Long Beach Municipal Code Art. XXII Education

The public school system of the City of Long Beach shall comprise all the public schools within the City of Long Beach or within the territory that is now, or may hereafter be annexed thereto for school purposes, and shall be known as the "Long Beach Unified School District," and shall succeed to all the property, rights and privileges of the former Long Beach City School District, and shall consist of elementary and secondary schools as now established, and may, at the discretion of the Board of Education, include intermediate, technical, summer, industrial, night and continuation schools.

(Amended by Prop. T, 11-4-1986, eff. 2-5-1987)

The powers and duties of the Board of Education shall be as provided in the general law, except as hereinafter provided.

(Amended by Prop. T, 11-4-1986, eff. 2-5-1987)

(a) The Long Beach Unified School District shall be divided, for electoral purposes, into five (5) School Board districts approximately equal in population. The districts to be established are as follows:

DISTRICT 1 shall consist of those portions of the following Los Angeles County Census Tracts contained within the Long Beach Unified School District: 5701, 5702.01, 5702.02, 5703.01, 5703.02, 5704, 5705, 5706, 5715.02, 5716, 5717, 5718, 5719, 5720.01, 5720.02, and that portion of L.A. County Census Tract 5715.01 contained in the City of Long Beach.

DISTRICT 2 shall consist of those portions of the following Los Angeles County Census Tracts contained within the Long Beach Unified School District: 5721, 5722.01, 5722.02, 5723, 5724, 5725, 5726, 5727, 5728, 5729, 5730, 5731, 5732.01, 5732.02, 5733, 5752, 5753, 5754, 5755, Blocks 308 - 315, Block 418 of Tract 5764, Blocks 101 - 122, 701 - 718, 606 - 616 of Tract 5763, Blocks 101 - 128, 501 - 525 of Tract 5758.

DISTRICT 3 shall consist of those portions of the following L.A. County Census Tracts located within the L.B.U.S.D.: 5734, 5751, 5756, 5757, 5759, 5760, 5761, 5762, 5765, 5766, 5767, 5768, 5769, those portions of Tracts 5758, 5763, 5764 not contained in District 2, and Blocks 110, 111, 201, 202, 311, 312, 401, & 402 of Tract 5770, Blocks 309 - 312, 401 - 404, 409 - 412, 501 - 504, 510 - 512 of Tract 5771, Blocks 304 - 314, 401 - 405, 412 - 415 of Tract 5772.

DISTRICT 4 shall consist of those portions of the following L.A. County Census Tracts contained within the L.B.U.S.D.: 5742.02, 5743, 5744, 5745, 5746.01, 5746.02, 5747, 5748, 5749.01, 5749.02, 5750.01, 5750.02, 5773, 5774, 5775.01, 5775.02, 5776.01, 5776.02, 5776.03, 5990, 5991, those portions of Tracts 5770, 5771, 5772 not in District 3, and Blocks 301 - 311, 401 - 412 of Tract 5742.01.

DISTRICT 5 shall consist of those portions of the following L.A. County Census Tracts contained within the L.B.U.S.D.: 5552.01, 5552.02, 5707.02, 5708, 5709.01, 5709.02, 5710, 5711.01, 5711.02, 5712, 5713, 5714, 5735, 5736, 5737, 5738, 5739.01, 5739.02, 5740, 5741, that portion of Tract 5715.01 contained in the City of Lakewood and that portion of Tract 5742.01 not contained in District 4.

Any area added to the Long Beach Unified School District subsequent to the adoption of this amendment to the City Charter or any redistricting ordinance adopted by the City Council shall be added to an adjacent and contiguous district by an ordinance adopted by the City Council.

Commencing the second quarter of 1991 and at intervals of ten (10) years thereafter, or at any other time the Board of Education may direct, the School District shall ascertain the number of inhabitants in each School Board district and report thereon to the City Council; if such report shows that said districts are not approximately equal in number of inhabitants, the City Council shall, by ordinance, redistrict the Long Beach Unified School District into five School Board districts, each having approximately an equal number of inhabitants.

(b) The City Council may, within six months of the enactment of the ballot proposition approving this provision, adopt an ordinance to amend the descriptions of any or all of the five districts set forth in subsection (a) in order to correct technical defects in these descriptions and to conform them as closely as possible to the district boundaries as intended in the ballot proposition.

(Amended by Prop. T, 11-4-1986, eff. 2-5-1987)

The government of the schools shall be vested in the Board of Education consisting of five (5) members elected to office in a manner provided in this Chapter, one from each of the School Board districts into which the Long Beach Unified School District has been divided.

(Amended by Prop. T, 11-4-1986, eff. 2-5-1987)

No person shall be eligible to hold office as a member of the Board of Education unless such person is a legally registered voter and resident of the School Board district from which nominated for at least thirty (30) days immediately preceding the last day upon which candidates are permitted to file nominating petitions for such office with the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder or, in the case of being appointed to fill a vacancy, for at least thirty (30) days immediately preceding the date of the appointment.

