San Dieguito board will appoint new trustee

The San Dieguito Union High School District board voted 3-1 recently to use the appointment process to fill the seat left vacant by last month’s resignation of trustee Kristin Gibson.

The board will interview candidates for the Area 5 seat in public and select the new board member on April 22.

With Gibson’s resignation made official on March 19, the board had 60 days to decide whether they would appoint a new trustee or call for a special election. According to SDUHSD Superintendent Robert Haley, the range of election costs provided by the San Diego County Registrar of Voters was $450,000 to $650,000, based on special elections held in Solana Beach and Poway. San Dieguito’s Area 5 has around 26,000 registered voters.

“At this time it’s so pivotal, we really need another voice on the board,” said SDUHSD President Mo Muir. “I could never justify spending a half a million dollars on an election when every dollar counts toward our kids. By having an election, district programs may not be funded. I could never do that to our students.”

SDUHSD Trustee Katrina Young was the only vote in opposition as she would prefer further exploring the costs and timing of a special election.

“Fiscal responsibility, especially after COVID, is a huge concern but we are a very divided community,” Young said. “There seems to be an erosion of goodwill and it’s worth considering to make sure that all members of the community feel like they’re being heard. It would be a good offering to our community to make sure that we are valuing their voices.”

Applicants will soon be able to submit a résumé and questionnaire, with a deadline to apply of April 16. The candidate must live in Area 5, which includes the communities of Carmel Valley and Pacific Highlands Ranch. A board vacancy page has been added to the district’s website at sduhsd.net and all comments or inquiries can be directed to the board secretary at superintendent@sduhsd.net.

Once an appointment is made, the public has 30 days to petition for a special election with the county office of education, gathering signatures representing 1.5 percent of the district area. In this case, 399 signatures would be required.