.

29. ISFIS Organizational and Annual Meeting Support
Stay tuned for Webinar late Summer to share best practice and requirements for the Organizational Meeting and the Annual Meeting of the Board.
Special Election Supports:

30. Resources
These resources will get you through the Sept school board election.
Expect updates and transitional info down the road.

31. Questions or Comments? LARRY SIGEL – ISFIS PARTNER Cell: 515-490-9951
MARGARET BUCKTON – ISFIS PARTNER
CELL:
Iowa School Finance Information Services
rd Street
Des Moines, IA
Office: