Pasadena Municipal Code Art. VII Board of Education

The control, management, and administration of the public elementary and secondary schools of the City of Pasadena and such territory that is now or may hereafter be annexed thereto for school purposes, in accordance with the Constitution and general laws of the State of California, is hereby vested in a Board of Education consisting of seven members nominated and elected by geographic sub-district as provided in this Charter. The Board of Education is hereby vested with all the powers and charged with all the duties provided under state law for city boards of education.

(Sec. 701 amended by vote of the people 11-7-2000: Sec. 701 amended by vote of the people 6-8-1976, effective August 1, 1976; Sec. 701 amended by vote of the people 6-5-2012.)

A. Except as provided in subsection B, the members of the Board of Education shall hold office for a term of four years, and until their successors are elected and have duly qualified.

B. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Charter, in order to transition to new election dates starting in 2020, the terms of office of members of the Board of Education elected in the year 2015 shall expire in December 2020 and the terms of office of members of the Board of Education elected in the year 2017 shall expire in December 2022.

C. Beginning in the year 2020, the terms of office of members of the Board of Education elected in the geographic sub-districts for seats 2, 4, and 6 shall commence in the year 2020 and in each fourth anniversary of the year 2020, and the terms of office of members of the Board of Education elected in the geographic sub-districts for seats 1, 3, 5, and 7 shall commence in the year 2022 and in each fourth anniversary of the year 2022. The terms of office for all members of the Board of Education shall commence on the fifth Monday following their election and until their respective successors are elected and have duly qualified.

(Sec. 702 amended by vote of the people 6-5-2018)

Beginning in the year 2020, members of the Board of Education shall be elected at a general election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in each even-numbered year, coinciding with the statewide general election. Candidates to be voted on at the general election shall be residents and qualified voters of the geographic sub-district in which the election is held. Only voters who live in the geographic sub-district shall be eligible to vote in the elections for Board Member from that geographic sub-district. No names shall be printed upon the ballot in the general election for the office of member of the Board of Education other than those nominated in the manner hereinafter prescribed.

(Sec. 703 amended by vote of the people 6-5-2018: Sec. 703 amended by vote of the people 6-5-2012)

Any person desiring to become a candidate for the Board of Education to be filled at such election shall file, or have filed, with the City Clerk, acting in the capacity of Assistant Secretary to the Board of Education during Board of Education elections, in the form and in the period prior to the election prescribed by the California Elections Code, nominating papers signed by him/her specifying for which geographic sub-district he/she is a candidate, signed by not less than twenty five (25) qualified voters from the geographic sub-district in which the election is held, requesting such candidacy, and accompanied by a filing fee of $25.00. The names of voters not residents of the geographic sub-district for which the candidate is being nominated shall not be counted by the County Registrar of Voters in determining the sufficiency of such petition.

(Sec. 704 amended by vote of the people 3-5-2024; Sec. 704 amended by vote of the people 6-5-2012; Sec. 704 amended by vote of the people 3-4-1997.)

Each Board Member shall be a qualified elector of the geographic sub-district in which the election is held. Each Board Member shall be a resident of the geographic sub-district from which the Member is elected or appointed. (Sec. 705 added by vote of the people 6-5-2012.)

The candidate receiving the highest number of votes in the general election for each geographic sub-district shall be deemed elected for that office, without any run-off election. In the case of a tie vote, the Board of Education shall summon the candidates affected to appear at a time and place designated by the Board and shall at that time and place determine the tie by lot.

(Sec. 706 amended by vote of the people 6-5-2018: Sec. 706 amended by vote of the people 6-5-2012)

On the fifth Monday of each even-numbered year after the statewide general election and at their usual time and place of meeting, the Board of Education shall meet to approve the canvass of returns submitted by the City Clerk acting in his/her capacity as Assistant Secretary to the Board of Education and shall declare the results.