(Amended by Meas. LBU, 11-8-2022, eff. 1-23-2023; Amended by Prop. T, 11-4-1986, eff. 2-5-1987)

Except when filling a vacancy the members of the Board of Education shall be elected at a School Board election as provided in this Chapter. The term of office shall be for four (4) years, except as hereafter provided. The terms of office for those members of the Board of Education elected from odd-numbered districts in the 2018 School Board municipal election shall be extended to the second Friday in December 2022, with all elected members of the Board of Education thereafter serving four-year terms. In order to maintain staggered terms for members of the Board of Education, the election for members in even-numbered School Board districts shall occur on the primary and general election dates for the City in 2024 and each fourth year thereafter and the election for members in odd-numbered School Board districts shall occur on the next primary and general election dates for the City in 2026 and each fourth year thereafter. Future school board elections shall continue in that staggered cycle.

Alternatively, and successively, following the general election of 1988, even-numbered School Board districts shall be filled at the general School Board election and odd-numbered districts at the next such election. The term of a School Board member shall commence on the third Monday of July following his or her election, and he or she shall serve until his or her successor qualifies.

Each member of the Board of Education in office at the time this amendment to the City Charter takes effect shall continue in office up to and including the third Monday of July 1988 subject to the right of the people to recall a member of the Board of Education as provided in the laws of the State of California governing elections.

(Amended by Meas. LBU, 11-8-2022, eff. 1-23-2023; Amended by Prop. T, 11-4-1986, eff. 2-5-1987)

All elections for members of the Board of Education, or issuing bonds of the school districts, or on propositions to be submitted to the people of the school districts, shall be called, held, conducted and the vote canvassed and declared in accordance with the provisions of the Elections Code of the State of California governing municipal elections except as otherwise provided by this Charter. The costs and expenses incurred in connection with or incident to any elections held under this Article shall not be a charge upon the funds of the City.

The primary and general election for members of the Board of Education shall be held concurrent with the primary and general election dates for the Officers and Council for the City of Long Beach.

Nominating petitions of candidates for election to the Board of Education shall be signed only by legally registered voters and residents of the School Board district from which the person named in the petition seeks to be elected, or in the case of a recall petition, of the School Board district from which such member of the Board of Education was elected, or the School Board district as it exists by reason of redistricting as otherwise provided in this Article.

In the event that no candidate for nomination as a member of the Board of Education receives a majority of the votes cast for all candidates for nomination to such office at any primary nominating election, the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes for any given office at the primary nominating election shall be the candidates and the only candidates for such office whose names shall be printed upon the ballots to be used at the general School Board election.

In the event that any candidate for nomination as a member of the Board of Education shall receive a majority of the votes cast for all candidates for nomination to such office at any primary nominating election, the candidates so receiving such majority of votes shall be deemed to be declared by the Board of Education to be elected to such office.

The candidate who shall receive the highest number of votes in the general School Board election for his respective office shall be deemed to be and declared by the Board of Education to be elected to such office.

Any ties in voting shall be settled by the casting of lots under the supervision of, and in such manner and place as the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder decides.

(Amended by Meas. LBU, 11-8-2022, eff. 1-23-2023; Amended by Prop. T, 11-4-1986, eff. 2-5-1987)

Vacancies in the Board of Education shall be filled for the remaining portion of the term of the vacant office at a special election to be called for that purpose. Said election shall be called within thirty (30) days after the occurrence of such vacancy. Said election shall be held within one hundred twenty (120) days after the occurrence of such vacancy, unless the same shall occur within one hundred twenty (120) days of a regular school election set forth in this Charter, in which event such vacancy shall be filled by the remaining members of the Board of Education. Should three or more vacancies exist at any one time, a special election shall be called as soon as possible by the County Superintendent of Schools.

No person appointed as a successor to serve during the remainder of a term in the Board of Education in which a vacancy occurs shall be designated as an incumbent, a member of the Board of Education, a school board member, or other designation indicating incumbency, for the purposes of the next regular school election for members of the Board of Education.

(Amended by Prop. T, 11-4-1986, eff. 2-5-1987)

All territory included in the limits of the Long Beach Unified School District or that may be included within such limits, but not within the City limits, shall be deemed a part of the City of Long Beach for the purpose of holding elections for members of the Board of Education or upon other matters relating to the schools, and only for such purposes.

(Amended by Prop. T, 11-4-1986, eff. 2-5-1987)

The members of the Board of Education shall enter upon the discharge of their duties on the second Friday in December next succeeding the member's election. Any member of the Board of Education whose term has expired shall continue to discharge the duties of the office until the member's successor has qualified. The term of the successor shall begin upon the expiration of the term of her or his predecessor. The Board of Education shall meet upon the second Friday in December annually thereafter and organize by electing one of their number president, and one as vice-president, whose term of office shall be one year.

(Amended by Meas. LBU, 11-8-2022, eff. 1-23-2023; Amended by Prop. T, 11-4-1986, eff. 2-5-1987)