In a blow to the Community for Better Schools and its recall
effort, the San Benito County Counsel rejected the group’s proof of
publication Friday.
In a blow to the Community for Better Schools and its recall effort, the San Benito County Counsel rejected the group’s proof of publication Friday.
CBS is trying to recall three members of the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District – trustees Andy Hsia-Coron, Rachel Ponce and Sylvia Rios Metcalf. The group by law had to publish the notice of intention to recall the three, which it did in the Register-Pajaronian in Watsonville.
Assistant County Counsel Darren Bogie turned down the proof of publication because the “Register-Pajaronian does not qualify as a paper of general circulation for the (ASJUSD),” as stated in an advisory released by Bogie Friday.
“It was a complex analysis,” Bogie said. “The law is very systematic and clear. There are different layers of analysis.”
The San Benito County Elections Office referred the matter to county counsel to determine if the “notice of recall sufficient to allow the Clerk to certify the petition and thus allow (the trustee) recall effort to continue,” according to Bogie’s advisory.
State election code states the proof of publication must be in a “newspaper of general circulation” within the jurisdiction of the school district. The ASJUSD is in three different counties with more than three papers serving the area.
While the Register-Pajaronian is adjudicated a newspaper of general circulation, it is given that distinction in Santa Cruz County, not San Benito County – the county the school district office is located in. State government code section 6008.d states the newspaper meets “general circulation” criteria if “it has one principal office of publication and that office is in the city (or) district…”
“This is a very unusual school district,” Bogie said.
CBS leader Julie Conrad was not expecting the rejection. Although the government code points to publishing the notice of intent to recall in the Hollister Free Lance or the Pinnacle, Conrad was frustrated because the Register-Pajaronian reaches more school district voters than the Free Lance.
“I feel like we do have the paper with the most circulation (for the school district),” Conrad said.
Another reason county counsel rejected the proof of publication was because government code 6042 states that the proof of publication “shall be given or made in a newspaper of general circulation published nearest thereto.”
The Free Lance and Pinnacle are closer to the ASJUSD office and the district boundary – 11.5 and 3.6 miles away, respectively. The Register-Pajaronian is 15.6 and 11 miles away from the district office and district boundary, respectively.
CBS plans to hold a member meeting to decide the next step. CBS held a meeting Sunday night to “see which direction the group wants to go,” Conrad said.
The group can start over, challenge the rejection or choose some other recourse, Conrad said. Currently, the group members are mixed about a third attempt at recall, she said.
After the Sunday meeting, there was no decision on the recall, but group members decided to hold a meeting with San Juan School parents.
“It’s an opportunity to discuss it with the community over there before we make a decision,” Conrad said.
For more information on CBS, call Conrad at 726-1837. For more information on Friends of Our Schools, opponents of the possible recall, call Leslie Austin at 726-1825.