(Sec. 707 amended by vote of the people 6-5-2018: Sec. 707 amended by vote of the people 3-7-1995)

In all other matters, the election for members of the Board of Education shall, as to the primary nominating and as to the general election, be governed by the applicable general laws of the State relating to city boards of education.

No election, whether primary nominating or general, shall be set aside for any error, irregularity or defect in the proceedings leading up to or in said election, when the provisions of law governing the same are substantially complied with and where a fair expression of the will of the electorate is secured.

The members of the Board of Education shall enter upon the discharge of their duties on the fifth Monday of each even-numbered year after the statewide general election, and the Board of Education shall meet upon said day and annually thereafter and organize by electing one of their number President, whose term of office shall be one year. The Board of Education shall determine the rules of its proceedings. Any vacancy occurring on the Board of Education shall be filled by the remaining members of the said Board, and if there be no members, then by the City Council.

(Sec. 709 amended by vote of the people 6-5-2018: Sec. 709 amended by vote of the people 6-3-1980)

No later than May of each year, the President of the Board of Education shall address the public on the state of the Pasadena Unified School District to report to the people on the progress of the District in achieving its prior goals and objectives and to articulate its goals and objectives for the coming school year, including the financial state of the schools.

(Sec. 710 amended by vote of the people 6-5-2018: Sec. 710 approved by vote of the people 11-7-2000)

In all matters not specifically provided for in this Article, the Board of Education shall be governed by the provisions of the general law relating to such matters.

The Board of Education shall reimburse the City out of school district funds for the costs of any election conducted by the City arising out of a request by the Board of Education including an amendment to this Charter.

A. Geographic sub-districts for the Board of Education shall be established by resolution of the Pasadena Board of Education after the decennial census year or whenever the Board determines by at least a two-thirds vote that a sufficient change in population has occurred that makes it desirable in the opinion of the Board to adjust the boundaries of the geographic sub-districts. Geographic sub-districts shall be as nearly equal in population as practicable and such redistricting shall be in compliance with applicable laws.

B. At least twenty-two (22) months prior to the second general election day following the day of the decennial census, the Board of Education shall establish, by resolution, a Redistricting Commission to recommend to the Board the configuration of geographic sub-districts for the area served by the Pasadena Unified School District. The Redistricting Commission shall consist of nine members, as follows:

1. Three residents of the City of Pasadena appointed by the Pasadena City Council;

2. Three residents of the area served by the Pasadena Unified School District appointed by the Pasadena Board of Education who are not then members of the Board of Education;

3. Two residents of the Altadena unincorporated area of Los Angeles County served by the Pasadena Unified School District appointed by the County Supervisor(s) representing such area;

4. One resident of the City of Sierra Madre to be appointed by the City Council of the City of Sierra Madre;

C. The Redistricting Commission shall hold at least one public hearing on any proposal to adjust the boundaries of a district prior to a public hearing at which the Redistricting Commission votes to recommend the proposal to the Board of Education. The Redistricting Commission shall provide its recommendation to the Board of Education at least sixteen (16) months prior to the second general election day following the day of the decennial census.

D. The geographic sub-districts recommended by the Redistricting Commission shall be adopted by the Board, unless amended by a two-thirds majority of the Board. If the Board fails to act within 60 calendar days of the submission of the Commission's final report and recommended plan to the Superintendent, the Commission's recommended geographic sub-districts shall be deemed adopted.

E. No change in the boundary or location of any district by redistricting shall abolish or terminate the term of office of any member of the Board prior to expiration of the term of office for which the member was elected, notwithstanding any other provision of this Section. Each incumbent member of the Board of Education will, during the duration of the member's current term, represent the area by which the member was elected.

F. At the time of, or after, any annexation of territory to the District, the Board of Education shall designate, by resolution, the geographic sub-district of which the annexed territory shall be a part.

(Sec. 713 amended by vote of the people 6-5-2018: Sec. 713 added by vote of the people 6-5-2012)