RAMONA UNIFIED TRUSTEES TO APPOINT BOARD MEMBER

Following the death of longtime Ramona Unified Board of Education member Kim Lasley on Jan. 23, colleagues are faced with filling her vacancy on the board.

Superintendent Theresa Grace said at the school board meeting Feb. 10 that Lasley was a dedicated advocate for children for more than a decade.

“We can’t replace Lasley but we do have an obligation to add a fifth board member,” Grace said.

Lasley’s term ex- pires in November. When a vacancy occurs longer than four months before the end of a term, the board has 60 days from the date of the vacancy to either order an election or make a provisional appointment. That means the vacancy must be filled by March 25.

The cost of holding an election to fill Trustee Area 1 is estimated at $25,000, which would be paid by the district, Grace said.

Because of the short time before the November election, trustee Rodger Dohm said Lasley would have likely preferred the board replace her position.

The board voted unanimously to fill her vacancy by appointment.

A timeline for filling the position has not yet been finalized, but the board faces several steps before appointing a candidate.

One of the first is publicizing that the district is seeking qualified candidates to fill the open position until trustee elections are held in November. To be eligible, candidates must be at least 18 years old, a citizen of California, a resident of the trustee area, a registered voter, and not legally disqualified from holding a civil office.

The By-trustee Area maps have not been selected by the school board yet, but the five maps being considered are on the ramonausd.net website at bit.ly/3outrrc. The deadline for approving a map that defines the election boundaries of the five trustees is March 1.

Applications will be screened by the San Diego Registrar of Voters to ensure candidates are eligible for consideration. Then interview questions will be prepared and eligible candidates will be interviewed at a public meeting of the school board. Board members will make their selection and administer the oath of office to the selected appointee.

A notice about the appointment is expected to be posted in the Ramona Sentinel, a publication of the U-T Community Press, and at least three other public places. Grace said the public will have 30 days to contest the appointee. She added that an employee of the school district cannot be a member of the board.

Board President Daryn Drum adjourned the school board meeting in Lasley’s honor.

“Kim was a friend, a mother, a wife and a true community servant,” Drum said. “She was a valued colleague.”

Kim Lasley